It can feel like your child got dealt a crappy hand.
Especially when there are multiple diagnoses like a reading disability AND ADHD or maybe dyslexia AND dysgraphia.
It’s so frustrating when your child is behind grade level, they think the teacher hates them and school is torture.
It feels like your child has all these problems.
Like you have to address them all individually.
…and you don’t know where to start.
AND there is not much you can do to help.
You’ve probably been told a million times there is not much you can do but work around the problem.
It’s not as hopeless or complicated as it seems.
- Letter reversals
- Poor eye tracking
- Inability to sit still
- Poor handwriting
- Poor balance and coordination
…all of these things have one thing in common:
Weak core muscles.
What?!
Yes.
Strong core muscles are necessary for good balance which is important for your child to coordinate everything from their hand-writing muscles to keeping their eyes stabilized to read.
You see core muscles are part of the gross motor system.
…and development of the gross motor system refines fine motor skills.
Skills that are responsible for…
- Good balance
- Coordination
- Sitting still (wiggly kids have weak core muscles)
- Gross motor development = better fine motor abilities
…and that means your child has better:
- Eye tracking
- Hand-writing
- Eye stability (less letter reversals)
- Focus
If it seems far-fetched that core muscles can affect your child’s visual system, imagine you have to read while you are standing on a wobble board.
That’s what reading feels like for your child when they happen to have weak core muscles.
Core strength improves your child’s ability to sit still, follow words on a page and to write legibly.
This is why no amount of tutoring, IEP modifications or medication are going to launch your child to the next level.
Your child’s symptoms are connected to an area that needs strengthening.
Once you correct that a whole lot of difficulties will disappear related to learning and reading and attention.
Does your child have multiple diagnoses or challenges like poor reading, letter reversals, being fidgety or poor balance? Share in the comments below.
