After a busy semester of classes and exams, millions of students will be excited about their report cards on Friday.
Experts point out that poor grades in the report card may be a harbinger of a mental problem in the child, and emphasize that problems such as learning difficulties and attention deficit can negatively affect school success.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Emel Sarı Gökten from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital said that a report card full of poor grades may be a sign of mental problems in the child. Noting that this should be a warning sign for parents, Gökten said, "A report card full of broken grades does not always indicate that your child is just lazy and does not like lessons. Sometimes this is a warning sign for parents. Because many mental problems can negatively affect the child's academic success."
Gökten made the following evaluations:
"Your child, who you think is very smart and sometimes answers questions that even you cannot answer, may have difficulty learning to read when he starts primary school. They may write letters in mirror image, confuse uppercase and lowercase letters, and have difficulty grasping arithmetic operations that they should simply understand. This may suggest a learning disability commonly known as "dyslexia". We are informed that many children with this diagnosis start speaking later than their peers. Parents should consider learning disabilities in children with a history of delayed speech. Because if learning disabilities are diagnosed early and the child receives appropriate education, it can be eliminated without much deterioration in academic success and self-confidence."
CHILD MAY BE LABELED AS LAZY
Emel Sarı Gökten pointed out that if the learning disability is not recognized in time and left to its own devices, the child may be labeled as lazy, and said that the child may step into life with defeats in many areas of life along with academic success.
IF THE CHILD HAS DIFFICULTY FOCUSING ON THE LESSON
Drawing attention to attention deficit, which is one of the mental problems, Gökten said, "Sometimes you may encounter unexpected grades in the report card of your very energetic, sympathetic child. It is necessary to suspect distraction in your child who is very successful in homework that is explained at home or done together, but cannot show the same success in exams.
You may think that he/she can sit in front of the computer for hours, but when it comes to lessons, he/she can't sit still, and that he/she is doing this on purpose. In fact, most children with distractibility can sit in front of the computer and television for hours, but this does not mean that there is no problem in the child. A child who is easily distracted in class, has difficulty focusing while doing homework and completes a half-hour homework in three hours should definitely be evaluated for attention deficit. Because attention deficit can be taken under control with treatment without negatively affecting the child's academic success."
Emel Sarı Gökten emphasized that not every child with a bad report card is considered sick, "After all, all kinds of characteristics of our children are unique and different. They may not be expected to show the same success and interest in every subject and lesson. However, when there is an underlying mental problem, intervention with appropriate treatment at the appropriate time is of critical importance."