Why is My Child Struggling in School?

If your child has difficulties with recalling previous lessons, is easily distracted or generally resists learning, there may be other factors at play. A child’s academic struggles may be indications of other sensory-motor, social-emotional or developmental challenges. Learning comes easily for children when they have a solid foundation of motor development, sensory processing, social confidence, and self-regulation or impulse control. While these skills are essential for academic success, they are not necessarily developed through academics. Cognitive processing, for example, relies on spatial awareness, balance and imagination. Children with under-developed sensory processing may appear scattered, have poor motor control, and are often drawn to sensory seeking behaviors like fidgeting, pushing or playing rough. When these foundational skills are under-developed, giving a child more hours of math lessons is not likely to result in more learning. Building proprioceptive capacity, also known as spatial awareness in support of cognitive processing however will in turn support a child’s academics and behaviors.

Ask your child’s teacher about your concerns. Or schedule your free Sensory Motor and Academic Screening to help understand your child’s needs.

Caulbridge School works to balance a child’s sensory-motor, social-emotional and cognitive development. This becomes a solid foundation for the deeper learning outcomes of critical thinking, collaboration, self-confidence and ethics. Strong intellectual capacities and personal resilience are the natural products of our developmental model.