A learning disabilities diagnosis occurs when a child has learning difficulties beyond what is expected when kids acquire new skills. Also, when a child’s learning issues are more pronounced than their agemates’ or the problems don’t improve, or your child experiences other signs and symptoms of a learning disability, you can request that your child be formally evaluated. Understanding how learning disabilities are diagnosed can help you ensure that your child receives the right treatment for an accurate diagnosis.

It often becomes evident that a child has a learning disability after they’ve started school. When kids begin to formally learn reading, writing, and math skills, a child with a learning disability begins to struggle to keep up. A learning disabilities diagnosis is a process with many steps. It’s a thorough process that, when completed, can provide you with a profile of your child’s unique learning problems and strengths.

The Procedure for Learning Disabilities Diagnosis

If you are concerned that your child has a learning disability, you have the legal right to request testing. Alternately, your child’s teacher can also start the process if they’re suspicious that your child has a learning disorder. The teacher, school counselor, or principal will contact you to discuss their concerns and get your permission to proceed with the learning disabilities evaluation.

Once an evaluation request has been made, the next step is to begin the testing. If the school disagrees that your child should be tested, you can still proceed. You can find learning disabilities testing services by asking the school for recommendations, checking with your child’s doctor for sources, contacting your insurance company to find out what testers they approve of, or asking friends and family members who have experienced this with their child.

How to Diagnose Learning Disabilities

You and your child can expect certain procedures during a learning disabilities evaluation:

• A variety of tests to assess processing abilities as well as an IQ test to determine if there’s a discrepancy between your child’s potential and their performance.
• An examination of standardized test scores in reading, math, and writing
• A complete review of your child’s educational history
• As your child’s parent, you may be asked to complete a questionnaire to describe what your child is like at home and any difficulties with reading, writing, or math that you observe

Occasionally, kids receive a full learning disabilities evaluation which includes the above measures as well as these more inclusive procedures:

• A medical exam, including a neurological exam, to rule out other causes of a child’s symptoms, as emotional disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and brain diseases can mimic learning disabilities
• A comprehensive review of the child’s developmental, social, and school records
• A discussion with parents about the child’s family history
• Academic testing
• Psychological testing

There is a great deal of careful work that goes into an evaluation of learning disabilities. This means that the outcome of the process is likely to be reliable. It also means that to ensure accuracy, a diagnosis is made by a team of professionals.

Who Can Diagnose Learning Disabilities?

Different people in a child’s life have unique input to contribute to the process. Teachers observe the child’s performance, behavior, emotions, and social interactions with peers; therefore, their insights are crucial. They are usually asked to complete a questionnaire similar to the one parents complete. Evaluators also talk to teachers to hear their observations.

Other school personnel can be asked to share their observations. The principal, nurse, and teachers of special courses like PE, music, or art might give input about the child’s functioning. Other school-based experts that may be involved in the diagnostic process include:

• School psychologist
• Special education expert
• Speech and language pathologist
• Reading specialist

Other professionals who aren’t part of the school system but are skilled at administering and interpreting tests include:

• Clinical psychologist
• Child psychiatrist
• Education psychologist
• Development psychologist
• Speech and language therapist
• Occupational therapist (if sensory disorders are involved)

If the team determines that your child has a learning disability, the next step is to determine the best way to help your child succeed at school.

When Your Child is Diagnosed with a Learning Disability, What’s Next?

Once you get a learning disabilities diagnosis for your child, the next step is to create a plan for their success at school. Called an individualized education program (IEP), this document delineates what your child needs for success at school.

Some members of the evaluation team hold a meeting to discuss the test results and write the IEP to call for the right supports and accommodations for your child’s learning. Once the evaluation process is done, the learning disability diagnosis has been made, and the IEP has been created, your child will be in a better position to learn despite their learning disability.

See Also:

• Learning Disabilities Statistics and Prevalence
• Learning Disability Symptoms and Signs for Concerned Parents
• How Do I Get a Learning Disabilities Diagnosis for My Child?
• What Learning Disabilities in Children Show Up Earliest?

article references

Misdiagnosing ADHD and bipolar disorder in children is not unusual. Find out why along with detailed information on ADHD and bipolar disorder in young children.

