Learning Disabilties

Learning Disabilties, such as Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder, Autism, and other behavioral problems that can impair learning, can be measured using psychometric methods. These tests can help not only the clinician diagnosing a possible case but also the relatives who are concerned about the individual's improvement through therapy. Parents commonly wonder and ask how they can know whether their child has a learning disability. While there is no one sign that shows a person has a learning disability, educational and clinical professionals look for a noticeable difference between how well a child does in school and how well he or she could do, given his or her assessed intelligence or ability. There are many signs that may indicate that a child has a learning disability, and many of those signs become apparent in elementary school, when a child is increasingly required to demonstrate learning skills and knowledge. If a child is showing a number of such specific problems, then parents and the teacher should consider the possibility that the child has a learning disability. The following is a list of questions (most here specific to elementary grades, but many applicable for adolescents and adults) that parents can ask a teacher to determine the possibility of a learning disability their child their child may have: ·    Does my child have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds? ·    Does my child have difficulties for his/her age sounding out and decoding words and letter combinations? ·     Does my child have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight differences between words? ·      Is my child often mispronouncing words or often using a wrong word that sounds similar? ·       Is my child making many mistakes when reading aloud, and does he or she repeat and pause often when reading orally? ·        Is my child having difficulty understanding what he or she reads? ·        Is my child having difficulty with spelling? ·   Does my child have very poor handwriting, or does he or she hold a pencil awkwardly for his or her age? ·  Is my child having difficulties understanding and using fundamental rules of grammar, syntax, and punctuation when writing? ·       Is my child showing great difficulties expressing ideas in writing? ·      Is my child having difficulties with organizing his or her thoughts when attempting to write organizationally? ·       Does my child appear to have difficulties following verbal directions? ·       Does my child appear to have a limited developing vocabulary for his or her age?