Contents

Children having trouble in school?

See our TV spots

Recognizing learning disabilities in children.
Parents are often worried that their child has learning problems in school, but many are not sure how to be certain. Detecting learning disabilities can be tricky, but here are some helpful facts and things you should know in order to assess a learning disability.

Learning disabilities affect at least 1 in 10 schoolchildren. A learning disability is a condition that produces a gap between someone's ability and his or her performance. Children with learning disabilities usually have a normal range of intelligence. They try very hard to follow instructions, concentrate, and "be good" at home and in school. Yet, despite this effort, he or she is not accomplishing school tasks and falls behind. It is believed that learning disabilities are caused by a difficulty with the nervous system that affects receiving, processing, or communicating information. They may also be genetic.

Some children with learning disabilities are also hyperactive; unable to sit still, easily distracted, and have a short attention span. Another name for this disorder is called attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This disorder is found in children who have trouble paying attention. They may be much more active and/or impulsive than what is usual for their age. Aside from contributing to learning difficulties ADHD contributes to significant problems in relationships and behavior. Common symptoms include not being able to play quietly, blurting out answers, interrupting people, and not being able to sit still.

Parents should be aware of the most frequent signals of learning disabilities, when a child has difficulty understanding and following instructions or has trouble remembering what someone just told him or her. They may find it difficult to read, spell, and/or write. They may also have a hard time distinguishing right from left and reverse letters, words, or numbers. If a child easily loses or misplaces homework, schoolbooks, or other items the child may be suffering from a learning disability.

“It is very important for a parent to be supportive and contact the school or teacher to seek help,” states Dianne Matthaei, the owner of Lighthouse Learning.

Dyslexia, which means ‘trouble with language and words,’ is the most common learning disability among children. Dyslexia, also called specific reading disability, is impairment in your brain's ability to translate written images received from your eyes into meaningful language. It often happens to children with normal vision and normal intelligence. Children with dyslexia usually have normal speech, but often have difficulty interpreting spoken language and writing. Dyslexia can be difficult to recognize, but some early signs may indicate a problem. If your young child begins talking late, adds new words slowly and has difficulty rhyming, he or she may be at increased risk of dyslexia. The most common symptoms of dyslexia include problems processing and understanding what they hear. They may have difficulty comprehending rapid instructions, following more than one command at a time or remembering the sequence of things. They often spell things in reverse order and read from right to left.

Dianne Matthaei pointed out that, “Dyslexia doesn’t mean that a child won’t learn to read or write. It just means that a child will have to go about learning to read or write a different way.”
Child and adolescent psychiatrists point out that learning disabilities are treatable, yet if not detected and treated early, learning disabilities may lead to low self-esteem, behavioral problems, delinquency, aggression, and withdrawal or alienation from friends, parents and teachers. They can experience a tragic "snowballing" effect. For instance, a child who does not learn addition in elementary school cannot understand algebra in high school. Out of frustration children often give up and drop out later in school.

If treated, learning disabilities can be conquered. If your child's reading achievement levels fall below what's expected for his or her age, or if you notice other signs or symptoms of a learning disability talk to your child’s teacher. A teacher may suggest that your child be scheduled for a physical exam to look for any signs of neurological problems, gather enough history to screen for psychological issues, and screen for vision and hearing issues. If none apparent then evaluation for specific learning disorders is usually done. A teacher may also refer you to a psychologist or educational therapist who can offer an educational evaluation which includes an intelligence test, if they want assessment for an attention disorder, or if they are concerned about emotional or behavioral issues.

“An educational therapist is a professional who combines educational and therapeutic approaches for evaluation, remediation, case management, and communication/advocacy on behalf of children, adolescents, and adults with learning disabilities or learning problems,” explains Dianne Matthaei.
An educational evaluation by an educational therapist asks the questions, “How does this individual learn? What is his learning profile, including learning strengths and weaknesses? Why is the individual experiencing learning difficulties? Does the individual have a learning disorder? How can the individual deal effectively with his learning issues? How can the client develop academic competence as efficiently as possible?” An educational assessment generally begins with an intake interview with the client and family, several hours of testing, and a conference to share the results and recommendations. An educational assessment generally involves an intake interview with the client and family, several hours of testing, and a conference to share the results and recommendations. A written document accompanies the testing explanation. You may also qualify for this evaluation through your public school.

After an educational evaluation, an educational therapist discusses the findings with the client and her family. Educational therapists offer individualized intensive instruction to meet the client’s learning goals. This one-to-one instruction is designed to increase fundamental skills and to empower the students to take control of their learning. Educational therapists can help a second grader with dyslexia learn to read, or seventh grader with attention problems learn to organize his work, or a tenth grade with visual-spatial processing problems pass her geometry class. An educational therapist can walk beside a family to help them make academic and school decisions and to promote collaboration between specialists and the school. 

For more info contact:
Dianne Matthaei, Lighthouse Learning
253-779-5032
dmatthaei@arkinst.org

Back to top of page