Learning Disabilities

Assessments for learning disabilities: How to identify an LD

What is a learning disability?

A learning disability is a condition that can either prevent or hinder someone from learning basic and life skills. It is a disorder in the basic psychological processes involved in acquiring and using information through language, both written and spoken, and may show up as an inability to think, read, write, spell or listen.

The difficulties faced by a child with a learning disability

A child with a learning disability may face difficulties beyond basic and life skills. The child may experience feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, shame and low self-esteem brought on by the inability to achieve at school at the same rate as peers. Research has shown that:

  • Those with learning disabilities may experience an increased level of anxiety
  • Individuals with learning disabilities may be at greater danger for depression
  • People with learning disabilities experience higher levels of loneliness
  • Those with learning disabilities may have a lower level of self-esteem
  • Individuals with learning disabilities are at greater threat for substance abuse
  • People with learning disabilities may be at greater risk for juvenile delinquency (though there is some debate here as to how much of this may be led by more able peers)

Potential symptoms of learning disabilities

Below is a list of the potential symptoms of a learning disability. Be aware that not everyone will have all of these symptoms. Also, some symptoms are more common than others, and all people have at least two or three of these problems to some degree. The number of symptoms seen in a particular child is not an indication of whether the disability is mild or severe.

  • Poor performance on tests
  • Difficulty discriminating size, shape, color
  • Difficulty with concepts of time
  • General awkwardness
  • Confusion when faced with instructions
  • Difficulty with problem solving
  • Poor short- and long-term memory
  • Impulsive behavior
  • Low tolerance for frustration
  • Excessive movement during sleep
  • Over-excitability during group play
  • Poor social judgment
  • Inappropriate, unselective and often excessive displays of affection
  • Inappropriate behavior for situation
  • Gullibility
  • Distractibility

Resources

There are hundreds of books dedicated to learning disabilities. These are a few of the recommended titles:

  • A Good Start in Life: Understanding Your Child's Brain and Behavior from Birth to Age 6 by Norbert Herschkowitz and Elinore Chapman Herschkowitz
  • A Mind At a Time by Dr. Mel Levine. "Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Levine, one of the best-known learning experts and pediatricians in America today.
  • A Parent's Guide to Special Education by Linda Wilmshurst and Alan W. Brue

There are also numerous resources online:

