Read and Spell Blog

The terms self-confidence and self-esteem are often conflated. Confidence is a measure of faith in one’s own abilities; esteem is about our sense of self. It involves both thoughts and emotions and influences how we perceive others and interact with the world.

When children have healthy self-esteem, they tend to be confident. Similarly, if a child has a negative self-view, which can be the case for learners with undiagnosed learning difficulties, it can cause them to lack confidence.

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Challenging spelling words

While most words are relatively easy to learn, every individual will encounter challenging spelling words that they frequently misspell. Making spelling mistakes is frustrating for students and can lead to low self-esteem for learners who may be labeled as lazy and penalized by losing points on written work.

For adults, having poor spelling skills can cause them to miss out on career opportunities and lose face in front of friends and family. It’s important to understand that spelling skills have nothing to do with intelligence and that there are plenty of strategies that can help. If spelling becomes a persistent problem, there may also be an undiagnosed learning difficulty to blame.

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What are learning difficulties?

Learning difficulties, known as learning disabilities in North America, are conditions that can affect an individual’s ability to gain knowledge and skill at the same rate as his or her peers. Having a learning difficulty does not make someone less intelligent, it just means they learn in a different way and traditional classroom activities might be less effective.

Children and adults with learning difficulties may require specific accommodations and/or strategy training in order to overcome the challenges they face and make progress in an academic or work environment. They can also benefit from additional support when it comes to motivation and encouragement.

That's because despite there being plenty of strengths that correlate with learning difficulties, such as enhanced creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, it's more common to hear about the negatives. Focusing on the positives for a change can make a big difference in encouraging people with learning difficulties to develop healthy self-esteem and increased self-confidence.

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The importance of motivation for kids

Motivation to learn correlates with success at school. That's why many parents and teachers are concerned with helping students become more motivated in the classroom. This may mean using recognition and rewards to encourage behaviour that’s conducive to learning.

However, extrinsic motivators alone don’t always do the trick. Teachers who make lessons interesting to kids and help learners get excited about school can foster a lifelong love of learning and encourage students to overcome obstacles and find success.

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Dyspraxia vs. ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyspraxia can prevent children from reaching their full potential in the classroom. While ADHD affects attention, behavior or both, dyspraxia has to do with fine motor skills and planning abilities. It's also possible for dyspraxia to look like the learning difficulty dysgraphia when it leads to difficulties with handwriting.

Both ADHD and dyspraxia can cause poor performance at school and have knock on effects such as low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. They can also co-present and result in affected children experiencing even more frustration with everyday classroom tasks.

But by being aware of a child’s particular symptoms and implementing specific teaching and learning strategies, parents and educators can help children with dyspraxia and/or ADHD overcome these challenges and feel more successful at school.

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Improve writing skills for kids

Writing is an activity with many moving parts. A child must bring together vocabulary, grammar and mental processing, and then rely on the physical aspect of handwriting or typing out the words.

That’s why it requires ample practice and extensive exposure to language for kids to develop strong writing skills.

And because young learners can’t just sit down and write the perfect draft, they need to learn the art of revision too.

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Slow processing speed

Processing speed is a way of describing how the brain receives, understands and responds to information. Not everyone thinks at the same pace. And while speed has nothing to do with how smart a child is, kids who struggle with slow processing speed may struggle to follow lessons and complete tasks at school.

Slow processing speed is also related to literacy development and math skills. It can cause a child to fall behind their peers, become frustrated, and form negative associations with learning. Often these experiences make kids think they aren’t good at school, causing low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence.

But this downward spiral can be avoided if the symptoms are recognized early on. When students are provided with targeted strategy training and teachers adjust tasks appropriately, it gives kids with slow processing speed the best chance of reaching their full potential.

9 Teaching strategies for students with ADHD

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9 Teaching strategies for students with ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a specific learning difficulty typified by short attention span, lack of concentration and in the case of ADHD presentations that include hyperactivity, poor control of impulses. A student with hyperactivity and impulsivity might be restless, uncooperative or even disruptive in class. They can be the child who doesn’t sit still and struggles to listen. Because of their high activity level, children with this ADHD presentation can try to solve problems physically and their behavior may lead to problems with other students.

ADHD without hyperactivity, formerly known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), is now included under the ADHD umbrella and identified as ADHD with a primarily inattentive presentation. These students may struggle to focus but are often harder to spot in the classroom. They can be quiet and calm, and may seem to be paying attention to a lesson. Nonetheless, problems can show up when they are called on to answer a question or struggle to complete homework and other assignments.

Using the right teaching strategies can help students with different ADHD presentations focus their attention, strengthen their self-esteem, and have more agency in learning. If you haven't tried a strength-finding activity, it might be a great way to start any new teaching program. Children with ADHD often receive a lot of negative attention so looking at their strengths first and understanding how their learning difficulty might actually benefit them, can help them get on board with new approaches. You can learn more about ADHD strengths and get some ideas on lesson plans in this article.

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What is attention deficit disorder?

"Attention deficit disorder" or ADD used to be a frequently used term in the United States.

How to build self-confidence in students

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How to build self-confidence in students

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to find that students who have specific learning difficulties, motor skills difficulties, and/or physical impairments experience a lack of confidence in the classroom. This is particularly the case when learning differences go unrecognized. The resulting situation is quite serious for children and young-adults. It colors their lives and can have significant implications for success at school, both in the present, and in the future. Fortunately, parents and teachers can make a difference by fostering a positive self-image, encouraging independence, and helping students who are struggling to get the right support and classroom accommodations.