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According to a recent report from the NAEP, the Nation’s Report Card, an estimated 10 million U.S. schoolchildren are struggling with learning. Here are some tips to assist you in providing the best possible environment for your child to experience success both at home and at school.

1. Understand that young people (like all of us) are doing the best they know how to do with what they have to work with. When they have more options available to them, they will make better choices. You, as the adult, are the teacher, which means that your child will model you. If you are flexible and open to learning new ways of thinking and behaving, your child will be open as well.

2. Step into their model of the world. When you communicate with a young person, see the communication through their eyes and through their model of the world rather than through yours; they will be much more open to what you have to say if you do.

3. Understand their unique learning style. If, for instance, the young person operates in primarily a visual mode (many kids with ADD operate in a world of images), verbal and auditory communication is often the least important mode of communication to them. Words are very slow and difficult to process. Whenever you give him instructions, have him overlap the words into pictures in his mind and have him feel his body following the instructions. For instance, if you want him to do the dishes and then pack his backpack for school, have him SEE and FEEL doing the dishes and then packing his backpack.

4. Make sure they learn visually. Visual learning is the best way to learn academic subjects, so make sure they learn visually by making pictures in their mind of doing academic tasks like spelling words, vocabulary words and math facts. When they are reading, make sure they overlap pictures with the words they are reading. Using a visual learning strategy is more interesting, more effective, takes much less time and it’s just more fun. It is also the primary mode that schools teach and test to, so if he learns how to learn visually, it will dramatically improve school performance and test scores.

5. Find their WIG-FM. Find out what is important to them, what motivates them. WIG-FM stands for “What’s It Get For Me?” These are our values: the things that make us do what we do or that drive our behavior. You can find their WIG-FM by listening to your child’s language and asking questions like “What’s important to you about that?” or “What do you like about that?” Once you can find what is truly driving your child’s choices and behaviors, then you can begin to look with him for more positive ways to get that need met.

6. Celebrate and appreciate what makes them unique. One of the biggest hurdles that young people with learning challenges face is the belief that they are “stupid”, “weird” or just “don’t fit in”. The truth is that they are often a step away from brilliance and have the ability to see the world in ways that most of us simply can’t (think Albert Einstein, J.F.K., Cher and Robin Williams who all had learning disabilities). Consistently looking for and recognizing their uniqueness and value will go a long way in raising their self-confidence.

DeAnne Joy is the co-owner of Success Tracks Academic and  Success Coaching.  She is also the co-creator of Power Learning and Success Strategies, a progressive approach to accelerated learning and change.  Success Tracks offers coaching, workshops and seminars for students, adults and teams.  For more information, visit  www.successtracksscv.com or call 310-7981.