What to do if your teen is having a hard time at school?

Photo: Counseling, Pixabay

Many parents feel that their teen is not 100% happy in school. In this day and age, education is a lot more difficult than it used to be and it is much more stressful.

Students should not only have to please teachers who all have different teaching styles, they should learn to work side by side with their classmates and still keep their grades up to satisfy their parents.

Combine this with things like bullying, rising hormones, and problems at home, and you can end up with a stressed out teen. While many parents don’t know what to do when their teen is struggling, the good news is that there are ways to support them.

Teenage Occupational Therapy (OT) is a profession that assists people in their occupation (ie their daily activities). For adults, this can be their workplace and/or university, while for young adults, it’s usually high school and their first job.

Occupational Therapy for Teens is a great way to support children as they progress into adulthood and can help with some of the common concerns parents hear.

Such concerns usually relate to school concentration, reading and writing skills, interpersonal skills, physical activity levels, routines, personal grooming, and misbehavior. All of these concerns are quite common and are things that can be improved with some therapy.

Occupational therapy for teens is the perfect way to teach teens new skills and show them their strengths and weaknesses. Tools can be taught to deal with emotions and how to best interact with people of different personalities and backgrounds.

These skills can help a child when they need to do a class presentation or participate in a sports activity. Whatever the concern, there are certainly tools that can be implemented in a safe environment that all teens can benefit from.

How to improve your focusing skills

One of the most common concerns parents have about their children is their inability to concentrate. With the rise of technology and smartphones, this has become a huge problem that affects many with their education.

Unfortunately, it can be misunderstood that students will not learn if they are not paying attention, when in fact it is more about how they see and hear information, and their fears about how to process that information.

sad teen
Photo: Riala, Pixabay

OT is able to address any feelings about schooling and can assess any attentional blocks while implementing new and healthier skills. Everyone has a different learning style, so it’s important to respond to that and get started.

OT can also help a young adult understand classroom routines, strategies for dealing with different teaching styles and attitude ideas to help them sit still. All of these skills are essential to an enjoyable and rewarding high school experience.

How to help with misbehavior and antisocial behavior?

Often misbehaving and antisocial behavior is due to a failure to understand social cues. OT can teach a person to understand facial expressions and body language.

They can be taught how to start a conversation and how to deal with conflict when it arises. It can help to explain to a teenager what the teacher needs and wants from him during a lesson and the benefits this can bring.

It is important to understand their feelings about school in general and it is common for teenagers to behave when they do not understand the curriculum. Shame, frustration and shame can often be masked with misbehavior.

This can also be addressed by focusing on the child’s learning skills and developing handwriting and speech. It’s amazing how many teenagers have endured most of their school careers without knowing how to hold a pen properly or distinguish between certain letters.

Teaching these basic strategies is a great way to make a person feel more confident in the classroom and will encourage them to be more involved and participate.

In short, when a student is having a hard time at school, there is no need to panic. These are definitely things that can be done to nurture and encourage. The skills learned as a young adult are just as important as they are continued into the later years.

This can help when it comes time to drop out of school, look for a job, start a family, travel, and more. While teens need to feel independent and trusted, it is also imperative to support them in such crucial years of their lives. Occupational therapy is a great way to do this, and many students have experienced great benefits from this profession

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