Early intervention is where it’s at. With all the talk about the neuroplasticity of the brain, it’s no wonder that the earlier a child is identified with learning differences and receives treatment, the quicker she can be remediated and experience positive life outcomes, sparing years of difficulties and avoiding a poor self-image as a learner.
Here’s a list of things I wish my preschool teacher or early intervention providers and educators knew. It could make a great difference in children’s lives, potentially preventing families years of strife, heartache, and struggle.
- Understand the signs/symptoms of learning differences or other problems, such as speech delays and difficulty with sounds (articulation). Early identification and treatment are ideal.
- They can make a difference by incorporating explicit phonological awareness and teaching proper speech sounds. Phonological awareness and letter formation is an indicator of how well children will learn to read in the next two years. When children have strong phonological awareness skills, they have an easier time learning to read. Most dyslexic children lack these skills.
- Teach proper speech sounds like the way a speech therapist or OG tutor would teach kiddos, voice and unvoiced, clipping sounds (/ta/ vs /t/) tongue placement, etc.) Having the correct speech sounds is important for phonological awareness and the basis for decoding and reading. Teachers are teaching letter formation, but maybe teaching the sounds incorrectly.
- How the brain works and neuroplasticity. At this young age, teachers/parents have great opportunity to impact their lives. For instance, if kiddos get OG tutoring before grade 3, their brains can transform to look like typical readers in MRI studies. To me, this is the most crucial developmental period.
- Bad behavior…could it be sensory integration? – signs of sensory difficulties and tips on treatment and behavior management strategies (i.e., when kiddo is overwhelmed, swinging, or heavy work can help regulate systems). Problems with sensory integration may be manifesting as bad behavior, such as a child unable to sit or striking out.
- Understand effective strategies when dealing with the difficult child, including how to keep calm (deep breaths, take a break). Many of these difficult children end up as the ADHD kid, often misunderstood and labeled as the “problem child.” They may get more correction and scolding when sometimes the child can’t help it because they are on sensory overload. In turn, this poor kiddo starts our life viewing school as a place of negativity.
- Social difficulties and how to encourage play with the other children.
- Who to refer to, such as a speech therapist, occupational therapist (motor difficulties and sensory integration), Orton Gillingham reading tutor, a knowledgeable pediatrician that understands learning differences. I understand this could be more tricky and that most times teachers refer to the pediatrician, but it should come with a warning. What we want to avoid is the pediatrician who tells families to “wait it out,” further delaying discovery and treatment and causing years of family struggle. Whereas, early intervention may likely prevent that from happening.
This would have made things much easier for my family and others. I remember 13 years ago, teaching my preschool teacher about sensory integration and providing her with a book. Grateful this teacher was receptive and understanding. The preschool environment is important, so parents (especially those with kiddos demonstrating signs of learning differences or behavior issues) should choose wisely.