If you’re like most parents, you’ve spent some time the last few months with your family, relaxing and enjoying your time together. Now, with a new school year on the horizon, your child may be less than excited.

He or she may be feeling stressed about the increased level of academics this year. Struggles may have surfaced throughout the previous school year: you noticed your son having difficulty with reading words in context (trouble sounding out unfamiliar words), or maybe your daughter is demonstrating a weakness in remembering what she reads or listens to; spelling skills may have begun to deteriorate with the introduction of multi syllable words; or perhaps math skills declined due to increasingly difficult concepts.

If reading and spelling are difficult for your child, he may be suffering from weak symbol imagery–the ability to visualize letters and sounds within words. Weak symbol imagery will cause difficulty in establishing sight words, contextual fluency, and spelling.

If reading or language comprehension are difficult for your child, weak concept imagery—the ability to image a gestalt (whole)—may be the cause. Weakness in concept imagery will interfere with reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.

Your child’s math skills may suffer as well due to an inability to create a gestalt image for the concepts underlying math processes. Individuals often attempt to memorize facts instead of being able to think, reason, and problem solve with numbers. Symbol imagery and concept imagery are necessary sensory-cognitive functions that underlie reading, comprehension, and math skills.

This time of year should be exciting, not worrisome. The last thing you want is to have your child dread going to school. As a parent, what can you do? You might want to consider having your child evaluated in order to see what is causing the difficulties. Once the area of weakness has been determined, it’s important to know that solutions are available. Lindamood-Bell’s sensory-cognitive programs develop the necessary skills that underlie reading, comprehension, and math.

Your child’s backpack is full. Let’s make sure her skill set is full as well by going back to school with us!

Please see the list of our Learning Centers for the contact information of your local learning center.