In children, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed due to an overlapping of symptoms like inattention and hyperactivity. If left untreated, these children are at risk for developing antisocial behavior, social alienation, academic failure, along with problems with the law and substance abuse. Correct diagnosis and early intervention are the keys to improving the outcome for these children.

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric illness, affecting about 345% of American children under the age of 13. Children with ADHD do not appear to have a deficit of attention so much as a lack of consistent direction and control. Two symptoms commonly identified with ADHD, impulsivity and hyperactivity, are not required for the diagnosis.

There are strong gender differences in ADHD - nearly 90% of children diagnosed with ADHD are boys. Differences in how boys and girls exhibit symptoms may play a role in the prevalence of ADHD in boys. Boys with ADHD are more likely to be hyperactive than girls and, therefore attract a great deal of attention. A girl with ADHD who daydreams at the back of a classroom may be unhappy and failing in school, but she does not attract the attention given to a boy who is constantly talking out of turn, jumping up from his desk, and pestering other children.

Physical and psychiatric illnesses can cause symptoms that resemble ADHD. These include:

• atypical depression
• anxiety disorder
• impaired speech or hearing
• mild retardation
• traumatic stress reaction

A third to a half of children with ADHD have major depression or anxiety disorders. They may also have learning disabilities with deficits in visual and auditory discrimination, reading, writing, or language development.

Often, ADHD is associated with a conduct disorder (lying, cheating, bullying, setting fires, deliberate cruelty, etc.). It has generally been believed that the stimulant drugs used to treat attention deficits have no direct effect on this misbehavior. A recent study, however, found that the stimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin) improved unpleasant behavior of all kinds - even cheating and stealing - regardless of the severity of the child's attention deficit.

Course of Illness

ADHD in adolescents varies more than in children and is marked by poor follow-through on tasks and failure to complete independent academic work. The ADHD adolescent is more likely to be restless than hyperactive, and engage in risky behaviors. They are at increased risk for school failure, poor social relationships, auto accidents, delinquency, substance abuse, and poor vocational outcome.

In about 10-60% of the cases, ADHD can persist into adulthood. A diagnosis of ADHD in adults can only be made with a clear history of childhood attention-deficit and distractibility, impulsivity or motor restlessness. ADHD does not have a new onset at adulthood, therefore an adult must have a childhood history of ADHD symptoms.

Objective Test for ADHD

Research studies are being done to more easily identify children with ADHD. Dr. Martin Teicher, of Harvard University, has developed an infrared motion analysis system to record the movement patterns of boys with ADHD and normal controls as they performed a repetitious attention task seated before a computer. The system tracked the position of four markers placed on each of the boys' head, back, shoulder, and elbow, at 50 times per second with a high degree of resolution.

The test results showed that boys with ADHD were two to three times more active than normal boys their own age and had larger whole-body movements. "What this test measures is a youngster's capacity to sit still," said Dr. Teicher. "There are a lot of children who know they should sit still and have the capacity to sit still, but just don't. This test is able to detect the children who know they should sit still and try to sit still, but physically are unable."

A child's capacity to sit still, said Dr. Teicher, often distinguishes a child with ADHD from a child who may have a simple behavioral problem, neurological problem or learning disorder. "It surprises me how often clinicians say ADHD, when the problem is really a learning disorder; particularly when there is no evidence of ADHD and no evidence that medications help learning disorders," he noted. This test, known as the "McLean test," uses recent advances in video technology to accurately measure both attention and body movements, unlike previous tests which have focused entirely on attention as an indicator for ADHD.

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Differences in the Brains of Children with ADHD

Most experts agree that ADHD is a brain disorder with a biological basis. A genetic influence is suggested by studies comparing identical with fraternal twins and by the high rates of ADHD (as well as antisocial behavior and alcoholism) found in the families of children with the disorder.

Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), scientists have found that the brains of children with ADHD are structurally different. In a study done by Drs. Xavier Castellanos and Judy Rapoport (a NARSAD Scientific Council member) from the National Institute of Mental Health, MRI scans were used to show that the boys with ADHD had more symmetrical brains than their normal controls.

