Jason is a fifth grade student, who loves reading and playing basketball.   He is a motivated to do well in school, and while she gets good grades in English, art, and social studies, she has always struggled in mathematics.  It takes him much longer to complete his homework than it does his peers, and he has a very low accuracy rate on problems completed.  At age ten, he now shows signs of fear and anxiety when faced with a math assignment, and it appears to his teachers and parents that he isn’t trying. As the year progresses, he seems to disengage completely, and appears to be unmotivated.

What’s important to understand here is that Jason is trying very, very hard, but lacks the tools to do well.  This could be attributed to a number of variables – it may be a learning disability, such as dyscalculia or an auditory processing disorder. Or, it could be that as a young child, various factors prevented Jason from being able to understand the fundamental concepts in mathematics, and he’s never caught up.  Whatever the reason for his failure to succeed in mathematics, it’s no longer strictly academic.  Jason has come to believe, through experience, that math isn’t a subject in which he can succeed.

People who have learning differences are often profoundly bright, and willing to work hard.  However, without the appropriate forms of support, they are not able to achieve the same results as their peers. The impact that years of trying, and failing to achieve, has on an individual is profound. Learned helplessness can impact any area of life or academics, and overcoming years of negative messages is a complex process which requires nurturing and emotional support as well as academic intervention.

The accumulated result of this learned helplessness can become dire if left unaddressed.  Being penalized for failure to meet impossible expectations results in a sense of alienation and disconnect.  Being subject daily to material that isn’t accessible is boring, and causes students to become disengaged.  Additionally, young people cease to see themselves as having control over their own success, and they feel their efforts are not a determiner in outcome.

Learned helplessness is the belief that habits, effort, and behavior do not impact performance.  It’s worth paying some attention to this concept and working with kids on overcoming it.  Once kids become convinced that they don’t have any control over the outcome, the process of successfully teaching them becomes much nuanced and difficult.  They experience anxiousness and are understandably resistant to confronting the content that has been such a tremendous source of stress.   Often, these children are understandably resistant to trying.

So what makes the difference?  What makes it possible for a young person to grow past this very challenging roadblock?  It comes down to a number of points, including Effort should be recognized, and improvements should be noted but not emphasized.  Intervention isn’t just about teaching content, it’s also about finding a way in, and expanding the individual’s ability to feel safe and exert effort. It’s also important that the specialist or tutor assesses the student to determine their level of competence – sometimes it is necessary to go back to the fundamental rules and ideas, and build incrementally from the basics.  It’s also critical that the student experience success, and has some input in the process.

There are many tools and techniques which are effective for the remediation of learned helplessness on a child.  It takes a great deal of patience, and collaboration between parents and specialists, but it’s very possible to help them grow past their state of feeling threatened and powerless, to a point of thriving curiosity, a sense of empowerment, confidence, and clearer direction.

Relevant external links:

1.  A solid overview of learned helplessness, the resulting “Matthew effect” and eight characteristics of learned helplessness.

2. Book recommendation: The Myth of Laziness, by Mel Levine.  Mel Levine has an excellent, humanistic approach to this work, and does an excellent job teasing out the factors behind motivation and gives a good overview on how to support struggling kids.

3.  How to give effective praise: applaud the effort, not the outcome.  ‘Nuff said.

4. The Raising Resilient Children Foundation.  Worth a perusal – Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein are two of the thought leaders around resilience, its determiners, and how to cultivate resilience in your child.