Learning disabilities: dyslexia, dysgraphy, dyscalculation and others

Learning disabilities: dyslexia, dysgraphy, dyscalculation and others

Does your child fight back from school? Is he afraid to read aloud, write essays or solve mathematical problems? While every child faces periodic problems with homework, if a particular area of study is constantly facing difficulties, this may indicate a learning disability. If you learn all you can about learning disabilities, you can provide your child with the right help to help him or her overcome school difficulties and succeed in life.

Learning Disorders and Disorders

What are Learning Disorders
Learning Problems – or Learning Disorders – is an umbrella term for a wide variety of learning difficulties. Learning disabilities are not problems of intelligence or motivation. Children with learning disabilities are not lazy or stupid. In fact, most are just as smart as any other. Their brains just work differently. This difference affects how they perceive and process information.

Simply put, children and adults with learning disabilities see, hear, and understand things differently. This leads to problems in mastering new information and acquiring new skills, and in using them in practice. The most common learning disabilities include problems with reading, writing, math, logic, listening, and speaking.

Children with learning disabilities can and do succeed!

Learning disabilities: dyslexia, dysgraphy, dyscalculation and others

It is hard to face the possibility that your child has a learning disability. No parent wants to see their child suffer. You start wondering what this means for your child’s future, or worry about how your child will learn in school. You may be worried that because of the attention paid to learning problems, your child may be called a “slow learner” or may be placed in a class with less complex tasks.

But there is an important thing to keep in mind: most children with learning disabilities are as smart as everyone else. They just need to learn in a different way – one that allows them to use their unique learning style. If you study more and more materials about learning problems in general, and the specific learning difficulties of your child in particular, you will be able to help them pave the way for success in school and beyond.

If you’re worried, don’t wait up.
If you suspect that your child’s learning difficulties require a special approach, please do not delay finding support. The sooner you begin to solve the problem, the more chances your child has of realizing his or her full potential.

Signs and symptoms

Learning disabilities look different depending on the child. One child struggles with reading and pronunciation problems, while another child likes books but does not understand mathematics. And a third has difficulty understanding what others say or poorly express themselves. The problems are very different, but they all relate to learning problems.

It is not always easy to identify learning disabilities. Because of their wide variety, there is no single symptom or profile to look at and say whether there is a problem or not. However, some warning signs are more common than others at a certain age. If you know what they are, you will have the opportunity to “catch” the learning disorder at an early stage and take quick steps to help your child.

Below are some common “red flags” of learning disabilities. Remember, children who do not have learning disabilities may also encounter these problems from time to time. Time of concern comes when there is a clearly traceable pattern in a child’s ability to master certain skills.

Pre-school age: signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

  • Problems with word pronunciation
  • Problem to find the right word
  • Difficulties with rhyming
  • Difficulty in remembering the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, days of the week
  • Problem with following the direction or following the schedule
  • Difficulties in controlling crayons, pencils and scissors or coloring paintings
  • Problems with buttons, zippers, latches; difficulties in tying laces

Age 5-9 years: signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

  • Problem with establishing and detecting the connection between letters and sounds
  • The inability to connect sounds and convert them into words
  • Confusion with key words during reading
  • Persistent mispronunciation of words and frequent reading errors
  • Difficulties in understanding basic mathematical concepts
  • Low learning speed for new skills

Age 10-13 years: signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

  • Difficulties in understanding texts or with mathematical skills
  • Problems with open questions in tests and word problems
  • Lack of love for reading and writing; avoiding reading out loud
  • Spelling the same words in different ways when they occur