In Your Right Mind

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FAILURE: Can There Be Such a Thing? Dear In Your Right Mind: My child is in elementary school (2nd grade), and at our last conference, my husband and I were told that she is behind the other kids in her class in most of her academic skills. She has an older brother who is an outstanding student, and both my husband and I are college graduates with advanced degrees. School says not to worry, that this will all “fill in” over the next couple of years, but something is not right. We are quite concerned about her level of self-esteem and self-confidence since she began coming home from school telling us she is “stupid.” What do you think? Am I worrying too much? Signed,Dear Feeling Helpless: In Your Right Mind thinks that you are wise to investigate further. We are uncomfortable with “putting off for tomorrow what you can accomplish today,” especially when it involves a child! Child development is uneven, which simply put means most children develop at a slightly different pace. That being said, it is unwise to ignore early signs of difficulty. It is not better to “travel hopefully than to arrive!” You need the facts. Your informal evaluation can begin by planning a number of visits to your daughter’s class to observe her, how she behaves and performs, how she gets along with her peers and her teacher, where she sits, who she sits next to, what occupies her attention and efforts. Remember that at the start, your being there may have a slightly disruptive effect upon her and the class: this should subside as you fade into the woodwork…. If your family has a history of learning disabilities, attentional (ADD/ADHD) diagnoses, a developmental tendency to mature late (relative to peers), left-handedness, or your daughter was born with any birth or birthing complications, any of these may be considered “red flags,” or contributing factors regarding her learning needs which you may want to investigate further. Your next step might be to request that school provide your child with an educational assessment to establish how your child is performing, both relative to her peers, but more importantly, relative to her own learning abilities, deficits, delays, and potential as it relates to her IQ.

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