Do you know the signs a child may be struggling with a Learning Disability?

By Angela .E. Rudderham

 A recent study called, “Putting a Face on Learning Disabilities”, used Statistics Canada survey data and focus groups with adults and children with learning disabilities, as well as with parents of children with learning disabilities. The results are that undiagnosed learning disabilities often lead to long-lasting psychological harm.

Without intervention, support or accommodations children are less likely to succeed in school, and adults less likely to graduate or be employed, and more likely to report suicidal thoughts, depression, or anxiety. When you have a learning disability it is not just a matter of “trying harder” - further intervention is necessary for the student to learn what he will need to achieve success.

It's not uncommon for students to struggle in or dislike school. It's not uncommon that a student may not excel in a particular area of school or not achieve marks that reflect their true potential. So how do parents and educators spot the sometimes subtle warning signs that a student may have a learning disability?

A learning disability doesn't mean the student is slow. So many times I hear people deny a child’s possible learning disability in statements such as, “No he definitely wouldn’t have a LD, he is very bright and intelligent.” This does not mean he is exempt from a learning disability. Plenty of highly intelligent people have been diagnosed with a learning disability. In fact one of the first steps professionals take in diagnosing a learning disability is to determine the  child’s potential (IQ) and compare it to the child’s performance. They do this through a series of tests called a psycho educational assessment.  They are looking for any issues in the learning process.

They will look at how the individual:

ü  Takes in information. There could be a problem with how the brain interprets what the eyes see; this is called visual perception disorder. It could be an issue taking in sounds; this is referred to as an auditory perception or auditory processing disorder.

ü   Makes sense of or processes information. Someone who has difficulty in this area may have trouble organizing their thoughts or struggle with the ability to infer meaning.

ü  Stores information. The individual may have deficits in the area of short term memory, working memory or long term memory.

ü  Is using or getting information out.  Difficulty coordinating the muscles of the hand (a grapho-motor problem) greatly affects a student’s hand writing. Getting thoughts onto paper can also be a problem for those who have trouble in this area. Language output issues, including problems organizing thoughts, finding the right words, and expressing themselves can be detected.

A very intelligent person can have a glitch in one or more of these areas. When trying to identify whether a child may have a learning disability leave intelligence out of the indicators and think about the following.

• Did your child struggle learning phonemes (individual units of sound) and graphemes (letters, numbers)? Or do they have difficulty learning how to blend sounds and letters to sound out words? Problems remembering familiar words by sight or difficulty with reading comprehension?
• Do they struggle with forming letters and numbers or have difficulty with basic spelling and grammar?
• Do they experience difficulties learning math skills and doing math calculations?
• Is it difficult for them to remember facts?
• Is organizing materials (notebook, binder, papers), information, and/or concepts a challenge?
• Do they have trouble understanding oral instructions and an inability to express them self verbally?
• Do they struggle with making, maintaining or repairing friendships?
• Do they often lose or forget materials, or do work and forget to turn it into the teacher?
• Do they struggle to plan out the steps and time lines for completing projects, especially long-term projects?
• Do they have difficulty organizing thoughts for written reports or public speaking?
• Have they developed behaviors that help them to avoid their school work?
• Do they frustrate easily?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions it is in the child’s best interest to have them assessed to discover or rule out the presence of a learning disability. Some types of LD are not apparent until middle school or high school. They only way to get a sure diagnosis is to have a psychologist do a psycho educational assessment. This can be done through your child’s school; however there is often a long wait. If you choose you can have this testing done privately through a psychologist for a fee. Regardless early identification can pave the way for children to get the support they need to experience success both now and in the future.