Learning Disability
We all have learning strengths and weaknesses. Some of us are better at math, some are better writers, and some have keen memories for dates and facts. This natural variation of skills steers us in certain directions career-wise or hobby-wise. Learning disabilities are a more extreme form of this, and have a range of severity and impact on the child. Learning disabilities occur in approximately 4 percent of the population. Learning disabilities are heterogeneous in nature and are generally characterized by underachievement in school.
The term learning disability (LD) is used to refer to a range of neurological conditions that affect one or more of the ways that a person takes in, stores, or uses information. Learning disabilities are specific, not global, impairments. For example, a child could have a learning problem which inhibits his ability to understand written information though the same information, delivered orally, might present no problem.
Signs and Symptoms
Teachers are often the first to notice that "something doesn't seem right." Most parents will, from time to time, see one or more of these warning signs in their children. However, if you see several of the below mentioned characteristics over a significantly long period of time, then your child is possibly at the risk of having a learning disability.
- Age 0-4
- Speaks later than most children
- Pronunciation problems
- Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word
- Difficulty rhyming words
- Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes
- Extremely restless and easily distracted
- Trouble interacting with peers
- Difficulty following directions or routines
- Fine motor skills slow to develop
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- Age 5-9
- Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
- Confuses basic words ( run , eat , want )
- Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including letter reversals ( b / d ), inversions ( m / w ), transpositions ( felt / left ), and substitutions ( house / home )
- Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
- Slow to remember facts
- Slow to learn new skills, relies heavily on memorization
- Impulsive, difficulty planning
- Unstable pencil grip
- Trouble learning about time
- Poor coordination, unaware of physical surroundings, prone to accidents
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- Age 10-12
- Reverses letter sequences ( soiled / solid , left / felt )
- Slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other spelling strategies
- Avoids reading aloud
- Trouble with word problems
- Difficulty with handwriting
- Awkward, fist-like, or tight pencil grip
- Avoids writing assignments
- Slow or poor recall of facts
- Difficulty making friends
- Trouble understanding body language and facial expressions
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- Age 13-16
- Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing
- Avoids reading and writing tasks
- Trouble summarizing
- Trouble with open-ended questions on tests
- Weak memory skills
- Difficulty adjusting to new settings
- Works slowly
- Poor grasp of abstract concepts
- Either pays too little attention to details or focuses on them too much
- Misreads information
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- Factors to rule out Learning Disorder
- Low intelligence.
- Physical difficulties such as poor vision or hearing problems.
- Insufficient knowledge of a language, as in the case of an individual whose native language is not English.
- Inadequate development of pre-reading skills (e.g., letter knowledge, letter sound correspondences) prior to entering school.
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