Steps for Helping Struggling Learners

If you are homeschooling your children and one or more of your children begin to struggle with their school work and you’ve tried everything that you know how to do, you might need some outside help. First, try the suggestions below, if they are new. If you have a school or Education Resource Center (AERC – Asia, SHARE – Eurasia, and Anchor – Africa) somewhere near to where you live and work, you might be able to get help from the staff there.

1. Note students’ specific difficulties and areas of strength.

   • Try the things you know to do to teach needed skills/behaviors and utilize the student’s strengths and interests to alleviate the problems the student is having.

   • Keep records of how your interventions work and do not work.
     
     

2. If problems continue, consult with others (teachers and/or other school personnel, if available) and access other resources.

   • Get new ideas to try; make further adaptations

   • Collaborate to address the issues

   • Continue to keep records
     
     

If the changes made above are not helping the child be successful, talk to a school administrator about the possibility of referring the child for a professional educational assessment and recommendations.

1. The records you have kept should be an important part of a thorough educational assessment.

2. These assessments are typically not available in most settings where our schools are located, but school administrators probably know where to refer parents for help.

3. This might be something that you will need to make sure you put into the schedule during your next furlough/home assignment.
   
   

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