The HSC is a challenging time for any student. They usually want to get the best marks they can, work hard and succeed. This period is even more difficult for students who have learning difficulties or disabilities, and if your child is struggling, it’s essential to help them.
As a parent, it can be incredibly hard to help your child through their learning difficulties, or know what the best thing to do is. We chatted to an expert on this topic, so today we’re going to give you five key ways to help your child.
Becky Bailey is a Dyslexia Specialist at Dyslexia NSW. She knows how various methods can work to help students with learning disabilities get through their HSC.
So let’s get into them!
What is a learning difficulty?
Tip #1: Talk to Teachers (and do it early)
Tip #2: Apply for Special Provisions
Tip #3: Get a Tutor or Outside Support
Tip #4: Look at Alternative Career Paths
Tip #5: Celebrate Success!
What is a learning difficulty?
Before we get into the practical realm of this article, we need to understand exactly what we are talking about.
Becky explained that individual learning difficulties occur because a person has underlying difficulties in a specific area. Dyslexia, which is the area in which Becky specialises, is one example.
The International Dyslexia Association has defined it as:
“A specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterised by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
We’ve given you this long definition, as it points to a few key things. Learning difficulties are specific, stem from some kind of underlying deficit, are often unrelated to other cognitive disabilities, and are generally diagnosable.
Other examples of this include:
- Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder (usually diagnosed by an Occupational Therapist)
- Receptive and/or Expressive Language Disorder (diagnosed by a Speech Pathologist)
- Dyscalculia: a specific learning difficulty with maths (diagnosed by a Psychologist or Specialist Teacher)
- Dysgraphia: a specific learning difficulty with written expression (diagnosed by a Psychologist or Specialist Teacher)
Now that we understand this, it’s time to get onto how you can help your child with their learning difficulties. Though we may not have all the answers, by talking to Becky, we can certainly suggest some key tactics.
Tip #1: Talk to teachers (and do it early)
Most teachers have a better understanding of learning difficulties than the average person. They may be able to give you suggestions and guidance. There are two key parts to this.
#1: Teachers can help get a diagnosis and formal plan
Though a formal diagnosis isn’t essential, it can help with gaining funding and additional support for your child with learning difficulties at school.
To assist with this, teachers can refer students to the school counsellor (though there may be a waiting period).
“Schools can also provide children with an ILP or Individual Learning Plan. This should include SMART targets, details of what adjustments and/or intervention the child will receive, how often and by who. This is usually drawn up by schools but done in partnership with parents and the individual,” Becky explained.
So, speaking to teachers or executives you trust early can be the key in having your child well cared for. Generally though, if your child has a significant learning difficulty, it will have been recognised earlier on in their schooling.
They are not likely to be diagnosed in Year 11 or 12. They also probably have an ILP drawn up to some extent, which you can continue to discuss with the school and refine. That’s where the second part of this tip comes in!
#2: Teachers can provide specific support to your students
Away from any official help like ILPs or the school counsellor, teachers can be a great support because they spend a lot of time with your child! Most good teachers will be aware of how your child performs in the classroom, and will know what assistance they may need to succeed in their HSC.
If they don’t know the big picture, though, they can’t help your child reach their full potential.
“Partnership with teachers is important to ensure teachers and parents are both aware of what is going on at school and home. Many children are very good at masking their difficulties and regular discussions can ensure that children do not slip under the radar.
“It is important for teachers to know if there are particular struggles at home so they can then assist the child at school and ensure they understand that both parents and teachers are working together,” Becky said.
So, we can understand from both these points that chatting to teachers can have massive benefits.
Tip #2: Apply for special provisions
Even if your child has great help at school, they may still need some additional support to succeed in the HSC. Fortunately, the NSW Education Standards Authority has a number of specific protocols and provisions in place to assist.
Becky explained this in some more detail for us, “Special provisions for HSC have to be applied for by the school to NESA — NSW Education Standards Authority. They have very strict time frames for when this has to be done and currently it is before the end of Term 4 the year before a student’s HSC exams and close at the end of Term 1.
There is a comprehensive guide about Special Provisions on the NESA website which outlines dates, evidence, types of tests accepted and what type of provisions to apply for.”
She also explained the application for different provisions requires different evidence. Some are easier to get than others.
“The most common provisions granted for Dyslexic individuals are a reader, extra time and rest breaks. Use of a computer is the most difficult provision to get and is rarely granted,” Becky said.
If you feel like your child may need provisions, get in contact with your school early. This way, they have as much time as possible to assess what provisions may be useful and to apply for them.
