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Are You Familiar With LD and ADHD?
If you're seriously interested in knowing about learning disability, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about learning disability.
LD is Learning Disability, whereas ADHD is Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder. LD is a neurological disorder. It refers to a learning disability resulting from an abnormal brain circuit, so to speak. LD kids are actually as smart or even smarter than normal kids. However they need to be taught differently how to talk, read, write, spell, reason, organise information etc. Conventional education just does not suit them.
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric condition. It is estimated that 3 to 10 percent of school-age children in the United States have ADHD. ADHD is characterized by consistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsiveness. It is difficult to diagnose ADHD, since children are impulsive or inattentive some of the time. However, an ADHD child demonstrates those behaviors to a degree that is inappropriate to his / her age, according to guidelines from the National Institute of Mental Health.
LD and ADHD are a lifetime issue. Children with LD and ADHD need the right support and intervention to succeed in their school. They often achieve successful careers when they become adults. Parents can help shape their kids' successful future by knowing their weaknesses, improving their strengths, working closely with professionals and keep learning on how to deal with specific related difficulties.
Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was nine. Walt Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had trouble reading all their lives. Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab and many others have learning disabilities which haven't affected their ultimate success. So LD and ADHD are not a death verdict at all.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 7 Americans has some kind of learning disability. The most common ones are difficulty with language skills and basic reading. Learning disabilities should not be confused with other disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral disorders. Neither should they be confused with lack of educational opportunities like frequent changes of schools or attendance problems. Attention disorders, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities often occur at the same time, but the two disorders are not the same.
Here are some common learning disabilities :
*Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder.
*Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.
*Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.
*Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.
*Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.
It is ideal for parents to discover potential learning disability problems early. A recent National Institutes of Health study showed that 67 percent of young students who were at risk for reading difficulties became average or above average readers after receiving help in the early grades.
Here is a checklist of signs that may point to a learning disability. Children do show some of those characteristics occasionally, that is normal. If they persist over a long period of time then they could be signs of learning disability.
Preschool :
*Speaks later than most children
*Pronunciation problems
*Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word
*Difficulty rhyming words
*Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes
*Extremely restless and easily distracted
*Trouble interacting with peers
*Difficulty following directions or routines
*Fine motor skills slow to develop
Grades K-4 :
*Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
*Confuses basic words (run, eat, want)
*Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including letter reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions (felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)
*Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
*Slow to remember facts
*Slow to learn new skills, relies heavily on memorization
*Impulsive, difficulty planning
*Unstable pencil grip
*Trouble learning about time
*Poor coordination, unaware of physical surroundings, prone to accidents
Grades 5-8 :
*Reverses letter sequences (soiled/solid, left/felt)
*Slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other spelling strategies
*Avoids reading aloud
*Trouble with word problems
*Difficulty with handwriting
*Awkward, fist-like, or tight pencil grip
*Avoids writing assignments
*Slow or poor recall of facts
*Difficulty making friends
*Trouble understanding body language and facial expressions
It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of learning disability is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about learning disability.
High School Students and Adults :
*Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing
*Avoids reading and writing tasks
*Trouble summarizing
*Trouble with open-ended questions on tests
*Weak memory skills
*Difficulty adjusting to new settings
*Works slowly
*Poor grasp of abstract concepts
*Either pays too little attention to details or focuses on them too much
*Misreads information
Here are some tips for parents on how to respond :
*Find out your child's strengths
Children with learning disabilities are often highly intelligent, possess leadership skills, or are superior in music, arts, sports, or other creative areas. Rather than focusing solely on your child's deficiencies, emphasize and reward your child's strengths. Encourage your child in areas of interest outside the classroom.
*Collect information about your child's performance
Meet with your child's teachers, tutors, and school support personnel to understand performance levels, and attitude toward school. Observe your child's ability to study, complete homework, and finish tasks that you assign at home.
*Have your child evaluated
Ask school authorities to provide a comprehensive educational evaluation including assessment tests. Tests for learning disabilities are referred to as assessment tests because they evaluate and measure areas of strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive evaluation, however, includes a variety of procedures in addition to the assessment tests, such as interviews, direct observation, reviews of your child's educational and medical history, and conferences with professionals who work with your child. Either you or the school can request this evaluation, but it is given only with your written permission. If you don't understand the test results, ask questions!
*Work as a team to help your child
Since you are one of the best observers of your child's development, it is important that you be an active participant in the evaluation.
Of course, it's impossible to put everything about learning disability into just one article. But you can't deny that you've just added to your understanding about learning disability, and that's time well spent.