Three structures in the affected circuit on the right side of the brain prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus and globus pallidu - were smaller than normal in the boys with ADHD. The prefrontal cortex, located in the frontal lobe just behind the forehead, is believed to serve as the brain's command center. The caudate nucleus and globus pallidus, located near the middle of the brain, translate the commands into action. "If the prefrontal cortex the steering wheel, the caudate and globus are the accelerator and brakes," explains Dr. Castellanos. "And it's this braking or inhibitory function that is likely impaired in ADHD." ADHD is thought to be rooted in an inability to inhibit thoughts. Finding smaller right hemisphere brain structures responsible for such "executive" functions strengthens support for this hypothesis.

The NIMH researchers also found that the entire right cerebral hemispheres in boys with ADHD were, on average, 5.2% smaller than those of controls. The right side of the brain is normally larger than the left. Hence, the ADHD children, as a group, had abnormally symmetrical brains.

According to Dr. Rapoport, "These subtle differences, discernible when comparing group data, hold promise as telltale markers for future family, genetic and treatment studies of ADHD, however, because of normal genetic variation in brain structure, MRI scans cannot be used to definitively diagnose the disorder in any given individual."

The newly confirmed markers may provide clues about the causes of ADHD. The investigators found a significant correlation between decreased normal asymmetry of the caudate nucleus and histories of prenatal, perinatal and birth complications, leading them to speculate that events in the womb may affect the normal development of brain asymmetry and may underlie ADHD. Since there is evidence for a genetic component in at least some cases of ADHD, factors such as a predisposition to prenatal viral infections could be involved.

Smoking During Pregnancy and ADHD

Studies done by Drs. Sharon Milberger and Joseph Biederman of Harvard University suggest that mamaternalmoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for ADHD. The mechanism for the positive association between maternal smoking and ADHD remains unknown but go along the "nicotinic receptor hypothesis of ADHD." This theory states that exposure to nicotine can affect a number of nicotinic receptors, which in turn affect the dopaminergic system. It is speculated that there is a dysregulation of dodopaminen ADHD. Partial support for this hypothesis comes from basic science which has shown that exposure to nicotine leads to an animal model of hyperactivity in rats. More studies need to be done to conclusively pinpoint whether there is a connection between smoking and ADHD.

Treatment of ADHD

The effects of stimulants in treating ADHD are quite paradoxical because they make children calmer rather than more active with improved concentration and reduced restlessness. Stimulants have long been the mainstay of medication therapy for ADHD because they are safer and more effective than clonidine (Catapres) or the antidepressants, particularly tricyclics.

There is little danger of drug abuse or addiction with stimulants because children do not feel euphoria or develop tolerance or craving. They become dependent on stimulant drugs like a person with diabetes is dependent on insulin or a nearsighted person on eyeglasses. The main side effects - appetite loss, stomach aches, nervousness, and insomnia - usually subside within a week or can be eliminated by lowering the dose.

Stimulants can cause side effects that are of special concern for treating children. One of these is the reduction of growth speed (found to be temporary and mild) with children "catching up" to heights predictive from their parents' heights. Cardiovascular effects such as palpitations, tachycardia and increased blood pressure are seen with dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate. Liver functioning can also be affected with the use of stimulants and, therefore a liver function test is required twice a year. The elevation of liver enzymes has been found in methylphenidate and pemoline to be temporary and returns to normal after these two stimulants are discontinued.

Several other kinds of drugs are also used in treating ADHD when the patient does not improve on stimulants or cannot tolerate their side effects. Beta-blockers such as propranolol (Inderal) or nadolol (Corgard) can be prescribed along with stimulants to reduce jitteriness. Another alternative to the stimulants is the antidepressant bupropion (Wellbutrin). Recent studies have found it to be as effective as methylphenidate in treating children with ADHD. Bupropion appears to be a useful alternative for children who either do not respond to methylphenidate or who cannot take it due to allergy or side effects.

While ADHD core symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity can be reduced with medication, the social skills, work habits and motivation that have deteriorated along the course of the disorder require a multimodal treatment approach. Children with ADHD need structure and routine.