“If provisions are not granted, parents can appeal and the time frame allows for this,” Becky said.
Tip #3: Get a tutor or outside support
Sometimes, getting additional support for your child can be the best point of call, to help your child with learning difficulties. Tutors or specialists may be able to break down information, encourage your child and give them angles they hadn’t considered previously.
It’s also really beneficial to find someone who actually specialises in the learning difficulty your child has, as they will be able to provide the most effective sort of support.
For example, the way Becky treats clients with dyslexia is different to what you might expect.
“The way that Dyslexics learn best, is actually the way that all children learn literacy skills best. This is through using Multisensory Structured Language techniques that follow a structured, cumulative, program which has a strong phonics progression.
“These techniques include the core components of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension when teaching literacy skills. Tutors should have specific training in MSL techniques and use an evidence based program such as Orton-Gillingham or Dyslexia Institute Literacy Program. There are other evidence based programs as well but they should all have the key components.
“MSL tutors will use a range of kinaesthetic techniques and will teach the rules of the English language and provide plenty of opportunities to apply these skills by using phonically decodable books. Decodable books are crucial to ensure reading skills develop and must be age appropriate. There are a number of books that are written specifically for older children who still require decodable books.
“A good MSL tutor should be able to explain specifically why a child is struggling, design a tailor-made program and explain how and why it is successful. A program should be specific to an individual and move as fast as possible but as slowly as needed. Specialist tutors generally only tutor 1 or 2 children at a time for regular sessions and each session includes a number of small focussed activities as opposed to workbooks, worksheets or lots of computer work,” she said.
Where can you find a good tutor?
There are some key places that you can find tutors to help your child. First, you might check out SPELD NSW.
“Every state has a SPELD and they are a charitable organisation which focus on evidence based learning. They offer sound advice to parents and teachers as well as offering many courses for both parents and teachers,” Becky said.
You can also find Dyslexia tutors on Dyslexia NSW.
Additionally, you can find support with us here at Art of Smart, as we have tutors who have supported students with learning difficulties. The tutors understand the need for a personalised learning plan to be able to work at the pace of the student, and overcome the challenges they may be facing.
Tip #4: Look at alternative career paths
“Fortunately, ATARs are not the be all and end all for the majority of professions. Companies are looking for innovative thinkers and problem solvers and often use different measures, not just an ATAR score.
“Many higher education courses also have many different routes including bridging courses, portfolio applications which allow more students to get onto the courses they want to without the previously required high ATAR scores,” Becky said.
You may be really concerned about your child’s progression in their HSC. You want them to do well. This is totally understandable!
It is important to remember, though, that an ATAR is not an accurate assessment of your child’s intellect or intelligence. This video (though a little dramatic), gives you great insight into how different people do well. There are career paths that don’t require the HSC.
“A large number of entrepreneurs are Dyslexic and for good reason — they can solve problems differently. Assistive technology is also well developed and makes things much easier — it is not cheating to use it to allow more time to focus on strengths,” Becky added.
So, you may want to help your child explore a trade, a TAFE course like business, or something hands on like nursing. They don’t have to be super amazing at literacy to achieve highly.
Tip #5: Celebrate success!
Does your child have a learning difficulty? Chances are, they’re a really hard worker, and this skill will get them pretty far in life. This is a big thing to celebrate.
“A typical Dyslexic individual has to work five times harder than their typical peers. Effort and perseverance should be celebrated,” Becky said.
Not only does it say a lot about your child’s character, but it suggests their ability to work hard later in life.
Another great thing to look for is bravery. Becky explained that taking on hard tasks heightens a fear of failure, so it can take a lot of guts to push through with the HSC. In the same way, it’s great to celebrate small steps in improvement.
Most importantly, remember that your child has other wonderful skills! Look for what they are good at, and encourage them to flourish.
“Literacy skills are not a measure of intelligence. Being a fantastic artist, dancer, soccer player, creating Minecraft worlds, making things, being kind — this world needs all kinds of people!” Becky concluded.
And that’s it!
Hopefully, you now have a good idea of how you can help your child as they progress through their HSC despite learning difficulties.
It may be a challenging time, and unfortunately there are no quick fix solutions. However, through these practical tips and a bit of patience on your end, you should be able to see your child go onto great things — stellar ATAR or not!
Lucinda Garbutt-Young hopes to one day be writing for a big-shot newspaper… or maybe just for a friendly magazine in the arts sector. Right now, she is enjoying studying a Bachelor of Public Communication (Public Relations and Journalism) at UTS while she writes on the side. She also loves making coffees for people in her job as a barista, and loves nothing more than a sun shower.
