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Problems expressing his thoughts and ideas:

Many things can lead to your child’s having problems expressing his thoughts and ideas. Children get excited or upset. They find themselves in new situations. They have to deal with things they do not understand.

Some children are more talkative and others are quieter. Some find it hard to write about things. Some let you know what is on their minds from their facial expressions and other body language. The ability to communicate varies a lot. For that matter, it varies for each child at times. Some days he can get his ideas across better than others.

There can be several reasons why your child has more trouble communicating than other children. Ask yourself these questions. Has he had a chance to learn to communicate? Does anyone at school or at home care what he has to say? At least you take the time to give him a chance. You care what he has to say.

Another reason for trouble communicating is a part of human nature. children think and feel a lot more than they can communicate. It can be hard to find the right words or put thoughts and ideas together. Your child might think he is not smart enough to explain things. Even worse, he might believe it is not worth the bother.

Learning problems are connected. Trouble expressing thoughts and ideas are connected to problems making choices and decisions. Think about it like this. Your child has many thoughts and feelings. Which thoughts does he tell you about? Which feelings does he share? How does he choose? Deciding may be hard for him.

Also keep this in mind. If he thinks you are not going to believe him, he just keeps his thoughts and feelings to himself. Saying what is on his mind might not be smart. It could go like this.

“Did you do your homework?” “No.” You then ask, “Why not?” He says, “It was too hard. I don’t like school anyway.”

You now say, “It doesn’t matter whether you like school or not. You have to do your homework.”

Your child has to wonder whether it might be smarter to just say nothing the next time. For what it is worth, he really did say the homework was too hard. This usually means he does not know how to do it. Not knowing how was a reasonable explanation. Also, it was the truth. He cannot do something he does not know how to do.

Just taking time to listen is not enough. Your child needs to be taken seriously. He wants to know you believe him or at least hang in there until you understand why he thinks and feels what he thinks and feels.

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