EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF LEARNING DISABILITY

Children with Learning Disability (LD) exhibit a wide range of symptoms. These include problems with Reading, Mathematics, Comprehension, Writing, Spoken language or Reasoning abilities. Hyperactivity, Inattention and perceptual coordination may also be associated with learning disabilities but are not learning disabilities themselves. The primary characteristics of a learning disability is a significant difference between a child’s achievement in some areas and his or her overall intelligence.

Learning disabilities typically affect the five general areas –

1. Spoken Language: Delays, Disorders and Deviations in Listening and speaking.
2. Written Language: Difficulties with Reading, Writing and Spelling.
3. Arithmetic: Difficulty in performing Arithmetic Operations or in understanding basic concepts.
4. Reasoning: Difficulty in Organizing and integrating thoughts.
5. Memory: Difficulty in remembering information and instructions.
When considering these symptoms, it is important to remain mindful of the following:
• No one will have all these symptoms.
• Among LD population, some symptoms are more common than others.
• All people have at least two or three of these problems to some degree.
• The number of symptoms seen in particular child does not give an indication as to whether the disability is mild or severe. It is important to consider if the behaviors are chronic and appear in clusters.