Not many people know that at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, there is a learning difficulties clinic（门诊）

Zhu Daqian is the doctor of the hospital’s psychology department（心理科）, who is also the leader of the clinic. She told China Daily that the clinic was set up in September 2020 because of a growing number of unfriendly relationships between parents and children.

“Facing their children’s terrible school grades, most parents think that their child is short of study goals or has a low IQ. Few of them consider that their child might have a learning disability,” said Zhu.

Similar clinics in other cities such as Beijing, Nanjing and Wuhan, have seen a great rise in the number of asking for help, according to local reports.

“Learning disabilities can be caused by many things, including a child’s neural（神经的）development, mental problems and family fights,” Zhu said. “There are also different kinds of learning disabilities, such as dyslexia（阅读障碍）and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD，注意缺陷多动障碍）. The key to dealing with these problems is to pay attention to them earlier,” she added.

What’s more, different learning disabilities need different treatments. For example, for children with ADHD, medicine can help. Modern technology can also help treat children’s mental problems.

Although it is good to hear that many children do well in their studies after treatment, Zhu warned that medicine and intervention（干预）can’t help children get good grades. “We’re here to help them find their own ways to learn,” said Zhu.

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