A good result can coexist with severe or extensive difficulties. Completing a task or doing well at school may take enormous effort, extra time and substantial assistance. Success may leave the child exhausted, and it does not establish that the help is no longer needed.
A poor or unfinished result can also follow tremendous effort and commitment. A child may persevere to exhaustion and still be unable to meet the demands. In either case, parents may be doing sustained work in preparation, explanation, prompting and supervision. Neither outcome alone tells us how hard the child tried, how much the parents contributed or what the child can do independently.
Ability in one area does not settle the picture elsewhere. Fluent word reading can coexist with poor comprehension; legible handwriting with difficulties in spelling or organising written ideas. Mathematical difficulties may involve quantities, calculation or reasoning. These difficulties can occur alone or together. Conversation, dressing and settling for sleep may require other kinds of support.
What a child manages at school, at home or during activities can also vary with the demands, fatigue, available help and when something is asked of them.