Child development
Learning difficulties & school participation
Help your child participate more comfortably at school and home. Explore practical support for coordination, handwriting and daily tasks, alongside specialist teaching and the child’s existing educational or clinical plan.
A connected care plan.
The starting point
Support confidence and participation alongside the child’s educational and clinical plan.
Children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia, particularly when coordination, handwriting or daily organisation also need support. Assessment clarifies the child’s individual needs rather than treating all learning difficulties as one condition.
Make it personal.
02 / Your planKeep it connected.
03 / Your next stepReview it together.
What would support look like for you?
A clinician guides care. A coach helps your family carry the plan into daily life. Your centre agrees the support available.
Care that fits your everyday life.
A shared plan, shaped around the person and reviewed by their clinician.
Where would you like to begin?
Practical skills around learning+
Relevant therapy can consider handwriting comfort, hand use, coordination or managing everyday tasks, according to the difficulties actually identified.
Confidence and manageable tasks+
Break activities into achievable steps, acknowledge strengths and help the child communicate when a task or environment needs adapting.
Work with educational support+
With consent, family and school observations can help align goals with the child’s specialist teaching and classroom adjustments.
What would you like to know next?
What would the first steps be?↗
- Assessment
Review existing educational reports, strengths and concerns, including hearing, vision or movement needs where relevant.
- Your plan
Agree functional goals that complement specialist teaching and any school support plan.
- Supported practice
Use suitable practical activities, clear instructions and breaks, with the child’s agreement.
- Review
Look for useful change beyond the session and adjust support with family and educators.
How would progress be reviewed?↗
Your clinician chooses measures relevant to your goals. Examples may include:
- Progress towards child- and family-chosen school or daily-life goals
- Relevant coordination, dexterity or handwriting measures when indicated
- Child confidence and family or teacher observations of participation
Who could support me?↗
- Special educator or educational psychologist
- Coach for everyday goals and follow-through
- The child’s paediatrician when clinical review is needed
- Paediatric occupational therapist or physiotherapist when indicated
- Child psychologist, family and school as appropriate
Your centre confirms which professionals are involved and how you will meet.
How can a coach support our family?↗
Your coach works with you and your child on manageable routines, participation and the barriers your family meets between visits. The team agrees your coach’s involvement and how to stay in touch. Clinical decisions remain with your child’s clinician.
Meet the coaching roleCan we discuss family money pressures?↗
Parents and caregivers can discuss care costs, household priorities and pressures around work. Your coach can help you organise practical questions and explore money habits. This is financial wellbeing education, not advice on financial products.
Explore financial wellbeing supportHow does this fit my existing care?↗
Learning support usually develops across home and school. If illness or hospitalisation interrupts education, the return plan may need to account for fatigue, missed learning and changed abilities. Any clinical advice should be coordinated with the child’s educators, without assuming movement training replaces specialist teaching.
Our referral approachAn interactive service guide. Your choices stay on this page.
Your questions, answered.
Does learning disability mean low intelligence?
Terminology varies. This page concerns specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, which does not determine intelligence. Intellectual disability is a different area of assessment and support.
Can movement games treat dyslexia?
They are not a replacement for specialist educational assessment or teaching. Any movement activity should address an identified functional goal, with transfer to daily life checked rather than assumed.
Should we bring school or assessment reports?
Yes, if you have them and agree to share them. Existing reports and the child’s own experience help avoid duplicated assessments and support more relevant goals.
Clinical perspective
This pathway does not cure learning difficulties, raise IQ or guarantee grades. Specific learning difficulties are distinct from intellectual disability. Support depends on an appropriate assessment and the necessary professionals being available.
Further reading
Start a conversation
Start with your story.
Find your local centre and discuss what support may be right for you.