Understanding Underachievers

Reasons for Underachieving (01:44)
A complicated combination of factors may be the reason for a student's underachieving. These are environment, health, social issues, family, and developmental aspects. Diagnosis is by exclusion.

Physical and Intellectual (02:33)
The observable behaviors of an underachiever are the same as for LD or ADD. An underachiever may have a physical problem such as hearing loss. A gifted child may be bored and thus does not work.

Five Contributing Factors (04:58)
Contributing factors to underachieving include personality traits, environment, depression, perception of self, and perception of others.

Three Possible Solutions (03:17)
Nurturing a personality trait that causes underachieving, providing a positive learning environment at home, and preparing a child for a stressful situation may prevent underachieving.

Two Possible Solutions (03:24)
Other solutions to help underachievers are to encourage the child's talents to overcome low self-esteem and to help a child feel more empowered to overcome their negative perception of others.

Parental Involvement (01:31)
Being the first to notice a discrepancy in child's ability and performance, Parents should work closely with the child's teacher and focus on present and future, not past performance.