Your child is working hard.
You help with homework.
You try different methods.
And yet the difficulties persist.
Homework takes a considerable amount of time.
Comments from teachers keep piling up.
Self-confidence gradually declines.
At home, tensions sometimes build up around schoolwork, until it becomes a source of exhaustion for the whole family.
Many parents eventually end up asking themselves the same questions:
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Why does my child struggle so much despite their efforts?
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Is it an attention problem?
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A learning disorder?
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ADHD?
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A lack of self-confidence?
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Or simply a difficult phase?
When these difficulties persist, they often deserve to be explored more deeply.
Understanding academic difficulties
Learning relies on many brain functions working together:
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attention;
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memory;
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executive functions;
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language;
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processing speed;
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emotional regulation.
A difficulty in any one of these areas can have significant repercussions on schooling.
Sometimes school results don't reflect a child's actual abilities.
Some intelligent, curious, and motivated children can encounter significant difficulties simply because one or more of these functions don't develop at the same pace as the others.
What we learn from neuroscience
The brain progressively learns to concentrate, memorize, organize information, manage distractions, and regulate emotions.
This development isn't the same in every child.
Some difficulties may be linked to ADHD, specific learning disorders (Dys), or executive or attentional difficulties.
Others are amplified by stress, anxiety, or repeated experiences of failure.
The goal, then, isn't only to identify what's difficult, but to understand why it's difficult.
The role of presence in learning
Learning is never built alone.
It develops within an environment made up of parents, teachers, classmates, and other significant adults.
When a child accumulates difficulties, they often end up building a negative self-image:
"I'm no good." "I'll never manage." "Others do better than me."
Conversely, a child who feels understood, supported, and accompanied more easily mobilizes their cognitive and emotional resources.
The quality of how a child is perceived influences not only their self-confidence, but also their ability to learn.
This perspective ties in with the work developed as part of the Brain of Presence project, dedicated to studying how the presence of others influences brain functioning.
How I work
Neuropsychological assessment helps to better understand the difficulties encountered and identify the resources to build on.
Depending on the situation, it can help clarify:
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the role of attention;
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the possible presence of ADHD;
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certain executive difficulties;
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specific learning disorders (Dys);
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the impact of emotional or relational factors.
The goal isn't only to establish a diagnosis when necessary.
It's above all to understand how the child functions in order to build solutions suited to their situation.
To go further
Academic learning difficulties
Neuropsychological assessment methods
Academic difficulties in Marseille
I see children, adolescents, and their families in order to better understand the difficulties encountered, identify available resources, and build a tailored course of support.
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