All too often, children with learning disabilities are seen through their weaknesses. Like anyone else, however, they have many strengths. It is of
greatest importance to focus on strengths that your child has and show them to other people. It will not only to help others who are involved in her life understand her better, but it will help child herself know that she is loved and valued for who she is.
I always found that one of my biggest questions was, "How do I see all of my daughter’s strengths, in addition to her weaknesses, so I can get a picture of her as a total person?” The answer lies in what is called 'quality time.'"
Here are some important way is to spend quality time with your child.
1)Do things with her. What activities do you both like? Do things with her that she likes to do, and ask her to do things that you like to do.
2)Go places with her. You don’t have to travel far. Just go outside, or downtown, or to mall, or to a movie.
3)Sit quietly with her. Silence says a lot.
4)Hear her when she speaks. Don’t just listen - hear what she has to say.
5)Listen to and try to understand her frustrations.
6)Talk with her to find out about her likes and dislikes.
7)Know what is going on with her outside home. Allow her to talk about it without being judgemental.
8)Provide a safe, understanding atmosphere that allows her to express her feelings and preferences.
9)Provide positive feedback when she talks about good things she does.
10)Provide a structure that allows her to make mistakes and learn from them.
Allowing your child to have friends play with her at home can give great insight into your child’s strengths and weaknesses. When we allowed Michele to have friends over, we could see that she was a great organizer of creative activities and was very social, but we also saw that she got very defensive at times. Having this information allowed us to know what to help her with. We also communicated this information to her teachers, so we could all work together on this issue.
