How Does My Child Learn?
When you start a neuropsychological evaluation at Mind, the first question you will hear is “What do you want to know about your child?”
And the most common (and one of our favorite) responses is “We want to know how our child learns.”
Curiosity about the inner workings of your child’s mind is a deep expression of a parent’s love. The idea being, with that knowledge, comes the ability to mold the world to their minds or to give children the tools to adapt to the world – ultimately to live a life that’s important to them.
You might also hear us ask, “What exactly do you mean by how?”
Although this question might seem a bit odd, we have two good reasons for it:
First, it’s very helpful for us to understand your thinking (as much as possible) to determine whether a neuropsychological evaluation can answer your questions about your child (so as not to waste your time and money).
Second, to begin shifting the conversation away from Learning Styles Theory.
Learning Styles Theory is the idea that we are either auditory, visual, or kinesthetic (hands-on) learners, and by virtue of knowing the “type of learner” one is, they can learn more effectively if the teaching method aligns with their learning style.
However, there’s one key problem with Learning Styles Theory. Despite learning styles being considered part of everyday general knowledge about how kids learn – and often written into Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to help students with greater educational support needs – the value of Learning Styles Theory to improve a child’s learning is a myth. At the end of the day, a substantial body of research shows us that little-to-no benefit comes from tying a preferred learning style to a learner.
“Then what’s the value of a neuropsychological evaluation?” you may ask.
Given that Learning Styles Theory is unsubstantiated, indeed a neuropsychological evaluation cannot tell what type of learner someone is. But, an evaluation can discover the following about your child’s learning:
the amount an individual is learning and remembering
how effectively they are organizing pieces of information together to support their own learning
if there are cognitive difficulties, such as attention regulation problems or language impairments, that interfere with learning
and more ...
If you are interested in better understanding your child’s learning and are curious about whether a neuropsychological evaluation can help, please reach out to the team at Mind Chicago.