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Stimulants Frequently Used to Treat ADHD:

Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine)
- Rapid absorption and onset (within 30 minutes but can last up to 5 hours)

Methylphenidate (Ritalin)
- Rapid absorption and onset (within 30 minutes but lasts 24 hours)

 

Especially when young, ADHD children often respond well to strict application of clear and consistent rules. In addition to medication, treatment should include specific psychotherapy, vocational assessments and counseling, as well as cognitive-behavior therapy and behavior modification. Psychotherapy can support the transition away from ADHD behavioral patterns.

Vocational assessment and counseling can improve time management and organizational skills. Family counseling is needed to improve interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills, and cognitive-behavior therapy to instill means to manage stress.

Children with ADHD...

• Are easily distracted and often seem to be daydreaming
• Usually do not finish what they start and repeatedly make what appear to be careless mistakes
• Switch haphazardly from one activity to another
• Arriving on time, obeying instructions, and following rules are difficult for them
• Seem irritable and impatient, unable to tolerate delay or frustration
• Act before thinking and do not wait their turn
• In conversation, they interrupt, talk too much, too loud, and too fast, and blurt out whatever comes to mind
• Seem to be constantly pestering parents, teachers, and other children
• Cannot keep their hands to themselves, and often appear to be reckless, clumsy, and accident-prone
• Appear restless; if must remain still, they fidget and squirm, tap their feet, and shake their legs.

Bipolar Disorder

Another difficult to diagnose illness in children is bipolar disorder. Several decades ago, the existence of bipolar illness in preadolescent children was considered a rarity or an anomaly, now it is increasingly recognized. Epidemiological data reveals that childhood and adolescent mania occurs in 6% of the population. The peak onset of illness is between the ages of 15-20 with 50% of individuals having abused drugs and alcohol. In fact, early-onset bipolar disorder is a very high-risk factor for subsequent drug abuse rather than vice-versa.

As such, diagnosed bipolar children should be entered into appropriate substance abuse prevention programs. Substance abuse can have an additional impact on gene expression and brain function and can only further complicate an already difficult to treat illness.

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder

Children with mania do not have exactly the same symptoms as adults and are seldom elated or euphoric; more often they are irritable and subject to outbursts of destructive rage. Furthermore, their symptoms are often chronic and continuous rather than acute and episodic, as in adults. Also, irritability and aggressiveness complicate the diagnosis, since they can also be symptoms of depression or conduct disorder.

According to Dr. Janet Wozniak (a 1993 NARSAD Young Investigator) of Harvard University, the type of irritability often observed in manic children is very severe, persistent, and often violent. The outbursts often include threatening or attacking behavior toward others, including family members, other children, adults, and teachers. Between outbursts, these children are described as persistently irritable or angry in mood. Although the aggressiveness may suggest a conduct disorder, it is usually less organized and purposeful than the aggression of predatory juvenile delinquents.

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Treating Childhood Bipolar Disorder

In general, the treatment of mania in children and adolescents follows the same principles that apply to adults. Mood stabilizers such as lithium, valproate (Depakene), and carbamazepine (Tegretol) are the first line of treatment. Some of the subtle differences in treating children include adjusting the lithium dosage since the therapeutic blood levels are somewhat higher in children than in adults, presumably due to the greater capacity of the young kidney to clear lithium. Also, baseline liver function tests are necessary before starting treatment with valproic acid because it can cause hepatotoxicity (i.e. toxic damage to the liver) in children under 10 (greatest risk is for patients less than 3 years old).

The potentially life-threatening depressive states of bipolar children can be managed with antidepressants. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine (Prozac) has recently been found effective in a controlled study for treating children. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAS) have not been shown to be particularly effective and one TCA, desipramine (Norpramin), has been associated with rare cases of sudden death in young children due to a disturbance of heart rhythms. Since these drugs can exacerbate mania, they should always be introduced after mood stabilizers, and an initial low dose should be raised gradually to therapeutic levels.

There is increasing evidence that lithium-responsiveness may run within families. According to Dr. Stan Kutcher of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, the children of parents who were lithium non-responders were much more likely to have psychiatric diagnoses and more chronic problems with their illness than those whose parents were lithium responders.

