Having a language processing or receptive language disorder means your brain has a hard time listening to and responding to language that is said out loud. Your brain may only be able to understand information when it is in small chunks. You may not hear all the directions correctly that the coach is giving or what your teammates are saying when you are playing. This might make it hard to play well. So, here are some tips on how to make you more successful when playing sports:
- Let your coach and your teammates know you have a language processing disorder and what you might need to help you be successful.
- Ask for important directions and information to be written down.
- Bring a dry erase board with you so someone can write the important information down for you.
- Develop special hand signals for important directions your coach needs to give the team, or your teammates need to communicate with you while playing.
- Look at your coach or teammate’s face while they are talking. Seeing people’s lips moving while speaking can help your brain gather more of the information from what they are saying.
- Ask your coach break down directions or instructions in smaller chunks.
- Ask your coach to check that you understand what he said.