you help your child to learn. It provides parents with a clear explanation of the many causes of children’s problems in learning, and contains jargon-free and practical advice for helping children with reading, writing and mathematics. It also explains how previously proven and effective methods can be implemented in home-tutoring situations, as well as in school. While the focus is on ordinary children with general learning difficulties, the book also provides important information about teaching and managing children with intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities, as well as autism. A Parent’s Guide to Learning Difficulties is full of links to some great online information resources and references to books that you can use to help your child learn. Peter Westwood has been an Associate Professor of Education and has taught all age groups, in schools, colleges and universities around the world. He holds awards for excellence in teaching from Flinders University in South Australia and from the University of Hong Kong. of learning and learning difficulties, and is currently an educational consultant working out of Macau, China. ISBN 978-0-86431-840-4 Cover image: © Photographer: Lori Sparkia Agency: Dreamstime.com 9 780864 318404 Peter We stw o o d Peter has published many books and articles on the subject A parent’s guide to learning difficulties A Parent’s Guide to Learning Difficulties will help a PaRent’S gUiDe To LeArniNg difficuLtieS how to help your child P e t e r W e stw o o d a PaRent’S gUiDe To LeArniNg difficuLtieS how to help your child P e t e r W e stw o o d ACER Press First published 2008 by ACER Press, an imprint of Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd 19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia www.acerpress.com.au
[email protected] Text © Peter Westwood 2008 Design and typography © ACER Press 2008 This book is copyright. All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, and any exceptions permitted under the current statutory licence scheme administered by Copyright Agency Limited (www.copyright.com.au), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, broadcast or communicated in any form or by any means, optical, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Edited by Carolyn Glascodine Cover and text design by Mary Mason Typeset by Mary Mason Printed in Australia by Shannon Books National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Author: Title: Westwood, Peter S. (Peter Stuart), 1936– A parent’s guide to learning difficulties : how to help your child / author, Peter Westwood. Publisher: Camberwell, Vic. : ACER Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780864318404 (pbk.) Notes: Includes index. Bibliography. Subjects: Learning disabilities. Children with disabilities – Education. Education. Child development. Child rearing. Dewey Number: 371.9 Contents Preface Quiz vi vii 1 Confession My early schooling My fortunes change No labels, please Key points for parents 1 1 2 4 4 2 External causes of learning dif ficulty School curriculum School curriculum as a source of learning difficulty Teaching method as a source of difficulty Key points for parents 3 Causes associated with the child Detrimental attitude or emotional state Frequent absences from school Child’s inefficient approach to learning Specific learning disability Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder Key points for parents 4 Intellectua