ADHD in Combination with Bipolar Disorder

Nearly 1 in 4 children with ADHD have or will develop bipolar disorder. Both bipolar disorder with ADHD and childhood-onset bipolar disorder begin early in life and occur mainly in families with a high genetic propensity for both disorders. Adult bipolar disorder is equally common in both sexes, but most children with bipolar disorder, like most children with ADHD, are boys, and so are most of their bipolar relatives.

Some children with bipolar disorder or a combination of ADHD and bipolar disorder may be wrongly diagnosed as having only ADHD. Hypomania can be misdiagnosed as hyperactivity because it is manifested as distractibility and shortened attention span.

Similarities between ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in children:

Both illnesses...

• Begin early in life
• Are much more common in boys
• Occur mainly in families with a high genetic propensity for both disorders
• Have overlapping symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, irritability

Genetically Linked

ADHD and bipolar disorder appear to be genetically linked. Children of bipolar patients have a higher than average rate of ADHD. The relatives of children with ADHD have twice the average rate of bipolar disorder, and when they have a high rate of bipolar disorder (especially the childhood-onset type), the child is at high risk for developing bipolar disorder. ADHD is also unusually common in adult patients with bipolar disorder.

Research studies have found some clues for identifying which children with ADHD are at risk for developing bipolar disorder later on which include:

• worse ADHD than other children
• more behavioral problems
• family members with bipolar and other mood disorders

Children with bipolar disorder and ADHD have more additional problems than those with ADHD alone. They are more likely to develop other psychiatric disorders such as depression or conduct disorders, more likely to require psychiatric hospitalization, and more likely to have social problems. Their ADHD is also more likely to be severe than in children without accompanying bipolar disorder.

Treatment of Bipolar Disorder with ADHD

Unstable moods, which are generally the most serious problems, should be treated first. Not much can be done about ADHD while the child is subject to extreme mood swings. Useful mood stabilizers include lithium, valproate (Depakene), and carbamazepine sometimes several drugs will be needed in combination. After mood stabilizers take effect, the child can be treated for ADHD at the same time with stimulants, clonidine, or antidepressants.

References:

Bender Kenneth, J. ADHD Treatment Mainstays Extend from Childhood to Adulthood Supplement to Psychiatric Times. February 1996.

Milberger, Sharon, Biederman, Joseph. Is Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy a Risk Factor for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children? American Journal of Psychiatry. 153:9, September 1996.

Schatzberg, Alan E, Nemeroff, Charles B. Textbook of Psychopharmacology. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D. C, 1995.

Goodwin, Frederick K., Jamison Kay Redfield. Manic-Depressive-Illness. Oxford University Press. New York, 1990.

Wozniak, Janet, Biederman, Joseph. A Pharmacological Approach to the Quagmire of Comorbidity in Juvenile Mania. Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 35:6. June 1996.

Source: NARSAD

Parenting tips for helping children cope with anxiety caused by violence, crime death, trauma, or disasters.

Whether tragic events touch your family personally or are brought into your home via newspapers and television, you can help children cope with the anxiety that violence, death, and disasters can cause.

Listening and talking to children about their concerns can reassure them that they will be safe. Start by encouraging them to discuss how they have been affected by what is happening around them. Even young children may have specific questions about tragedies. Children react to stress at their own developmental level.

Here are some pointers for parents and other caregivers:

• Encourage children to ask questions. Listen to what they say. Provide comfort and assurance that address their specific fears. It's okay to admit you can't answer all of their questions.
• Talk on their level. Communicate with your children in a way they can understand. Don't get too technical or complicated.
• Find out what frightens them. Encourage your children to talk about fears they may have. They may worry that someone will harm them at school or that someone will try to hurt you.
• Focus on the positive. Reinforce the fact that most people are kind and caring. Remind your child of the heroic actions taken by ordinary people to help victims of the tragedy.
• Pay attention. Your children's play and drawings may give you a glimpse into their questions or concerns. Ask them to tell you what is going on in the game or the picture. It's an opportunity to clarify any misconceptions, answer questions, and give reassurance.
• Develop a plan. Establish a family emergency plan for the future, such as a meeting place where everyone should gather if something unexpected happens in your family or neighborhood. It can help you and your children feel safer. If you are concerned about your child's reaction to stress or trauma, call your physician or a community mental health center.

