Expert know-how from over 10 years of experience teaching 'slow learners'!
From cognitive and learning guidance, to social skills, physical activity, reading, and art activities…

There are children who have been left in a blind spot for decades and are 'standing on the edge'.
Children and adolescents with borderline intelligence, numbering close to 800,000, make up two or three per class at school and more than half of those visiting youth shelters.
Those with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and ADHD, who are different from others, stand on the border between normal intelligence and intellectual disability, and have been misunderstood and neglected as 'late bloomers', 'stifled children', 'insensitive children', and 'children who cannot study'.


This book contains the know-how directly gained from the field by experts who have been working on education, psychotherapy, social skills training, and parent education for children with borderline intelligence for over ten years.
We want to help them grow slowly, even if a little slowly, without being labeled with the diagnosis of 'borderline intelligence'.

Most of them attend regular schools, but they have a hard time adjusting, as they are often scolded by teachers and ostracized and bullied by their friends due to low grades and insensitive behavior.
Although some people sometimes call them "borderline intellectual disability," children with borderline intelligence are clearly classified as typical children, not disabled children.
Although these children are not disabled, they often have significant difficulty keeping up with their peers in the classroom, so teachers often recommend that they study in special classes.
--- p.20

However, despite the concerns of parents and experts, they show signs of growth over time.
That's why many parents only realize after a long time that their child is a slow-growing, slow-learning child.
--- p.23

The most common characteristics children with borderline intelligence exhibit during their school years are difficulties with overall schoolwork, problems with peers, and psychological and emotional problems.
Children with borderline intelligence show low scores and a flat distribution in all areas of intelligence tests, unlike those with learning disabilities.
Because their cognitive functions are borderline underdeveloped, it takes them a long time to acquire basic learning areas such as reading and writing, and they are often not welcomed by their peers because they are not perceptive.
Children with borderline intelligence often experience social maladjustment due to anxiety, depression, and withdrawal, rarely attempt to interact with peers, and lack social skills.
--- p.53

Appropriate intervention for students with borderline intelligence is very important.
Because the direction of students' growth can change drastically depending on how they are mediated.
In other words, if the student's developmental speed and level are acknowledged and guidance is provided accordingly, the student may show development comparable to that of relatively normal students. However, if the student is labeled as having excessively low abilities and receives only basic education for students with disabilities, the student may continue to fall behind and have difficulty adapting.
--- p.84

Considering the social costs that society will have to bear when a large number of children with borderline intelligence become adults who are unable to adapt to school and society, helping them adapt well to school and home from an early age could actually reduce overall costs while making sound use of the national budget.
To this end, children with borderline intelligence should be recognized as a "risk group that exists between typical children and children with intellectual disabilities but requires special help," and special programs and services should be developed for them. --- p.87

Children with borderline intelligence need to develop their cognitive abilities so they can learn the basics necessary for learning and interacting with others.
A cognitive enhancement program for these individuals will enable them to make more friends and develop their abilities in areas of interest without much difficulty.
--- p.128

The most important thing for parents to consider when guiding a child with borderline intelligence is not to meet their own expectations.
If parents feel disappointed or frustrated when their child's academic performance falls short of expectations despite diligent preparation, it can instill low self-esteem and feelings of guilt in the child.
Let's not forget that we must be parents who understand the difficulties and burdens of learning for our children, and hold their hands and climb together with them, one step at a time, at their own pace.
--- p.171

Activities that involve recognizing and moving different body parts help you discover how each body part works in harmony with the whole body.
This helps you clarify your body image, and the continued success you gain from repeating physical activity will help you feel positive about yourself for the first time, which will build your confidence.
--- p.178

Children with borderline intelligence show developmental delays in several areas, including cognition, emotion, and sociality.
While they may need focused help in one area, activities that stimulate all areas of development evenly can be effective.
Because there are a variety of post-reading activities, reading can evenly stimulate all areas of development beyond simply improving reading skills, such as providing emotional catharsis and clues for solving peer relationship problems.
--- p.191

Focusing on art activities can help children with borderline intelligence naturally understand and express various relationships, along with the attention span they lack.
Through group art activities, students can understand the emotions of others and express their own. Through collaborative work composition, they can gain opportunities for social interaction that they may not have experienced in class, thereby improving their interpersonal skills.
--- p.225

The biggest concern for many teachers and practitioners working with children with borderline intelligence is social skills.
Because they have low cognitive abilities, they have a low ability to understand situations and have difficulty finding problem-solving methods appropriate to the situation.
Additionally, due to poor language skills, they have difficulty communicating with friends and expressing their thoughts in an organized manner, so they may express their emotions before words or express their frustrations explosively, which makes people think that they have difficulty controlling their emotions in addition to their lack of understanding.

--- p.234