The topics "school - learning - ability to concentrate" are an integral part of a paediatrician's practice. Is the reason for frequent headaches, stomach aches and behavioural problems a functional disorder of the brain, education or school requirements? We try to clarify such and similar questions by means of a neurological examination, developmental examinations and neuropsychological testing, as well as in joint discussions with parents and children.
We also know: Not every concentration disorder is ADD/ADHD - but must be differentiated from it in order not to leave possible therapy options lying around. The differentiation is not always easy, which is why we take a lot of time and make every effort to do justice to each individual case.
School problems are frequent and have a variety of causes - from inherited partial performance disorders, e.g. dyslexia, to behavioural problems and social problems such as bullying. In order to be able to help, an inventory must be made for each child, which shows where things are going wrong in the "learning system". If these "hooks" are not removed, a vicious circle threatens: the enjoyment and performance at school will decrease. The negative experiences at school result in a lack of self-esteem and, as a consequence, behavioural problems arise which further reduce enjoyment and performance at school.
We are at your side with:
- Deteriorating school performance
- Concentration problems
- Poor motivation and school anxiety
- Psychosomatic complaints, e.g. stomach ache or headache
- Diagnostics of partial performance disorders such as LRS or dyscalculia
Different reasons for school problems
When children have problems at school, it can be for many reasons:
A child is the Requirements The child is not able to cope with the school or a certain type of school in terms of his or her intellectual development or aptitude. Thus, any reduction in intelligence impairs the ability to abstract, comprehend, concentrate and remember, and this sometimes to such an extent that the children are overtaxed in mainstream school.
With other children, a too high performance expectation a role, as a result of which many children today attend the wrong type of school for them, especially the Gymnasium. Sooner or later, school problems show themselves as an expression of chronic overstrain and overload.
School problems - regardless of the intelligence or maturity of the child - also result from psychological disorders or Behavioural problems. Thus, children with anxiety disorders, depression, AD[H]S, aggression disorders, or social behavior disorders are severely limited in their learning.
Problems in the group can also manifest themselves in school problems of individual pupils. Outsiders do not find positive reinforcement in the group, and role definitions within the group (e.g. class clown) make learning difficult for some children. Serious group problems arise from bullying, but also from preferential treatment or discrimination on the part of the teachers.
Life crises, e.g. a divorce of the parents, unhappy relationships during puberty or severe problems with one or both parents, can manifest themselves in school problems.
Much more often, however, children with special Partial performance weaknesses. These children have everything they need for success in school; they are therefore normally intelligent, experience the right support from the parental home and are - at least initially - "in a good mood" in terms of their psyche and behaviour; but they still have problems at school.
In the case of a partial performance deficiency, there is a functional deficiency in certain sub-areas of thinking, feeling or speaking. In more pronounced forms, we speak of a partial performance disorder. Such partial performance disorders are e.g. the Dyslexia and the Arithmetic disorder (dyscalculia), a limited disorder in the mathematical area.
This is what the doctor does
We use different neuropsychological examination methods to create a developmental profile for your child, which allows us to better identify the problem and forms the basis for therapeutic steps. Often we are also asked to answer the question: can he/she not or does he/she not want to. What about motivation? What are the reasons for school anxiety or fear of exams?
If the school aptitude is in doubt, not only his intelligence but also his social-emotional intelligence must be taken into account.
To exclude or determine the partial performance disorder, there are standardized procedures with test sheets that can be carried out from the end of the first grade.
School problems can be better mastered through early support.
Self Help
Preschool children can be effectively supported in their language development with targeted language play programs. Surprisingly, some old-fashioned "support measures" have also proven to be useful in the light of modern research: Singing, clapping and rhyming, for example, make children aware of the division of language into syllables. They focus their attention on the exact pronunciation and thus train the phonological awareness (i.e. the ability to perceive the sound of words and the individual sounds).
As a parent, you can improve the conditions for learning by Homework:
- Be firmly integrated into the daily routine right from the start
- Although after a small recovery break, but soon after returning home or lunch to be made. The low present in many adults between 13 and 15 o'clock is often much less pronounced in children
- Be done in a quiet place (preferably always the same place) without distractions.
- Done independently and also be understood as their own business. Of course, this does not exclude control.