LD is Learning Disability, whereas ADHD is Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder. LD is a neurological disorder. It refers to a learning disability resulting from an abnormal brain circuit, so to speak. LD kids are actually as smart or even smarter than normal kids. However they need to be taught differently how to talk, read, write, spell, reason, organise information etc. Conventional education just does not suit them.
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric condition. It is estimated that 3 to 10 percent of school-age children in the United States have ADHD. ADHD is characterized by consistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsiveness. It is difficult to diagnose ADHD, since children are impulsive or inattentive some of the time. However, an ADHD child demonstrates those behaviors to a degree that is inappropriate to his / her age, according to guidelines from the National Institute of Mental Health.
LD and ADHD are a lifetime issue. Children with LD and ADHD need the right support and intervention to succeed in their school. They often achieve successful careers when they become adults. Parents can help shape their kids' successful future by knowing their weaknesses, improving their strengths, working closely with professionals and keep learning on how to deal with specific related difficulties.
Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was nine. Walt Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had trouble reading all their lives. Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab and many others have learning disabilities which haven't affected their ultimate success. So LD and ADHD are not a death verdict at all.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 7 Americans has some kind of learning disability. The most common ones are difficulty with language skills and basic reading. Learning disabilities should not be confused with other disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral disorders. Neither should they be confused with lack of educational opportunities like frequent changes of schools or attendance problems. Attention disorders, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities often occur at the same time, but the two disorders are not the same.
Here are some common learning disabilities :
*Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder.
*Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.
*Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.
*Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.
*Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.
It is ideal for parents to discover potential learning disability problems early. A recent National Institutes of Health study showed that 67 percent of young students who were at risk for reading difficulties became average or above average readers after receiving help in the early grades.
Here is a checklist of signs that may point to a learning disability. Children do show some of those characteristics occasionally, that is normal. If they persist over a long period of time then they could be signs of learning disability.
Preschool :
*Speaks later than most children
*Pronunciation problems
*Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word
*Difficulty rhyming words
*Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes
*Extremely restless and easily distracted
*Trouble interacting with peers
*Difficulty following directions or routines
*Fine motor skills slow to develop
Grades K-4 :
*Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
*Confuses basic words (run, eat, want)
*Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including letter reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions (felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)
*Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
*Slow to remember facts
*Slow to learn new skills, relies heavily on memorization
*Impulsive, difficulty planning
*Unstable pencil grip
*Trouble learning about time
*Poor coordination, unaware of physical surroundings, prone to accidents
Grades 5-8 :
*Reverses letter sequences (soiled/solid, left/felt)
*Slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other spelling strategies
*Avoids reading aloud
*Trouble with word problems
*Difficulty with handwriting
*Awkward, fist-like, or tight pencil grip
*Avoids writing assignments
*Slow or poor recall of facts
*Difficulty making friends
*Trouble understanding body language and facial expressions
It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of learning disability is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about learning disability.
High School Students and Adults :
*Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing
*Avoids reading and writing tasks
*Trouble summarizing
*Trouble with open-ended questions on tests
*Weak memory skills
*Difficulty adjusting to new settings
*Works slowly
*Poor grasp of abstract concepts
*Either pays too little attention to details or focuses on them too much
*Misreads information
Here are some tips for parents on how to respond :
*Find out your child's strengths
Children with learning disabilities are often highly intelligent, possess leadership skills, or are superior in music, arts, sports, or other creative areas. Rather than focusing solely on your child's deficiencies, emphasize and reward your child's strengths. Encourage your child in areas of interest outside the classroom.
*Collect information about your child's performance
Meet with your child's teachers, tutors, and school support personnel to understand performance levels, and attitude toward school. Observe your child's ability to study, complete homework, and finish tasks that you assign at home.
*Have your child evaluated
Ask school authorities to provide a comprehensive educational evaluation including assessment tests. Tests for learning disabilities are referred to as assessment tests because they evaluate and measure areas of strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive evaluation, however, includes a variety of procedures in addition to the assessment tests, such as interviews, direct observation, reviews of your child's educational and medical history, and conferences with professionals who work with your child. Either you or the school can request this evaluation, but it is given only with your written permission. If you don't understand the test results, ask questions!
*Work as a team to help your child
Since you are one of the best observers of your child's development, it is important that you be an active participant in the evaluation.
Of course, it's impossible to put everything about learning disability into just one article. But you can't deny that you've just added to your understanding about learning disability, and that's time well spent.
