Transition issues for children with specific learning difficulties

The key areas of difficulty in school for children with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Dyscalculia.

Key areas of difficulty for young people with Dyslexia:

  • Difficulties copying from the board.
  • Difficulties writing assignments.
  • Missing out information when listening to instructions.
  • Spelling mistakes in written work.
  • Slower reading information.
  • Difficulties taking down notes. 
  • New vocabulary to understand in the different subject areas. 

 

Key areas of difficulty for young people with Dyspraxia:

  • Slower writing notes and keeping up in class with peers.
  • Difficult for others to read writing.
  • Slower to change for PE, such as doing up laces and buttons.
  • Harder to participate in team based ball sports.
  • Difficulties organising self and activities.
  • Difficulties with time concepts.
  • Harder to use protractors, scissors, rulers and other tools needing good motor control.
  • Harder to draw maps, drawings, painting.
  • Difficulty packing bags, filing notes.

 

Key areas of difficulty for young people with ADHD:

  • Organisational skills such as packing bags, getting around school, and making appropriate decisions.
  • Impulsivity may show up in difficulties knowing which place to be in at the correct time; the need to know when to answer and not answer out of turn in class; getting into trouble for taking unnecessary risks and only thinking of the consequences afterwards.
  • Poor concentration which shows as difficulty completing tasks and or assignments; drifting off in class.
  • Poor time management seen as difficulties completing assignments in time; getting to places on time, or answering all the questions in a given time frame; understanding how much time a task will take to be finished.

Key areas of difficulty for young people with ASD:

  • Making and keeping friends. 
  • Understanding social rules such as how to speak to teachers.
  • Recognising other's facial expressions and feelings. 
  • Coping with change and being adaptable and flexible. E.g coping with a different teacher’s way of teaching.
  • Misunderstanding what has been said and taking instructions literally.
  • The child may have difficulties expressing themselves clearly.
  • Coping in the playground without clear rules.
  • May find noisy situations harder such as in the canteen.
  • May also have co-ordination difficulties.
  • May misunderstand rules of games being played and take rules literally in their interpretation.

 

Key areas of difficulty for young people with speech, language and communication disorders:

  • Difficulty remembering a sequence of instructions. 
  • Difficulty taking down telephone numbers or instructions. 
  • May appear anxious/angry as he/she does not understand what is being asked of her/him. 
  • May seem withdrawn. 
  • Difficulty taking turn in class. 
  • Not understanding the rules of a game. 
  • May find it easier to complete tasks with written instructions. 
  • May prefer to lead play rather than be led, so that he/she will know what is going on. 
  • Difficulties with mathematics as more language is being used in problems. 

 

Key areas of difficulty for young people with Dyscalculia:

  • May find difficulties with geometry.
  • Difficulties learning times tables.
  • May have difficulties with the “language of mathematics”, understanding maths terminology.
  • Difficulties recording numbers accurately.

 

This website contains useful information, games and adaptable downloads to help children learn essential skills for a successful transition to secondary school, for example....

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