Online & Remote learning with ADHD and Dyslexia: Four Steps to Take to Better Prepare Us for the Future.
The shift to online learning caused by the pandemic can be a challenging adjustment for students with ADHD or Dyslexia
In response to the pandemic, schools across the nation abruptly transitioned to online learning in March, 2020. Such a big adjustment can be a challenge for all students and especially so for those students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Dyslexia.
So much is unknown about what the new school year will look like for September 2020 and a lot of decisions are still being made. This type of uncertainty can create fear, and decisions based on fear are not ideal when we are talking about the future of education. The best decision-makers let the situation guide them. The more experience you have with a particular type of decision, the safer it is to go with your intuition, since your subconscious has a wealth of reliable information from which to draw from.
These are unprecedented times and how we as parents, teachers, and students, choose to navigate through the next couple of months is vital for our mental health but more importantly, our children’s future. Here are four steps that we can take now, to better prepare us for the upcoming school year.
Step One: Focus
We focus on what we CAN change, and not on what we can’t.
We can’t change the decisions that the governing bodies are making about how schools will reopen in the fall, but we can HELP our children be better prepared and set them up for success, by learning from what went right, what went wrong, and not making the same mistakes of the past.
Step Two: Learn from the Situation
I continued to work with students during the quarantine. I heard their voice and the voices of parents and teachers. I heard their struggles and their successes. I took notes on all of it. I also read lots of advice from colleagues and experts in the field on how they were handling remote learning with their smart but struggling students.
What I want to do now, is make sure everyone hears it, sees, it, listens, and learns. So I invited a former student to a question and answer session. This young lady was diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school. She wrapped up her tenth-grade year at private school online, like the rest of the country.
Step Three: Listen to What our Students are Telling Us
In this video, Sloan shared her triumphs and her struggles. We get to see the face of a student with Dyslexia and we get to listen to her opinion about what she is currently going through.
Step Four: Be Better Prepared for the Future
What I found from doing this interview, was a lot of the same information that I got from reading professional articles and talking with parents and teachers who were going through the challenge of adapting to online learning.
I learned that successfully navigating remote learning involves four major domains: communication, environment, habits, and time management.
How we as parents, teachers, and most importantly smart but struggling students, learn to navigate these areas, will most likely determine the learning outcomes.
If you want to help your smart but struggling student best navigate remote learning, consider following these tips and strategies. If you need help putting these tips into practice, I am here to help and offer online and in-person coaching for parents and students.
Change doesn't have to be hard, and you may find that it ends up being better for you.
How to Navigate Remote & Online Learning
Get a print-friendly PDF copy of my tips to successfully help your student adapt to remote and online learning.