LDs (learning disabilities) are those who show significant difficulty in a particular ability, although there is no delay in intellectual development.
By being treated as an “ordinary person” without knowing it as an LD from the usual situation, you may feel difficulties in your life, and some of them have unspoken meanings included in the facial expressions and conversations of others. Some people get hurt in communication because they don’t understand the atmosphere of the place.
Introducing the guidelines of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Board of Education regarding the characteristics of such LDs and support methods.
What are the characteristics of learning disabilities? (Quoted from the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education website)
(Listen / Speak)
Even if you can hear it, it is difficult to understand the meaning of the words.
I am not good at expressing what I want to say.
(Read / write)
Read the same line or skip the line in the book reading.
It is difficult to write well-formed and correct characters, such as mirror writing.
(calculate)
It is easy to trip over the calculation of carry-up and carry-down.
I can calculate, but I can’t read the meaning of the word problem.
(Social)
It is difficult to feel the surroundings and adjust one’s behavior.
It is difficult to notice the feelings and intentions of the other party.
(Exercise capacity)
It’s pretty clumsy or awkward.
I am not good at exercises that require cooperation such as skipping rope and ball exercises.
(Attention)
It is vulnerable to a large number of noisy environments, making it difficult to concentrate.
He is constantly restless, moving around, moving parts of his body, and continuing to talk.
What is support for LD? (Quoted from the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education website)
For children who have difficulty speaking
Create an atmosphere where children can speak freely without pointing out mistakes immediately.
Show the content, order, and structure of what you are talking about with letters and figures.
Capture the content that your child wants to express and give an example in words.
For children who have difficulty reading
Enlarge the letters to make them easier to see, or draw lines on the letters that are easy to make a mistake.
Hide other lines to make it easier to notice the line you are trying to read.
Play furigana and read by example.
For children who have difficulty writing
Start with a scribble and gradually make it visible.
What you want to write in a sentence is to organize the contents by speaking first, and then write them in strips and arrange them in order.
Reduce the feeling of resistance to writing, such as by using a word processor.
For children who have difficulty calculating
Use concrete and semi-concrete objects to ensure that numbers are synthesized and decomposed, and associate them with numbers.
The board which wrote the calculation procedure is shown.
In the case of long division, use squares to align the digits. Instruct them to write down the numbers that have been carried up.
Draw diagrams and pictures so that you can visually grasp the problem.
“Reading tracker” to read the wrong line
A reading tracker is a reading aid used to allow people who read across multiple lines or make mistakes to read one line at a time.
It is also sold here on Amazon, but it is cheaper to make it yourself.
It may be transparent or colored, but it will be completed if you cut the clear file to an appropriate size and paste it with masking tape etc. so that only one line is opened.
If you are worried that your child will skip the line, why not create it?
Citation / reference site
- 鳥取県教育委員会（https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/10383.htm）
- 文部科学省（https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/tokubetu/004/008.htm）
