Learning to Learn Differently – Parenthood Magazine July 2014

New resource for parents of children with learning difficulties now available.

Hilary Craig, founder of Hils Learning Centre with a vast experience in education, recently launched her new book entitled Small Steps, Big Differences: A Toolkit for Parents of Children Who Fall through the Cracks to equip parents and caregivers with essential knowledge to help children with learning difficulties learn and succeed in life. Small Steps, Big Difference: A Toolkit for Parents of Children Who Fall through the Cracks is framed around the core belief that all children can make progress through different methods of learning by addressing four essential skills listening, attention, memory and social skills.

“Every child is different and unique in their own special way. Small Steps, Big Difference: A Toolkit for Parents of Children Who Fall through the Cracks presents itself as a valuable tool for parents to find ways to effectively guide their children in learning how to reach their full potential,“ explained Hilary.

Small Steps, Big Difference: A Toolkit for Parents of Children Who Fall through the Cracks was inspired by Hilary’s long years of being a teacher Where she realized that many children were falling through the cracks and needed additional support. She wrote the book to offer parents strategies to help their children increase their chances for learning success and to raise awareness that learning difficulties can be addressed through different learning styles.

“Among some of the practical approaches covered in the book include visual learning (using stickers, colours, mind maps and pictures), auditory learning (through object lessons and songs), memory games (chess, checkers, Brainbox) and cooking as unconventional ways to encourage memory,” added Hilary.

In 2002, the Malaysian Department of Special Education reported a total of 14,535 children with learning difficulties in 700 schools nationwide. Educators are seeing a growing number of learning difficulties which include Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Autism, as well as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), amongst others. While these cognitive learning difficulties can affect an individual’s ability in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, reasoning and mathematics, they can be mitigated and dealt with effectively when identified at an early stage.

Small Steps, Big Differences: A Toolkit for Parents of Children Who Fall through the Cracks is available for purchase at Hils Learning Centre, its website [here] and e-commerce portals such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com