It’s exam season. Is your child beginning to look like a ghost – because they never stop studying? Are they perpetually tired, but always driven to do a bit more?
We feel their pain! There is so much to learn, such difficult concepts to master and be able to apply. Perhaps your child takes ages to get through it all – and struggles to store all that information usefully in their brain. Even if they cover the material multiple times, they may falter when asked to apply the information in a different way. In addition to these study struggles, they might be worried about failure. The future can be a big scary unknown, and they can’t begin to contemplate it without acing these tests.
There are some top tips for you to share with your young person coming right up – but first I want to share a startling insight which gives real hope for the future.
What if some of your child’s struggles are due to a developmental issue you may not even be aware of? Most people who put in all this extra study time do so because:
a) they are more fearful of the future than others, and/or
b) even without a dyslexia or similar diagnosis, they are slow readers, have difficulty processing information, have a poor working memory, or find organising their work challenging.
All these things (yes, even the anxiety) often come from a physical developmental root. Which can be fixed – or at least improved!
Yes, it does take a bit of time, usually about a year – but if you start this summer there could be much less stress next year. Why not take a look at my website? There’s a questionnaire to see if neurodevelopmental therapy might help, and a link to book in for a free discovery call.
In the meantime, here are Seven Top Tips for over-workers!
- Do your best, but don’t be afraid of failing. For someone as dedicated as you, there will always be great next-step options – whatever your result.
- Take time for sleep. Your brain needs it! Your memory needs it.
- Do some exercise. It really helps to get the blood flowing to your brain – and helps with sleep, too!
- Break your study into chunks (no more than an hour). Get up and do something different in between chunks – even if it’s only to get a fresh drink of water.
- Use techniques which involve additional senses, such as recording and listening back.
- Try resources such as Cognito for science and maths
- Get outside, preferably to a green space. Your eyes and your brain need a change from screens and books! Trees in particular are known for their calming effect.
Hope to speak to you soon!
Kathryn.clough.ndt@gmail.com
chrysalisndt.co.uk
