Information for Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

The following suggestions and information could be provided to parents of slow learners to help your client succeed in their home life

Characteristics of Children and Youth with Intellectual Disabilities 

In general, children and youth with cognitive deficits may display some or all of these characteristics, depending on their age and degree of problems acquiring knowledge at school.  

  • They struggle with complex problems and work slowly.  
  • Have difficulty following multi-step problems.
  • They lose track of time and cannot transfer what they have learned from one task to another well.   
  • Have few internal strategies (i.e., organizational skills, difficulty transferring and generalizing information).
  • They do not easily master skills that are academic in nature, such as the times tables or spelling rules. 
  • They may have problems with management. 
  • Work well with “hands-on” material.

Also, slow learners differ from reluctant learners.  A slow learner initially wants to learn, but has a problem with the process.  A reluctant learner is not motivated and can be resistant to learning. 

Ideas to help children and youth with intellectual disabilities: 

  • Provide a quiet place to work, where the child can be easily observed and motivated. 
  • Emphasize strengths. Use lots of praise and reinforcement frequently.
  • Add variety to the academic routine. Do active things and use educational games, puzzles, and other techniques as much as possible
  • Keep homework sessions short. 
  • Provide meaningful, concrete activities rather than abstract ones. 
  • Make learning fun and comfortable. Your positive attitude is very important. 
  • Use a “Three Transfer” form of learning, in which the student must take information and do three things with it beside reading.  For example, read it, explain it to someone else, draw a picture of it, and take notes on it. 
  • Add a variety of tasks to the learning, such as painting a picture of a reading assignment. 
  • Encourage the student to explore an area of interest to him/her.
  • Teach how to use a calendar to keep track of assignments. 
  • Be patient but consistent. 

Books for parents: