Have you been asking yourself: “My child struggles in school. What do I do?“
Find out why your child may find school difficult, does not enjoy it, or does not perform well and consider if they have special needs.
Does your child struggle in school?
Is your child not doing well in school, not enjoying it, or falling behind? Are you worried that there might be underlying issues or learning difficulties?
As parents, we often worry about our children’s performance and achievement in school.
We want them to be happy, enjoy school, and do well and have a good education that will secure a better future.
Often, there are signs that your child is struggling and not doing well or does not like to go to school.
Perhaps their teacher has spoken to you, raising their concerns and letting you know that your child finds school challenging.
Maybe they are not meeting the targets and the expected level of progress when their teacher assesses them.
Do you have problems with getting your child to school in the morning? Do they refuse to go or throw a tantrum in the morning?
Or maybe you just see that there is something wrong, that they have not reached the milestone they are supposed to?
As a practitioner and someone who works with children in school and those with Special Needs, I have identified some of the reasons children don’t do well in school.
Below you will find seven potential causes of children struggling in school that I have observed while working in a mainstream school helping and supporting children with Special Needs.
I will also share some advice with you on what to do next.
1. Vision and hearing problems
Vision problems
I have seen several times in my experience in school children struggling with their learning simply because they could not see the board or the teacher.
They have had a visual impairment their whole life, not even realizing that something was wrong.
If your child’s teacher notices that they need to come closer to see the board or ask to sit in the front, there might be a problem with their vision.
It is not until Reception (in England) when children are 4 or 5 years old that they have their first eye check at school.
This is often when possible issues become known.
If a child struggles in school, it might be worth starting with an eye test.
Read my post here to find out how your child’s school should support them.
Hearing Problem
Similarly, your child might be struggling because of a hearing problem.
Very often, hearing issues will also cause speech and language problems.
If a child starts talking late, is non-verbal, or lisps (although I met parents that were finding it cute that their little one speaks like a baby and they were not doing anything about it), there are chances they might have a hearing problem.
A hearing test is usually the first step in ruling out or diagnosing other issues. It can be done even with small children, so it is always worth considering if your child is presenting learning problems.
2. Emotional difficulties
It is normal for children to be unable to deal with their emotions and feelings. They are still learning and developing.
However, for some children, emotional regulation is more difficult to master.
When faced with big feelings in this big world out there on their own without mummy or daddy, they may not know how to control their emotions, leaving them frustrated.
This can be a barrier to learning or cause behavioural problems when you see them act out in the classroom.
If your child struggles in school, consider their emotional maturity and skills.
3. Learning difficulties
Another likely reason children struggle in school is learning difficulties.
These are neurodevelopmental disorders.
Some of them are dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or dyspraxia. You can read all about them here.
In quite simple terms, dyslexia is a difficulty with reading, dyscalculia is a difficulty with mathematics, dysgraphia is a difficulty with writing, and dyspraxia is a problem with coordination.
These are often not diagnosed until children are a bit older.
It may take a few years to learn to read.
After there has not been much progress in reading for some time and if the interventions in school have not worked, dyslexia might start to be considered.
It will often be your child’s teacher or the school’s SENCO (Special Needs Coordinator) suggesting it to you after they have been observing your child for some time.
4. Developmental delays
In my experience working in a school, I have also met children with Developmental Delays. As the name suggests, these children are not developing at the same rate as their peers.
They might have a Language Developmental Delay where they do not speak (or do not speak as much as their peers), or perhaps their fine or gross motor skills have not developed the same way as their friends.
Motor Skills Delays
Fine motor skills involve using the smaller muscles of the hands, like when using pencils, and scissors, constructing with Lego and handling smaller objects.
Gross motor skills involve larger body muscles requiring whole-body movement, such as kicking or catching a ball, running, jumping, or climbing stairs.
These delays in development may stand in the way of your child succeeding and may explain why your child struggles in school.
5. ADHD
Another possible issue is ADHD which stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
It affects a child’s executive functioning skills: planning, inhibitory control (self-control), and working memory.
Is your child easily distracted, cannot sit still, has problems in organizing and planning their space and tasks, and often forgets, loses, or misplaces things?
It might be worth educating yourself about ADHD to try to see if this might be a problem.
Other signs could be being unable to wait for their turn, constantly talking, having outbursts, fidgeting, or being unable to be patient.
Talk to the teacher
Talk to your child’s teachers to see if they have noticed these signs.
Schools can refer you to a doctor, which will start a lengthy process of diagnosing it or ruling it out if it is not the case.
ADHD may affect your child’s performance in school because learning involves using executive functioning skills like memory recall, planning, organizing, and staying focused.
6. Autism
Autism, also known as ASD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Autism Spectrum Condition, cannot be simply defined with just a few words.
It is a complex, life-long condition affecting a person’s communication, social skills, relationships, and self-regulation.
It is often diagnosed in early childhood.
And because it is a spectrum, it can have many forms and varies in severity.
Autistic children often rely on routines and have trouble communicating (might have speech delay or language processing problems).
They may have difficulty understanding people’s emotions and are upset with even the smallest change in the environment around them.
Sensory issues (dislike or being obsessed with certain sounds, smells, textures, or sights) are not uncommon in Autism.
These impairments may stand in the way of your child succeeding in school
They can affect their daily life and relationships, which could be why your child struggles in school.
7. Environmental factors
Lastly, there are, what I call, environmental factors affecting your child’s attainment.
These are not within the child but are caused by factors or people around them.
Sadly, I have seen children underachieving in school because they miss school, are not fed well, and are neglected or abused.
Missing school is self-explanatory.
If the child is not in school, they are not exposed to learning.
They are not receiving any output, hence the poor attainment.
Children need to attend school to avoid gaps in learning.
Another problem is children being hungry, and I am talking about persisting hunger, often resulting from poverty or family problems and not a one-off skipping breakfast.
A child cannot concentrate and learn if a basic need, such as food, is not met.
They will be preoccupied with their physiological need, hunger, which becomes a priority.
And lastly, neglect and abuse are sometimes the reasons for children struggling in school. Who would want to learn and play if there are problems at home if the child is being hurt or neglected?
“My child struggles in school; what do I do?”
Here you will find what to do and the next steps.
If your child struggles in school, the first step would be identifying a probable reason for a child not doing well in school.
You may start by ruling out possible issues based on what you know about your child or what you have observed.
If the child is verbal, you may want to try to talk to them in a child-friendly language.
Remember, they do not think and reason the way you do, this has not developed yet, and it is expected, so try to talk to your child using simple language.
Let them tell you what matters to them, and do not assume anything just because you are a grown-up.
Children are the experts in their lives.
If talking is not possible or is not going well, try asking them to draw instead.
Secondly, talk to your child’s teacher.
Do not try to do it at drop-off or pick-up time.
Teachers are too busy then and will not give you adequate time and attention. Instead, ask for a meeting or send them an e-mail first.
This can lead to possible suggestions, solutions, interventions, or referrals to external agencies. And every teacher will appreciate an involved parent.
And finally, educate yourself!
The more you read, the more you know.
A substantial chunk of a solution is often learning about the possible problem and its causes and reasons.
It will open your eyes and help you understand your child more, allowing you to support them better.
Let me know in the comments below if any of the above descriptions sound like your child and what you are doing or have done about it.
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