Diagnosing a Learning Disability

A learning disability is defined as "a childhood disorder characterized by difficulty with certain skills such as reading or writing in individuals with normal intelligence."¹ It's also defined as a "significant gap between a person's intelligence and the skills the person has achieved at each age."² It's important to note that the primary indicator of a learning disability is a considerable difference between a child's ability (based on age and intelligence) and his actual level of development. A grade school child is considered to have a learning disability if there is at least a two-year gap between where a child is and where he should be.

Learning disabilities typically show up as a developmental issue in either verbal/writing skills or mathematical skills, while learning in other areas progress normally. There are five different areas that can be affected by learning disabilities:

Spoken language: delays, disorders, and deviations in listening and speaking.
Written language: difficulties with reading, writing and spelling.
Arithmetic: difficulty in performing arithmetic operations or in understanding basic concepts.
Reasoning: difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts.
Memory: difficulty in remembering information and instructions.³

Some symptoms that may indicate a learning disability include:

Poor short-term or long-term memory
Poor organizational skills
Difficulty discerning size, shape, and/or color
Difficulty understanding concepts of time
Being easily confused by instructions
Disorganized thinking
Difficulty with abstract reasoning and/or problem solving
Obsessive focus on one idea or topic⁴

A parent who suspects their child has a learning disability should have the child tested. A school counselor or other faculty member should schedule the child's tests. Should the school not acknowledge that there's a problem, a parent is well within his or her rights to consult someone outside of the school system. Once the tests are concluded, parents can take the results back to the school and insist their child receives the help he needs.

Different disabilities are tested in different ways. A language or speech disability should be tested by a speech therapist who will examine a child's verbal skills, including grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary comprehension. The test results are compared to standard results to determine if there's a significant gap. In addition, an audiologist will test for auditory problems; a psychologist will test intelligence, and a physician will likely test for ear problems like infections.

If the learning problem is academic, the child will take standardized tests that will evaluate his ability and current comprehension. Hearing and/or vision tests may also be administered to ensure that the child's learning isn't being hindered by an inability to hear or see properly. The people or person administering the test will also ask about the child's school attendance and overall participation; either of which could severely impact a child's academic performance.

Once a diagnosis has been made, it's important to develop an education program that will help the child acquire and hone the skills he'll need to move forward developmentally, in spite of the learning disability. Most schools are equipped to do this and will already have programs in place. If, however, over time, it seems the child is not getting the help he needs, parents may wish to consult an outside specialist – like a tutor who can give the child more focused attention.

Being diagnosed with a learning disability doesn't mean a child will be limited in his academic (or other) achievements. Once a child is aware of his disability, he can begin learning how to work around it, and his achievements will only be limited by his own ambition and persistence.

References:

¹ Source: http://www.medterms.com
² Source: http://healthlink.mcw.edu
³ Source: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com
⁴ Source: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com