Signs of Learning Disabilities
Sometimes, long lists of symptoms feel overwhelming and are hard to visualize in your child. Similarly, not all signs or symptoms are present, or they will present differently between genders and developmental ages. Instead, I want to share some common presentations (or “stories”) of students and adults I see in my practice. Please contact me if any scenarios sound familiar and you’d like to discuss if testing is the right fit for you or your child.
Do any of these sound familiar?
Reading has always been a struggle. Your other children learned to read easily, but your daughter is not progressing as expected. Through practice, she has learned word sounds but struggles with blending them, and her knowledge of sight words is low. She tends to guess when reading and substitute for other words. Consequently, her reading is not very fluent, and she has trouble understanding what she reads. Because reading is so effortful and takes a long time, she tends to avoid reading. Sometimes, she seems to memorize books or rely on pictures.
Your son consistently tests Below Grade Level on standardized testing and gets reading support at school. You have also hired a private tutor. With this intervention, he has made progress but continues to fall below expectations. It is clear he has gained some skills and strategies, but overall, his confidence and comprehension are low. Spelling is also a big challenge, and he has trouble connecting reading and spelling rules.
Your daughter works really hard and gets good grades in school. Her teachers love her and have never expressed concerns, but she seems stressed out at home. Homework takes her longer than it should and requires a lot of parental oversight. She can be forgetful, and you have to help her stay organized. She needs reminders and check-ins. At times, she gets frustrated and defeated about school, often saying she doesn’t understand.
Your child is sensitive and has always had big feelings. They get upset by minor things and have big reactions, sometimes settling quickly and sometimes being difficult to soothe. They have a hard time being flexible and moving on from preferred activities or not having things their way. They can be dominant in social interactions and have strong feelings about fairness. They seem to cry, get angry, or have tantrums more than their peers.
You get frequent emails and calls from your son’s school about him not listening or following directions. He gets distracted by what is happening around him, and his focus seems to be more on making his friends laugh than learning. Teachers have tried different strategies to help him focus, like seating him near the front or giving him fidget toys, but they are making little progress. His learning is starting to fall behind, and it’s difficult to tell if it’s due to a lack of attention or real learning differences.
Your child has always struggled with math. They may have some gaps due to remote learning but have not yet rebounded. You have to help them with their math homework almost nightly, and they have had tutors in the past. They do not know their math facts very well and continue to rely on finger counting. They have difficulty retaining concepts no matter how many times they are taught, and they struggle with applying concepts across problems. Their sense of direction, time, and estimation are poor.
Your daughter has always had poor handwriting and spelling. She sometimes confuses letters or writes them backwards, but you see improvement. Many times, she forgets to add punctuation or capitalization, and she tends to misuse “their” and “there” or “your” and “you’re.” Her teacher may not express concerns, but you are troubled when you look at her writing samples.
Your son has great ideas and can express them verbally, but not in writing. He is unsure of how to get started or organize his ideas. His writing lacks depth or is too elaborate. Sentences are poorly constructed, repetitive, or fragmented. He avoids writing, and his assignments meet the bare minimum. Writing is a large source of stress.