Sources:

• SAMHSA'S National Mental Health Information Center

Learning disability symptoms can sometimes be fairly easy to spot. Many times, however, they aren’t straightforward. Symptoms can seem like they’re unrelated to a learning disability, and parents are often surprised to learn that something their child is having difficulty with is the result of a learning disability. To further complicate matters, all kids are unique. They develop at varying rates, and their strengths, abilities, and problems differ. This can make it hard for concerned parents to know if their child has learning disability symptoms and signs. The following information will help you sort things out.

Before we proceed, it’s important to keep in mind that the presence of some symptoms doesn’t automatically mean that a child has a learning disability. Look for clusters of symptoms that don’t improve as your child grows.

Early Signs of Learning Disabilities

Occasionally, signs of learning disabilities are present when a child is very young. If a child has multiple developmental delays where their milestones lag behind others of the same age, it could indicate the possibility of a learning disability. These aspects of development are related to learning and processing skills:

• Fine motor skills (small muscle movements)
• Gross motor skills (walking, running, etc.)
• Language, communication skills (understanding speech, eventual reading and writing)
• Cognitive skills (thinking, problem-solving)
• Social and emotional competencies (acting appropriately in different situations, having reasonable emotional responses)

If a child’s development is slower than what’s typical in these areas, it could be signs of a learning disability. Research has shown that by the time a child is in third grade—eight or nine years old—they will have caught up with peers. If by third grade your child continues to trail behind their peers, it might be reasonable to have them evaluated. You can, of course, have your child tested before third grade if you notice multiple learning disabilities symptoms that don’t improve with time.

Learning Disability Symptoms and Signs Related to Specific Disorders

These challenges are non-specific signs of learning disabilities in general.

• Poor memory
• Unusually short attention span
• Problems following directions
• Poor reading and/or writing skills, often indicated by avoidance
• Hand-eye coordination issues
• Struggles with sequencing
• Sensory difficulties, particularly auditory or visual (this is not the same as vision problems like the need for glasses or hearing problems resulting from illness, for example)

In addition to general symptoms, each type of learning disorder has its own signs and symptoms. Because of individual differences, no child will have all signs and symptoms of any learning disorder. You might see some of these signs if your child is struggling with a language based or math disorder like these or others:

Dyscalculia—a math-related learning disability  

• Problems understanding time and sequence of events
• Struggles with conceptualizing steps in a math problem
• Difficulty describing mathematical processes
• Trouble making change on assignments, in class activities, in play
• Hard time with word problems

Dysgraphia—a learning disability involving writing

• Very poor handwriting that doesn’t improve over time
• Hates writing and drawing
• Trouble writing down ideas
• Difficulty writing logically, sequentially
• Problems with grammar
• Says words aloud when trying to write them
• Leaves sentences unfinished or omits words when writing
• Shows physical tension when grasping a pencil

Dyslexia—a reading disability

• Trouble telling left from right
• Has a hard time understanding questions and following instructions
• Difficulty understanding new words and understanding what’s being said
• Reads very slowly and with effort
• Struggles to learn songs and rhymes

Other Learning Disability Symptoms and Signs

In addition to the above symptoms that directly relate to a type of learning disorder, there are less obviously related signs, too. If you notice several of these in your child with the more direct learning disability symptoms, you might consider evaluation for a possible learning disorder (but the presence of multiple symptoms doesn’t mean your child automatically has a learning disability).

• Inconsistent school performance from day to day
• Distractibility
• Inappropriate responses to questions and comments
• Says one thing when trying to say something else and becomes frustrated
• A tendency to leap before they look
• Difficulty adjusting to change
• Struggles to listen and remember
• Acting out at school, home, elsewhere
• Talking like someone younger, with simple languages, short phrases, omitting words

If you’ve watched your child struggle to communicate and learn, it’s natural to wonder, “Does my child have a learning disability?” If your child is struggling to read, write, or learn math and has groups of learning disability symptoms and signs, there is a possibility that they might have a specific learning disability. Only testing can determine with certainty whether your child has a disability. Knowing the symptoms and signs of learning disabilities can help you help your child.

