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What Are Learning Differences?

Each person perceives the world through their various senses and interprets that information through extremely complex brain functions. Occasionally a person's unique mental processes do not function in a way that allows that person to learn in traditional educational modalities. These learning differences can make school difficult and result in ancillary problems of low self-esteem, depression, social problems and frustration.

A Few of the Warning Signs That Learning Differences May Exist In Your Child.

• Do you feel overwhelmed or helpless in your abilities to parent your child and handle the extra demands of his or her learning differences?
• Are you or your child feeling frustrated or "stuck"?
• Are you or your child feeling any uncontrollable emotions such as anger or guilt?
• Are you or your child experiencing depression that has not gone away on its own after a week or two?
• Are you or your child feeling anxious or overly stressed?
• Is your child doing poorly in school, having social or behavioral problems and not getting the help he or she needs, or the help you need to help your child more effectively?
• Does your child have difficulty with reading, spelling or math despite her obvious intelligence?
• Does your child often not hear you because he is absorbed in some task?
• Does your child have difficulties with attending to tasks and following directions?

If you or your child answered, "yes" to some of these questions, you may benefit from, and want to consider, counseling as a means of support and guidance for yourself and your family.

When Should You Consider Counseling?

Parenting children with learning differences adds unexpected dimensions to parenting which are often stressful for both parents and children. The role of being a parent of children with these special needs often expands beyond the loving, nurturing and teaching usually associated with parenting. Parents become coordinators, case managers, tutors, advocates, counselors, and treatment planners. These responsibilities can feel so overwhelming that the joys of family life are overshadowed by the tasks at hand.

How Can Counseling Help?

Counseling provides an accepting and nonjudgmental place for you to explore the best ways for your family to cope with the added stresses of raising children with learning differences. Counseling can help relieve some of the stresses of parenting by providing support, guidance and practical help which families need, to not only survive, but to thrive. In counseling you will work through the issues you and your child face and discover the best strategies to deal with these concerns. In addition, Dr. Marcia will help connect you with any other resources and services to help your child with his or her specific issues.

What Services Does Dr. Marcia Wesley Provide?

Among other things, Marcia provides the following services to families with children who have learning differences:

• Parenting consultation and support,
• Individual and/or relationship counseling,
• The creation of a team of concerned and capable professionals,
• Developing strategies to bring more joy and freedom in the relationships between parents and children who have learning differences,
• Connecting parents to other professionals necessary to their child's well-being.