Signs of the learning disability

Diagnosis at the early stage about the child's learning disability and timely intervention by parents, teachers or doctors can significantly improve his or her self-esteem, academic achievement, and ability to form and maintain relationships. Adults should know about the warning signs of learning disabilities. The following checklist provides a range of characteristics that could indicate the presence of learning disabilities in a child. Most people will be able to answer "yes" to one or more of them, but this does not necessarily indicate the presence of learning disabilities. However, if a child exhibits several of the following characteristics, it is often a good indication that he or she may have one more learning disabilities.

Reading

Confuse similar letters or numbers, reverse them, or confuse their order
Have poor reading ability or poor comprehension
Often misread information
Have problems with syntax or grammar
Have difficulty reading addresses, small print and/or columns

Writing

Read well but not write well (or vice versa)
Have difficulty writing ideas and/or organizing thoughts on paper
Reverse or omit letters, words or phrases when writing
Have problems with sentence structure, writing mechanics and organization
Frequently spell the same word differently in a single document

Math

Have difficulty with arithmetic, math language, and math concepts
Reverse numbers
Have difficulty with time sequencing, and problem solving

Language

Can explain things orally, but not in writing
Have difficulty telling or understanding jokes or stories
Misinterpret language or have poor comprehension of what is said
Respond in an inappropriate manner, unrelated to what is said, or only respond partially to what is said

Auditory

May not respond to sounds of spoken language, or may consistently misunderstand what is being said
May be bothered by different frequencies of sound (i.e., music, vacuums, loud noises) or may be overly sensitive to sound
May have difficulty in differentiating sounds that occur simultaneously

Cognitive

May acquire new skills slowly
May have difficulty following directions, especially multiple directions
May experience visual spatial confusion (i.e., confuse right and left, up and down, under and over, behind and between)
May get lost in large buildings
May seem unaware of time or sequence of events

Motor

May perform similar tasks differently from day to day
May have trouble dialing phone numbers or holding a pen/pencil
May have poor coordination, be clumsy, unaware of physical surroundings, or have a tendency to hurt his/her self

Memory

May be able to learn information presented in one way, but not in another
May find it difficult to memorize information (i.e., phone numbers, days of the week, or months of the year)
May be unable to repeat what has just been said

Organization

May have difficulty following a schedule or being on time
May have trouble learning about time
May have difficulty organizing belongs

Social

May have difficulty with social skills
May misinterpret non-verbal social cues
May experience social isolation
May not use appropriate eye contact

Attention

May have short attention span or be impulsive
May have difficulty conforming to routines
May be easily distracted
May experience stress on extended mental effort
The above was compiled by LDW from information provided by the American Council on Education, the National Adults Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Center for Learning Disabilities.