  • www.ldonline.org. LD OnLine is one of the largest online reference points for information on learning disabilities.
  • www.ldworldwide.org. This site is designed to provide current information for kids, teens, young adults and adults with learning disabilities (LD).
  • www.mencap.org.uk. Mencap is a UK charity that campaigns for equal rights for children and adults with learning disabilities.
By Phillip Bilzon
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where the movie? :<(?
Posted on 2/1/2010 5:05:00 PM by Anonymous
My daughter is now 35 years old. I have searching ways to help her out just for her to get a good job. She only gets short term jobs, nothing steady. All this has contributed to her loneliness - she has no friends whatsoever. I fear what will happen to her when I pass on.
Posted on 9/18/2009 9:01:00 PM by Anonymous
Learning is essential for continuous growth.
Posted on 9/1/2009 4:40:00 AM by Anonymous
My sons both have LDs. One we caught late after much trouble with the school district, and he never caught up. The other was lucky--it was caught early although hard to diagnos--schools like to say its ADHD too quickly sometime. He still struggles, but we learned how to fight for him and that has been crucial!! Schools don't take the time to help as much as they should.
Posted on 8/23/2009 9:42:00 AM by Anonymous
im the person from below and this is my email so someone can help me help my cousin. molotov.kc@hotmail.com
Posted on 7/12/2009 5:24:00 AM by Anonymous
hi everyone, i have a cousin that lives in mexico and she has serious learning problems, she goes to 4th grade but shes supposed to be in 6th grade and bearly learned how to read and write but shes at a low level and also has problems pronouncing most words. shes not the only one her brother had also troubles at school and speech problems and he dropped out of school at a young age. i think it might be genetic im not shure but i dont know what she might have so can someone help me?
Posted on 7/12/2009 5:17:00 AM by Anonymous
how to treat a child with learning disability
Posted on 5/7/2009 2:51:00 PM by Anonymous
hello to all parents.. i am a mother of 2. Jessica and Kortney. Kortney has a learning disability, & she isnt able to cope by herself. and struggles with everything. to all that have a learning disability .... you all have blessed this world. .... thats all i would like to say, thankyou. VICKIE :)
Posted on 4/13/2009 4:58:00 PM by Anonymous
I will lake to have more infomation by email. zuleikarod@yahoo.com
Posted on 3/8/2009 9:10:00 AM by Anonymous
hello to all of you beautiful parents.. i am a mother wyh 3 boys my first now 17 has been easy involved in sports does hm wk now my 11 yr old struggles getting any hm / classwk done it is such a daily struggle a power struggle to get it done he spends more time arguing about what needs to get done then doing it he tests high all a's b's so the school/teachers have dismissed any learning disibilities yet he as well as 5th grade is failing the teachers and councilers dont care at all your another number in the stack WHAT DOES ONE DO THESE ARE OUR KIDS OUR LOVE THE REASON WHY WE GET UP IN THE MORNING STRUGGLE TO BARLEY MAKE IT BY in the hopes of a great future for them as single parents how do we make rite decisions you wk all day get hm struggle for your kid to do there hm wk .. Now i know why people would say money talks i do believe it now at 40 with 3 dead beat dads and 3 boys if i had money id send my boy to a privite christian school id be able to afford a privite tutor id send him to art classes and i wouldnt stress as all of my other single moms do to get by our society has spun out of ck ... Blessings to all of our BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN AND PARENTS and please give some advice
Posted on 3/2/2009 11:25:00 AM by Anonymous
I came to this site to find ways to homeschool my daughter if I chose to, and haven't found a program listed but in homeschooling the magazine had some listed. Schools in the US have to pass LD children on because of the "No Child Left Behind" program by Bush. I spent the first six weeks of last school year trying to get things situated wih my daughter and even now if we were to move every district is different because lack of funding. The only areas mandated statewide for any children is testing and special needs kids. But not all districts follow it- testing they do of course because it involves money.
Posted on 1/16/2009 5:38:00 PM by Anonymous
my son is going to be 8 and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD he has so much trouble functioning around large groups of people but acadimic wise he is so smart he is at a 20 reading level in the 2nd grade straight a's in every subject he just can't seem to function behavor wise around other children. I really don't know what to do now.
Posted on 11/17/2008 9:40:00 PM by Anonymous
My son had meningitis when he was13 months old, The Doctor at the time said to always remember that he could have a learning disibility. Well he is 37 now and I believe that he does. I am worried because his thinking is if he had a disability it should have shown up before now. It did he just would check it out. on the list above there are 13 symptoms I can check off right now. The doctor that took care of him while he was sick said that this could show up at anytime.
Posted on 10/13/2008 11:17:00 AM by Anonymous
I have come to the conclusion that if a child has learning disabilities he is passed over and left behind. The teachers will not give them the time and attention they need to keep up. They pass them to the next grade just to get rid of them, not caring for a moment that they are setting the child up for complete failure. How can they succeed in the next grade when they don't even have the grade there in learned to a successful degree? I really believe that that the school system only wants the money they get for each child and can care less if the child succeeds or not.
Posted on 10/11/2008 11:23:00 PM by Anonymous
I live in Canada and the one stop shopping teaching approach here is leaving hundreds of students with mild learning disabilities without the tools to succeed in todays education system. I have 2 boys with LDs and am a single parent of 4. The schools dont have the resources or ability to help them and i am exhausted trying to advocate in between work and other responsibilities. I would love a plan to help all my kids succeed in the classroom, cost and time effective.
Posted on 10/3/2008 6:44:00 PM by Anonymous
It would be nice if teachers and tutors would be able to figure out that the main reason that they go into education is to help people suceed in areas that they lack in.Not everyone get on the National Honors Society. Our society has the additute that if someone has a hard time learning then they are a lost cause. It would not be such a problem if people would bother education themselves.
Posted on 9/27/2008 6:13:00 PM by Anonymous