"Red Flag" Phrases and Behaviors to Look for at Your Next Parent-Teacher Conference

Sometimes it’s difficult to determine if certain struggles or behaviors are just a normal part of the learning process or an indicator of a deeper issue. At LearningRx, we’ve been able to identify certain behaviors as red flags that a cognitive skill deficit may be holding back a child’s potential.

Cognitive skills are the underlying mental tools that make up IQ, like logic and reasoning, attention, memory, and processing speed. If cognitive skill deficits are the culprit for academic issues, regardless of how much tutoring they have, a child will continue to experience the same struggles year after year unless the correct cognitive skills are strengthened.

So as you head into parent-teacher conferences, listen for these red flag phrases and what they could tell you about your child’s brain.

IF THE TEACHER SAYS: ”I know he’s smart, but...

• ...his work doesn’t show it.”
• ...he makes sloppy mistakes.”

IT COULD MEAN: Several cognitive skills are very strong, but one or two weaker skills are holding him back from really excelling.

“This is a common but none-the-less frustrating situation: a smart child whose work and grades aren’t a reflection of his capabilities,” says Tanya Mitchell, co-author of Unlock the Einstein Inside: Applying New Brain Science to Wake Up the Smart in Your Child. ”A detailed cognitive skills assessment will tell parents which brain skills need to be strengthened to let a brilliant child or teen reach his full potential.”

IF THE TEACHER SAYS: ”She’s below grade level in reading.”

IT COULD MEAN: Her phonemic awareness skills are weak.

“Phonemic awareness skills are those that give us the ability to hear, blend, unglue and manipulate the smallest sounds in a word,” explains Mitchell. “If your child continues to struggle in reading, it’s not going away on its own, and it will eventually lead to problems in other subjects, too.”

Although reading struggles can also be caused or compounded by deficiencies in visual processing, attention, and memory, studies show that 88% of all learning-to-read problems are caused by weak phonemic awareness skills.

IF THE TEACHERS SAYS: “He takes a long time to...

• ...finish schoolwork.”
• ...answer questions.”
• ...follow directions.”

IT COULD MEAN: He has low processing speed. Taking a long time to answer questions or finish schoolwork doesn’t mean he won’t get to the answer eventually--it may just take awhile.

“Sure, some kids are just perfectionists,” says Mitchell, “but if he’s always the last one to finish a test, if he constantly doesn’t finish assignments or if it takes hours to complete standard homework loads, more than likely weak cognitive skills are to blame.”

IF THE TEACHER SAYS: “She continues to struggle with...

• ...math facts.”
• ...reading comprehension.”
• ...applying math formulas.”

IT COULD MEAN: Cognitive skill deficiencies are causing her to struggle with new material, beyond the expected amount of difficulty. Excelling in math, reading comprehension, and any other academic area is simply a matter of having strong cognitive skills, and this is something everyone can improve.

In addition to these red flag phrases, there are specific behaviors that can be strong indicators of weak learning skills:

• Impulsiveness
• Bouncing from idea to idea
• Turning in incomplete work or no assignment at all
• Disinterest in school
• Hesitation to read aloud
• Poor organizational skills
• Problems with “if/then” analogies
• Trouble discerning left and right
• Poor ability to use maps
• Spelling problems

If you hear any of these red flag phrases at your parent-teacher conference, consider scheduling a cognitive skills assessment. It’s a simple one-hour series of tests to evaluate which brain skills are strongest and which could be strengthened by methods like one-on-one brain training. If you find yourself wanting to know about your child’s brain skills, call LearningRx at 770-475-3276 (Alpharetta) or 404-252-7246 (Buckhead).