See Also:

• What Causes Learning Disabilities?
• What Are the Characteristics of a Learning Disability?
• How Do I Get a Learning Disabilities Diagnosis for My Child?
• Can I Test My Child for a Learning Disability Online?

article references

Understanding the causes of learning disabilities won’t make a child’s learning disorder disappear, but it could, perhaps, solve a mystery that has parents and children asking, “Why?” It’s often hard for parents to watch their child struggle to learn math, writing, or reading, fundamental skills on which other learning builds. Wanting to know learning disability causes is natural. While there isn’t a definitive answer, researchers have identified several likely causes or contributing factors to the development of learning disabilities.

Causes of Learning Disabilities

Learning disability causes remain largely unknown. Researchers continue to study the issue to determine why someone develops a learning disorder. Why do some kids have a learning disability while most do not? It’s an important question to explore, for in theory, once we know the causes of learning disabilities, we can prevent them.

In their quest to uncover a cause, researchers have identified several possibilities. Some of the possible causes of learning disabilities include:

• Individual differences in the brain
• Genetics (heredity)
• Environmental factors
• Medical reasons
• Problems during the mother’s pregnancy

Everyone’s brain is unique right down to the way it takes in and processes information. These differences could explain why some children have learning disabilities. Beyond that, it could clarify why no two children ever have the same learning disability. Even among those who have dyslexia, for example, the exact challenges and difficulties they face are different.

The next logical question is why does each person’s brain process information differently than the next person? The list above offers tentative reasons. Here’s a deeper look.

Genetics. A person’s genetics, or heredity, can contribute to their learning disability. These disorders tend to run in families, so a child with a parent or sibling who has a learning disorder has a higher likelihood of having one of their own compared to children with no family history of such learning problems.

Environmental factors.  It’s thought that exposure to toxins in the environment may cause learning disabilities. Lead is a known toxin. If a child is exposed to lead paint or lead in the water, they could develop processing problems in the brain that show up as learning disorders. Also, poor nutrition is a suspect, too.  

Medical conditions. Because brain and body are part of one unified system, it is reasonable to think that medical problems might impact the brain and cause a learning disability to develop. Many medical conditions alter the structure or development of the brain. Chronic ear infections in childhood and neurological illnesses have been implicated as learning disability causes.

Problems during the mother’s pregnancy. When babies are developing in the womb, they are susceptible to what crosses the placenta. If a mother uses substances like drugs, alcohol, and nicotine, the baby can be harmed in many ways. One such way appears to be problems with the brain’s ability to process certain information—a learning disability.

These factors have a high probability of being causes of learning disabilities. Currently, the knowledge about the origin of these processing problems is tentative. Rather than thinking of them as causes, it’s more accurate to consider them to be risk factors of learning disabilities. Researchers continue to explore what causes learning disabilities, and one day we’ll know with certainty. Then measures can be taken to prevent them from developing at all.

See Also:

• Learning Disability Symptoms and Signs for Concerned Parents
• How Do I Get a Learning Disabilities Diagnosis for My Child?
• Can I Test My Child for a Learning Disability Online?
• What Are Treatments for Learning Disabilities?

article references

A learning disability is a processing problem within the brain that has nothing to do with intelligence. Kids who have learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence. The difference between a child with a learning disability and a child without one is only that their brains process some information differently. Let’s look at the definition of learning disability and what learning disabilities are like.

Definition of Learning Disabilities

Simply put, learning disabilities involve problems with the academic skills involved in reading, writing, or math. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law in the US that mandates and protects special education services, officially states what a learning disability is:

 “…a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself
in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do
mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities,
 brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.”

“Learning disability” is a general term that indicates that someone has a very specific type of learning problem. They are brain-based—the brain experiences processing problems in a particular area, which negatively affects basic language or math skills.

Sometimes, people use “learning disorders” and “learning disabilities” to mean the same thing. That’s not incorrect. The terms can be interchangeable, and both refer to an information processing difficulty in the brain that makes learning in a particular subject area difficult. The term “specific learning disorder” is the umbrella term used by the American Psychiatric Association in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Technically, a student is diagnosed with a specific learning disorder that creates learning disabilities. Whether you use “disability” or “disorder,” though, your meaning will be understood.

