Diagnosing Learning Disabilities: Info for Parents

What to Know About Learning Disabilities

Understanding Learning Disabilities

One of the first things you should know about learning disabilities is that having them doesn't mean your child can't learn. It just means he or she must learn in a different way. Kids with learning disabilities process information differently than most other children. As a result, parents and teachers must use a wide variety of methods to help these students learn effectively.

Symptoms and Signs

The symptoms and signs of learning disabilities usually start at an early age, but are often difficult to spot at first. The main reason for this is because some of these warning signs may be shared by students who don't actually have a learning disability. The biggest clue that there may be a problem is when these symptoms and signs seem to be constant and ongoing in the lives of your child.

Learning disabilities often cause students to struggle in the areas of reading, writing or math. Their ability levels also tend much lower than other students' levels. Students with these disabilities will often have problems staying organized, paying attention in class, making friends and remembering information. In addition, these students may find it difficult to speak or write and may suffer from poor coordination, which limits their ability to complete physical activities.

Once you recognize these symptoms, you'll want to consult a professional to properly diagnose your child and see if he or she has a learning disability. Teachers and counselors are good resources for more information on the challenges your child may be having. If the professional does indeed diagnose a learning disability, it's a good idea to conduct your own research to learn all you can about that specific disability.

Common Types of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are primarily identified based on the specific school subject they negatively affect the most. Some students may have a learning disability that causes them problems in one subject, but are academically sound in other subjects. Other students may have more than one learning disability and struggle in several classes. Two common types of learning disabilities are listed below.

Dyslexia

Students with this learning disability will often have problems with reading comprehension because they struggle to recognize letters and words. They also often have problems with reading fluency. In addition, they may find it difficult to understand the words and ideas presented in the material they read.

Dyscalculia

Students with dyscalculia have trouble with math. For these students, memorization and the organization of numbers is usually difficult. They may also have trouble with simple numerical truisms, such as 3 + 3= 6. Furthermore, they may be unable to tell time properly or successfully demonstrate the ability to follow counting principles such as counting by tens.