Supporting Learning Disabilities and Early Intervention

On Thursday, March 30, 2023, Darien Library and Darien SEPAC hosted a workshop with Taina Coleman, MA, Med, Educational Specialist at the Child Mind Institute.

Parents are often the first to notice that their child might have a learning disorder.

Sometimes the signs are easy to spot — a student who just isn’t making headway in reading, for example. Sometimes the signs are not always as clear and many children, embarrassed that they are struggling to do things that seem easy for other kids, go to pains to hide their difficulties. In some cases, the signs are not so obvious and getting support for a child’s learning can be challenging.

This workshop provided practical advice and resources to help parents navigate early stages of learning more about a child's learning profile: as learning profiles can change even as a child grows. The workshop also provided strategies for developing a strength-based approach to managing symptoms at school and at home and building skills for the future.

Topics included answers to questions like, what is a learning disability? What are common early signs and symptoms? How do you support children with learning disabilities at different stages of their academic career?

We delved into the specifics of types of learning difficulties including reading, writing, and math-centered difficulties; executive functioning difficulties; speech & language difficulties.

For any questions regarding the program itself, please contact Darien SEPAC at [email protected]!