Supporting Children’s Learning Needs: A Talk by Dr Vivien Yang, Child Psychologist
Every child has his or her own developmental needs. If children are struggling with learning, emotions or behaviour, there are ways we can support and help them overcome these challenges.
On 13 August 2022, Maple Bear’s Specialised Educational team invited Dr Vivien Yang – Educational and Child Psychologist – to host a talk for MapleBear parents on supporting their child’s developmental and learning needs.
With expertise in conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and selective mutism, Dr Yang shared insights on common developmental challenges, positive learning strategies, as well as early identification and intervention.
“We were reminded that as parents we should, ‘first connect before we correct.'”
– Dr Vivien Yang
Some children may struggle with managing strong emotions due to their temperaments, hypersensitivity, limited speech, or emotional delays. Dr Yang urged parents to try relating to their emotions by finding out the causes and consequences. She suggests four steps to manage a child’s emotional outburst:
1. Breathe and keep your cool
2. Label emotions and connect with your child
3. Practice a calming strategy with your child
4. When your child is calm, talk about what to do next time.
It takes time and patience to nurture emotional regulation. For parents, it is crucial to first manage any internal disparaging self-talk. Instead of saying, “My child is so disrespectful and rude!”, we can say, “She has difficulty coping with big emotions. How can I help and guide her?”.
Most kids do not lack the motivation to do well, but simply lack the skills to meet our expectations. We can help them to nurture these skills through, for example, regular exercise, structured routines, play-based learning, practising mindfulness, reducing screen time and positive reinforcement.
Dr Yang stressed the importance of early identification and intervention. Early intervention can help change a child’s developmental trajectory and improve the child’s ability to learn. It is effective in helping a child achieve age-appropriate developmental milestones and it is most effective during the early years.
At Maple Bear, our team of Educational Specialists can help you understand and support your child’s unique learning needs. Through an individually tailored approach, we aim to provide all children with the opportunities to bridge the learning milestones essential to their lifelong and holistic development.
For more information, you may wish to speak with your centre principal.
