Why Parent-Teacher Conferences Matter

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up, and if you already have questions about your child’s learning and development, this can be a really important time. Hi, I’m Katie Cordell, a pediatric audiologist and developmental specialist here at Dynamic Therapy Specialists. Parents often tell us things like homework takes longer than it should, reading and writing are frustrating, that their child gets frustrated by simple daily tasks, or that they need a lot of repetition to get through routines.

One of the really valuable things about parent-teacher conferences is they’re an excellent opportunity for you to compare the things that you’re seeing at home with how your child is doing in the classroom. Oftentimes, teachers are able to validate a concern or reassure parents based on how that child is functioning in the classroom. So one piece of advice we often give to parents is to come prepared for your parent-teacher conference.

Write down your concerns and any questions you’d like to ask your teacher during the conference. So stay tuned. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about another situation that parents often find themselves in.

What happens when you attend a conference and the teacher brings up concerns that weren’t necessarily on your radar yet?

When Academic Concerns Aren’t About Learning the Material

Welcome back to our parent-teacher conference series. I’m Katie Cordell, a pediatric audiologist and developmental specialist here at Dynamic Therapy Specialists. This week we’re sharing our tips and tricks as developmental therapists to help you navigate your child’s parent-teacher conference.

Yesterday we talked about how to approach conferences if you as a parent already have concerns. Today we’re going to talk kind of about the opposite situation where you go in for these parent conferences and the teacher brings up something that maybe wasn’t on your radar just This can often feel very surprising and upsetting to parents. However, it’s important to remember that the classroom places demands on children that are very different than home life.

As school children are expected to follow group directions, transition quickly, stay engaged in new concepts and ideas, as well as manage peer interactions and just keep up with the overall pace of the classroom. So it’s really not unusual for teachers to pick up on things that might not be as obvious to parents at home. If this happens during your parent-teacher conference, one follow-up question I’d encourage you to ask is, can you tell me more about what that looks like in a school day? This question often prompts teachers to give specific examples which can be very helpful to you as a parent in identifying how your child is performing at school.

Come back tomorrow and we’ll discuss why academic concerns brought up at a parent-teacher conference might not mean your child is struggling with learning or motivation.

What To Do If You Leave With Concerns

Welcome back to day three of our parent-teacher conference series. My name is Katie Cordell. I’m the clinic manager and developmental specialist here at Dynamic Therapy Specialists.

I can’t tell you how many times parents come into our clinic after parent-teacher conferences saying things like, well, the teacher said they’ll probably just grow out of it, or for our boy mamas, that’s just how boys are. While it’s absolutely true that all children develop at different rates, those explanations don’t really address the underlying developmental concerns that can sometimes be in the way of supporting your child’s success in the classroom. So if you’re hearing concerns from your teacher at your parent-teacher conference, it’s really important that you pair those with your own instincts as a parent and talk to a professional to determine if the concerns that you’re seeing are developmentally appropriate.

Early identification of any sort of developmental delay is extremely important because the earlier we identify any sort of challenge, the easier and faster we’re able to address and support skill development in order to close those gaps. As children continue to move through school, the expectations for attention, regulation, communication, and overall academic independence only continue to grow. Addressing those skills early really gives children the best opportunity to build confidence and to succeed as those academic demands continue to increase.