Helping
Your Child
Overcome Spatial Problems
The term "spatial problems" means not only
difficulties in knowing right from left, but recognizing that
"was" is not the same as "saw" or "b" the
same as "d." When teachers or those who test children use the
term "spatial problems," they mean not only the above, but also
those children who crowd all of their arithmetic problems to one side of a
page when they're doing their homework-or get mixed up when trying to
follow directions-or get lost when they are in a new place or who don't
know how to write certain words, letters, or numbers. Spatial problems
also can relate to the degree of disorganization in a child's room.
Most children will get "left" and
"right" mixed up until they are about seven years old. But
somewhere around age five or six, most children, given the proper
opportunities, will begin to be able to identify the right and left sides
of
their bodies.
Start with your child's room. Clean up the clutter. Put
things away. Encourage orderliness. If there is order to the rest of the
house, chances are that your child will imitate that orderliness. Scolding
won't correct the situation unless there are guidelines and. in this case,
it's what die child sees around him. Helping the child to keep his I
space, in his room organized may mean, at least
initially, a fair amount of picking up by parents, but eventually, like
cleanliness, the child will get the message and grow used to orderliness
just as he does to cleanliness and will feel uncomfortable without it.
Have clearly defined places for things. And keep the
directions simple. "Clothes go here. Books go there. Comic books over
there, etc. - Provide plenty of drawers
and shelves. Convenient storage boxes can be obtained for things with lots
of movable
parts-blocks, puzzles, and games. In this way pieces of games or puzzles
can be kept separate one from another and will be used. There is nothing
more discouraging than a heap of games
with all of the pieces jumbled together. The child will simply ignore them
Play "directional" games with your child.
Young children, especially preschoolers, like to play games in which they
point to parts of their body-for example, "Show me your hair, now
your knee, now your thumbs." This should progress to games that name
sides, such as "Show me your right elbow. Now show me your left foot.
Now wiggle your right hand. - The importance of this type of
identification cannot be overemphasized. Every possible opportunity should
be taken to teach and reinforce this ability.
Incorporate directional words in your conversations
with your child. For example, on the way to school or to the grocery
store, say, "Lees see. 1,11 make a right turn at this comer. Now I'll
make a left turn, etc. See if your child can begin to anticipate the
direction of the turn. Say, "We are going
to
turn this way (point) at the next corner. Can you
tell me what direction (left or right) that is?" If he gets confused,
you ten him the direction. And treat it lightly.
An excellent place to deal with spatial problems is the
local supermarket. As you and your child push the cart up and down the
aisles, incorporate directional terms into your conversation in an
incidental way-something like, "While I am getting the bread, you go
down that aisle and turn left-that way (Point)-and pick up a quart of
milk. Then we'll meet back here."
Now and then your child will be leaving the house
by
himself, perhaps to
catch the school bus
or go to Jimmy's house down the block. Now and
then ask, "Will you be turning right or left when you go to
This technique can grow boring to the child if used too
frequently, but it can be effective when used sparingly.
Give your child things to do that require placement of
objects to the right or left of something. "Jimmy, put those books to
the left of the stove" or "Susie, is the tape recorder to the
right or to the left of the flower pot?" or "Where shall we
plant the bush-on the right or the left of the tree!" There are many
other directional words that can be used again and again with the child:
over, under, in front of, behind, on top Of, in, out, above, etc.
If your child's homework looks messy, talk with your
child's teacher and ask about the possibility of ruling spaces on his
paper. For example, if your child tends to write from one edge of the
paper to the other, leaving no margins, rule in margins. But rule them in
lightly so that they - 7 be
seen by the child but erased, if necessary, when the assignment. Completed
- The same approach can be used for arithmetic sheets. Rule off spaces,
one for each problem. The space provided should be generous but not
excessive. In fact, if you can get your child to rule off his own papers,
you've made a big step forward and so has he. Chances are that ruling off
space will soon become unnecessary.
Play a game in which you hide an object, and the child must find it.
You begin the game by saying, "I have something hidden (in this
room or here in the yard). You can find it only
by following the directions I give you. Take three steps forward. Now turn
to your right. Take two steps. Now turn to your left and take two steps.
Now take three steps forward."
A variation of this activity is to let the child hide
something and direct you to locate it. A simple rule of the game might be,
"No more than two steps in any direction without changing
directions."
Make some sheets of arrows. You can easily,
inexpensively, and quickly do a group of them. (If you use only one sheet,
the child may memorize the page, so a selection of sheets alternated at
different times is best.) Use a standard sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper or
cardboard. Draw a series of arrows pointing either up, down, right, or
left. Time your child on how quickly he can call off, in sequence, which
way the arrows are pointing.
There are a number of variations to this activity. For example, as the
child calls out the direction, he will incorporate arm movements: left
(left arm outstretched); right (Tight arm outstretched); up and down (both
arms stretched up or down). Once the child has mastered this activity, ask
him to give a single jump while calling out the directions and making the
appropriate arm movements. The jump should occur at the same time the
direction is called out. If this is too difficult, eliminate the jumps
until later.
A poor understanding of space can even affect a child's ability to read
from left to right. Talk with your child's teacher about allowing him to
use the index finger of his preferred hand to "track" the words
across the line of print as he is reading. Not only will it help him to
organize space, but it will strengthen left-to-right movements of the eyes
across the page. When you are reading to your child (and it is hoped that
this is a frequent occurrence in your home), track the words with your
finger to show him that reading occurs from left to right.
Observe your child as he does everyday tasks. One of
the reasons a large number of children continue to have spatial
difficulties is because many times, for unclear reasons, they haven't
developed a "preferred side" by the time they are seven years
old. By "preferred side," psychologists mean that children
will, the majority of the time, drink with, open doors,
comb their hair, brush their teeth, draw, write, toss a ball, et cetera,
with the same hand. When the child switches hand usage for major tasks
that clearly require only one hand, you should speak with your child's
teacher or the school psychologist to determine whether special remedial
needs are being met.
As with other things you do with your child at home,
keep the activities low-keyed, enjoyable, and non-threatening. Be gentle,
take it one step at a time, and don't scold. Your attitude will rub off on
the child. If you seem to be having fun with the various games, your child
will enjoy them, too. Set a goal-for example, "I want him to get to
know what his right side is" and approach it in as many creative ways
as you can think of. You will probably be amazed at the many ideas that
will occur to you.
Keep in touch with your child's teacher. (She may have
some helpful ideas, too.) Let her know what you are doing and what gains
or problems-you are seeing in your child.
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