The 12 Tell Tale Signs of a Learning Disability

In my experience with children in various schools and private practice , it has been an observation that children with some form of special needs are very often misunderstood. This happens especially in classrooms due to the gross negligence and ignorance of some of the teaching facility about special needs children. It has often been observed that even at home many parents are very confused about the academic concerns with their children which often crystallize into behavioural issues.

With the following points that I will enumerate, I hope to shed some light with reference to one such issue that is faced by children. The issue of a Learning Disability is one that has perplexed a lot of parents and teachers. The child appears to struggle with very real ramifications of this disorder. Symptoms of this disorder are very often confused with other problems such as slow learners or other such mental deficits etc.

Learning Disorders are neurological issues that occur when neural pathways get crossed up and malfunction. So these children get very overwhelmed especially in an academic setting when they are taught along side children that have intact perception and intellectual functioning.

The following are the signs that your child has a Learning Disability:

1. The child has an issue with reading. He is not able to read as per his age level.
2. The child is not able to write as per his age level.
3. The child is not able to do maths as per his age level.
4. The child is confused about letters and often mixes them up when he reads.
5. The child inverts or writes a mirror image of words when he writes.
6. The child confuses numbers and reverses them.
7. The child appears to be intelligent otherwise.
8. The child has a good understanding of logic reasoning and situations.
9. The child can do orals better than written exams.
10. The child has disciplinary issues in class.
11. The child is unable to complete tasks assigned to him in class.
12. The child has issues with interpersonal interactions at school or with other children.

The following signs singly DO NOT define a Learning Disorder. They may all be present or a cluster of them could manifest in order for a Diagnosis of a Learning Disability to be present. In order for a formal Diagnosis of a Learning Disability to be made the child needs to go through a series of psycho educational tests and profiling by a psychologist.