Learning

What is typical?

A child’s learning process is dynamic and includes physical, social, emotional, personal, creative, cognitive and linguistic aspects. All of these aspects are interrelated and go hand-in-hand. Children learn through meaningful play. The five elements of meaningful play include:

1. Children making their own decisions and giving them the freedom to make their own about what and how they want to play.
2. Children are intrinsically motivated to play, and driven by the motivation of what the child wants to do.
3. Do what feels fun and enjoyable for the child.
4. Play is spontaneous, not scripted.
5. Creating an age appropriate, risk-free environment where kids can experiment and try new ideas.

What are the common concerns?

A learning delay (or developmental delay) is a term used when a child is continually slower to reach developmental milestones and finds it much harder to do everyday things than other children their age can do. Children reach milestones at different speeds and there is no strict schedule. There are many different types of developmental delays. A child may be impacted by a delay in one or multiple skills. Areas include:

• Cognitive (thinking) skills: Cognitive skills include thinking, learning and understanding information.
• Social and emotional skills: These skills include getting along with others, expressing feelings and the ability to communicate needs.
• Speech and language skills: Speech and language skills include using and understanding language.
• Fine and gross motor skills: These skills include the ability to coordinate small and large muscles of their body.

Some common signs of a learning delay are:

• Late talking, compared to other children
• Problems pronouncing words
• Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word
• Difficulty rhyming words
• Trouble learning numbers, the alphabet, and days of the week
• Extremely restless and easily distracted
• Trouble interacting with other children
• Poor ability to follow directions or routines

What can I do?

There are a number of things that you can do at home to help with your child’s learning:

• Play with your child and encourage a range of activities that can help your child develop a range of skills.
• Read a variety of books with your child together.
• Limit time on screens.
• Make a schedule to help your child** **follow directions and better understand a routine
• Be as positive about your child as possible and focus on their strengths to build their resilience.
• Praise them for non-academic achievements and encourage them to try new things and develop new skills.

Who can I speak to?

If you are concerned about your child’s development speak to your general practitioner (GP) or Maternal and Child Health nurse.