Learning Success Learn: guides for parents of struggling learners
This is a library of guides for parents of children who find school hard. Each page answers one question. It says what the thing is, what it looks like at home, and what you can do. Start with the part of school that is going wrong. That may be reading, math, writing, focus, or how your child takes in information.
TL;DR
- Each page answers one question. You do not need to read another page first.
- There are five subject areas: reading, math, writing, attention and focus, and how your child takes in information. There is also a research section and a section for teachers.
- Plain words come first. Where a page uses a technical term, it gives the term the way a professional would write it. That helps you match it to a report.
- Each page gives one small thing you can try tonight.
- No page here gives a diagnosis.
Where to start
Start with what you would say about your child to a friend. "She is bright, and she cannot read." "He has been on one page of homework for two hours." "Her handwriting is hard to read, and she cries when I mention it." Each of those points to one of the sections below. Each section explains what may be going on underneath.
Sometimes it is a mix of reading, writing and focus, with no clear center. Read more than one section before you decide where to put your effort.
Each page has its own explanation, its own limits and its own next step. It does not send you to another page first.
How the guides are organized
There are five subject areas. There is also a research section and a section for teachers.
Reading. Learning to read, what gets in the way, and dyslexia. Hearing the sounds inside words, sounding words out, reading smoothly, and understanding what was read.
Math. Number sense, math facts that will not stick, and counting on fingers. Also fear of math, word problems, and dyscalculia.
Writing. Two different problems get called bad writing. One is the marks on the page. The other is getting what a child can say onto paper. Also dysgraphia, spelling, and how a child holds a pencil.
Attention and focus. Starting a task and staying with it. Also ordinary things that can look like trouble focusing from across a room. Short sleep and worry about the work are two.
How your child takes in information. In our view, reading, writing and math draw on other skills too. Making sense of what the eyes and ears take in. How much a child can hold in mind at once. How fast a child takes things in and responds. Knowing where the body is. Getting started and staying organized. Managing frustration.
What the research says. What the studies we hold found, what they were measured on, and what they do not show.
For teachers. Written to the teacher. It draws on the same material as our parent guides. What a pattern looks like in a class of thirty. What can change on Monday at no cost.
If more than one area is going wrong
When more than one area is hard, we look at more than one. Each section covers its own subject. So read more than one section. The overlaps are real. Suppose a child loses a two-part instruction. In a reading lesson, that can look like a reading problem. In a math lesson, it can look like a math problem. To us, that is the same difficulty both times.
There is also a questionnaire that asks about every processing system. Answering it takes about fifteen minutes, with short videos in between. It is a set of questions you answer about what you see at home. The roadmap you get with the free trial names what to build first.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
What is on a page, and why the titles look like that
Every page opens with the answer, in the first few lines. The answer makes sense on its own. Then comes a plain explanation. Then what it looks like at home, and what to do about it. Then one small thing to try tonight. Then answers to common questions. Many pages have a short part for teachers too. The same child sits in a classroom all day. In our experience, a teacher can often change something quickly.
Many titles carry the clinical term, because that is what people search for. Suppose a report names auditory figure-ground discrimination. A parent may search for those exact words. So our pages use them. Then they say the same thing in plain words. Some children hear every word when you are close. In a busy room, they lose the teacher. The voice they need is there. It may not stand out from the rest of the room.
What we will not tell you
We will not tell you what your child has. No page here gives a diagnosis. The pages that describe signs say so.
We will not give you a schedule. No page here says how your child will change by a given week or month.
We will not appeal to evidence without naming it. Our rule is to name the study in the same sentence as the claim. Some claims rest on what we see repeatedly in the families we work with. Then the page says so.
We will not describe a learning difference as an illness. Skills are built, taught and practiced.
Key Takeaways
Pick the section that matches what you would say out loud about your child.
Each page stands on its own. Come back with your next question.
Signs are not a diagnosis. No page here gives one.
Write down one sentence you would say to a friend about what is going wrong. Leave out any label, and write what you see. "She reads a page and remembers nothing." "He cannot start without me sitting there." That sentence is what to search for. It is also the sentence to take to a teacher.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
Common questions from parents
Is this the same as the Learning Success blog?
No. The blog answers "Why is this happening to us?" It has a story and a voice you follow. These guides answer "What is this, and what do I do?" You read a blog post because it came out. You read a page here because you searched for it. The two do different jobs.
My child has already been evaluated. Is any of this still useful?
Yes. A report names things. In our experience, it often does not say what those things are in everyday words. In our experience, it also often does not say what to do on a Tuesday evening. That is what each page is for.
Do I have to buy something to use these?
No. The guides are free to read. Some pages mention a Learning Success program. Free things are listed first.
How do I know when to get a professional involved?
In our view, when you are worried enough to ask. As of September 2026, a US parent can ask the school for an evaluation. Put it in writing. As of September 2026, a US school evaluation is free to the family, whatever you earn and whatever it finds. As of September 2026, a US school that refuses to evaluate must give you written notice saying why. As of September 2026, a US school's written refusal can be challenged through a state complaint, mediation or a hearing. Keep any written notice. Rules can vary by state and change. Check your state's parent-rights notice. A screener is not a school evaluation. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.