Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities and Disorders

Does your child struggle with school?
Do they dread reading out loud, writing an essay, or tackling math? Here’s how to recognize the signs of different types of learning disorders.
Learning disabilities or learning disorders are umbrella terms for a wide variety of learning problems.
A learning disability is not a problem with intelligence or motivation and kids with learning disabilities aren’t lazy or dumb.
In fact, most are just as smart as everyone else. Their brains are simply wired differently—and this difference affects how they receive and process information.
Simply put, children and adults with learning disabilities see, hear, and understand things differently. This can lead to trouble with learning new information and skills, and putting them to use. The most common types of learning disabilities involve problems with reading, writing, math, reasoning, listening, and speaking.
While every kid has trouble with homework from time to time, if a certain area of learning is consistently problematic, it might indicate a learning disorder.

Red Flags for Learning Disabilities and Disorders

• Problems pronouncing words.
• Trouble finding the right word.
• Difficulty rhyming.
• Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes, or days of the week.
• Difficulty following directions or learning routines.
• Difficulty controlling crayons, pencils, and scissors, or colouring within the lines.
• Trouble with buttons, zippers, snaps, or learning to tie shoes.

Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities: Ages 5-9

• Trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds.
• Unable to blend sounds to make words.
• Confuses basic words when reading.
• Slow to learn new skills.
• Consistently misspells words and makes frequent errors.
• Trouble learning basic math concepts.
• Difficulty telling time and remembering sequences.

Signs and Symptoms of learning disabilities: Ages 10-13

• Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills.
• Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems.
• Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud.
• Poor handwriting.
• Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, and desk are messy and disorganized).
• Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud.
• Spells the same word differently in a single document.Paying attention to developmental milestones can help you identify learning disorders

Paying attention to normal developmental milestones for toddlers and preschoolers is very important. Early detection of developmental differences may be an early signal of a learning disability and problems that are spotted early can be easier to correct.

A developmental lag might not be considered a symptom of a learning disability until your child is older, but if you recognize it when your child is young, you can intervene early.

You know your child better than anyone else does, so if you think there is a problem, it doesn’t hurt to get an evaluation. You can also ask your pediatrician for a developmental milestones chart .