Once the first snow flies, there is a hum of activity around the various bird feeders outside our windows. In November, a pair of cardinals arrived, beautiful in their bright scarlet coats against the freshly fallen snow. Blue jays, proud and chattering merrily, dominated the large feeder, sending the little birds scuttling away. Early one crisp morning, while walking through our fields, I heard the persistent call of the chickadee: “Chick-a-dee, chick-a-dee-dee.” I looked at the beautiful little greenish-grey bird with sparkling eyes and thought that she must be sending information to the neighborhood about the abundant food supply in our backyard. Or she might be telling me not to forget the chickadees, though they seem tiny and insignificant.

The chickadees make me think of those students with learning challenges, who also often feel unnoticed and insignificant. They are not voted in for student council, are sometimes excluded socially, and may have difficulty on the sports field. Facing each day is a challenge for these students, both socially and academically. Afraid to step outside because no one will want to play with them, or anxious because of an upcoming history test, they face many stressful occasions throughout the school day. Beyond academic struggles, the anxiety around being bullied, laughed at, or centered out is a reality. Lack of self-confidence makes learning even more challenging, and it can leave students with a feeling of hopelessness. How can educators break this pattern? How can we help to relieve anxiety, improve learning, and restore confidence in these students?

In my experience working in special education, I have seen students overcome both learning difficulties and emotional angst. Doing so involves hard work—sometimes as much as two to three years of dedicated effort on the part of the student, parents, teachers, and educational therapist. One-to-one intensive therapy can create huge changes in some children. One resource in this area is the National Institute for Learning Development, or NILD (full disclosure: I am a NILD therapist). NILD has developed a system that both improves academic success and helps the child to become a better thinker. With this therapy, the child’s cognitive weaknesses are transformed into strengths. This transformation further improves self-confidence and reduces the stress involved with learning.

I have worked as an educational therapist for fifteen years, and have witnessed dramatic changes in the lives of many children. I have encountered students who were accustomed to using patterns of negative behavior to block their learning, manage, through therapy, to become engaged and competent learners. One student, filled with anger and frustration, fought therapy every step of the way. Through consistent work at home and at school, he changed from a non-reader to a fluent reader, gaining new confidence along the way. Another former student could read, but was unable to get meaning from the printed page. After two years of therapy, he could read and understand adult literature, and is now successfully mastering university. A parent told me recently that his daughter, who could hardly read two years ago, has now read more books than he has; he needs to bring her to the library every other week to keep her happy! What a blessing for both child and family.

Programs such as these are not magic bullets; rather, success is achieved through determination and perseverance on the part of student, parent, therapist, and supportive classroom teacher. I just recently began working with a student who does not want to be in therapy—not an unusual experience. In the first session, this student declared the rhythmic writing exercises “boring and demented.” Responding in a way that recognized his feelings and opinion as valid, I remarked upon his strong vocabulary. In typical situations such as these, a child can be so discouraged that he simply refuses to try, and we educators need to look past their defences and walk alongside them in their journey. We need to feel what they feel before we can make any progress. Like the little chickadee surrounded by the brilliant cardinals and brash blue jays, these students need to be recognized for their individual skills and gifts.

Each child deserves the best we can offer in our schools. Though educational therapy involves homework, tears, sweat, and crackling brain cells, the result is growth in learning and the ability to think. As Paul shares in Romans, “We boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope” (Rom. 5:2–4) What a great adventure it is to meet a child in the midst of their struggle and provide new hope!

Suggested Resources

• Healy, Jane M. Different Learners: Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Your Child’s Learning Problems. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
• Hopkins, Kathleen. Teaching How to Learn in a What-to-Learn Culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.
• Mutzabaugh, Grace. A Work of His Grace. Chesapeake, VA: National Institute for Learning Development, 1999.
• National Institute for Learning Development: <www.nildcanada.org>, <www.nild.net>.