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Report card season: Understanding your child’s strengths and needs

November 12, 2026   ·   0 Comments

Report cards and parent-teacher interviews can provide valuable insight into your child’s learning and development. However, it can be concerning to hear that your child is struggling academically, having difficulty paying attention, or finding classroom routines challenging. You may wonder what these concerns mean and how you can best support your child.

Here are some ways to better understand your child’s needs and explore how you can help them at school and at home.

Understanding the feedback: Report cards provide a snapshot of your child’s progress, but they may not tell the whole story. Ask the teacher for specific examples of what they observe in the classroom. Your child’s teacher is there to help them succeed, and their feedback can offer valuable insight into your child’s strengths and challenges.

During a parent-teacher interview, consider asking:

What areas is my child struggling with? Can you provide examples?

How are these concerns affecting my child at school?

Are there any underlying factors that might explain these difficulties?

What supports are currently in place, and what additional supports are available?

How can I support my child at home and in the community?

Approaching these conversations with curiosity and an open mind can help you better understand your child’s experiences and identify ways to meet their needs.

What comes next? Depending on your child’s needs, additional support may include special education services, tutoring, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, or help with attention and organization. Ask what resources are available through your school or school board, whether services can be provided at school, and how long accessing them may take. Availability and wait times vary, so understanding your options can help you plan next steps.

If you continue to have concerns about your child’s learning, a psychoeducational assessment may help clarify how your child learns, highlighting their strengths and areas where additional support may be beneficial. Depending on the reason for the assessment, it may explore:

Language and verbal reasoning: Understanding language, explaining ideas, and identifying relationships between ideas.

Nonverbal problem-solving: Recognizing patterns and solving visual problems.

Processing speed: How quickly a child processes and responds to information on structured tasks.

Academic skills: Reading, writing, and mathematics.

Fine motor skills: Skills involved in tasks such as handwriting.

Attention, memory, and executive functioning: Focusing, retaining and recalling information, following instructions, planning, and organizing tasks.

Assessments should always be tailored to your child. Findings can help explain your child’s learning strengths and challenges and provide individualized recommendations to support their learning at school and at home, and can potentially identify differences in how their brain works. Knowing how each child learns and processes information can help with planning for supports and harnessing their strengths.

Follow up and stay connected: You do not need to make every decision immediately after receiving a report card or during a parent-teacher interview. Take time to consider your options and stay connected with your child’s teacher to discuss progress and next steps. Monitor accommodations and adjustments that the school provide to your child to see what works, and what doesn’t.

Working together with educators can make a meaningful difference in your child’s educational journey. Remember, you are the expert on your child, and your involvement and dedication are crucial in helping your child thrive in school.

WonderTree is a pediatric hub with a multidisciplinary team, including psychologists, educational consultants, tutors, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, and executive functioning coaches. Our team can help you understand your child’s strengths and needs and explore supports tailored to their learning and development. We provide a variety of assessment options with our psychology team- giftedness, learning disability, ADHD, mental health, and more!

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