Before exploring examples of learning disorders, it’s helpful to know what learning disabilities are not. They aren’t:

• Learning problems caused by visual, hearing, or motor disabilities (but they can include problems created by sensory processing problems)
• Intellectual disabilities (formerly called mental retardation)
• Emotional disorders
• Disadvantage due to poverty or deficits in one’s environment

7 Types of Common Learning Disabilities

Processing and learning difficulties can be categorized into groups based on the area of the brain affected. Seven examples of types of common learning disabilities are

• Auditory processing disorder
• Dyscalculia
• Dysgraphia
• Dyslexia
• Language processing disorder
• Non-verbal learning disabilities
• Visual perceptual/visual motor disabilities

Auditory processing disorder is a problem with sounds coming into the brain and with how the brain interprets sound. A child has difficulty distinguishing between sounds in words, for instance, or they are unable to block out background noises.

Dyscalculia is a math processing disorder. Kids with this learning disability struggle to understand numbers and symbols, conceptualize time, and other functions.

If a child has dysgraphia, they have writing problems. Fine motor skills affect handwriting, and other processing problems impact writing skills.

Dyslexia, a reading disorder, is the most common learning disability. It’s a language-based processing disorder that makes it hard for a child to decode what they’re reading.

Language processing disorder is a type of auditory processing disorder. With this disability, kids have problems attaching meaning to the sounds they hear.

If a child is struggling to interpret things such as body language or facial expression, they might have non-verbal learning disability.

Visual perceptual or visual motor disabilities cause problems for kids when they try to understand something they see. Among the difficulties they face are problems drawing, copying information, losing their place when reading.

Learning Disabilities Meaning: How They Affect Kids’ School Experience

The meaning of learning disabilities lies in how they affect kids’ lives. They get in the way of learning, and they cause difficulties doing schoolwork. Learning disorders can impact one or more of these basic, but critical, skills:

• Reading
• Writing
• Math
• Speaking

A child with a learning disability can also have compromised higher-level skills like:

• Listening
• Time planning
• Organization
• Abstract reasoning
• Long- or short-term memory and attention issues

The reach of a learning disability extends beyond the classroom. Children can have negative overall school experiences (problems getting along with peers, teachers, other adults). Family life is often negatively affected as well, and daily routines are often challenging. Forming and keeping friendships can be tough, too. A learning disability is a brain processing disorder that can interfere in all aspects of a child’s life.

See Also:

• What Causes Learning Disabilities?
• Learning Disability Symptoms and Signs for Concerned Parents
• How Do I Get a Learning Disabilities Diagnosis for My Child?
• Can I Test My Child for a Learning Disability Online?

 

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A learning disabilities IEP can help your child learn the same material their classmates are learning. With accommodations in the individualized education program (IEP), children with a specific learning disability can maintain the same pace and stay with the curriculum for their grade level. With over two million students in the US public school system officially identified with learning disorders, this group of disorders is the largest category of disability for students receiving special education services (Understood Team, n.d.). Receiving services requires an individualized education program, so a learning disabilities IEP opens the door for the special services your child needs to learn and thrive in school.

What A Learning Disabilities IEP Can Do for Your Child

“Specific learning disability” is a broad term that refers to problems processing or recalling information. There are many specific learning disabilities that affect multiple learning domains, including:

• Reading
• Writing
• Spelling
• Speaking
• Math
• Understanding time
• Understanding money
• Organizing ideas
• Hand-eye coordination
• Balance
• Fine motor skills
• Interpreting and processing sensory input, especially auditory and visual

If a child is tested and found to have significant problems in one or more of these areas that indicates they have a learning disability, they qualify for an IEP. Having an IEP allows a child to receive accommodations or modifications so they can learn what they would have learned without their disability getting in the way.

A Learning Disability IEP Calls for Accommodations, Modifications

Individualized Education Programs for learning disabilities are designed specifically for the student whose special needs, like those listed above, call for extra support in learning. An IEP will delineate specific accommodations or modifications that will help that child learn.

Accommodations are changes made so that a student with a learning disability can participate in classroom activities like their peers. For a child with a reading disability, for example, text-to-speech software will let them read material that is a higher level than their reading level. Reading disorders don’t mean that a child can’t think critically and understand the content. A reading disorder means that the child can’t process the printed word correctly. Thanks to accommodations for learning disabilities in the IEP, students don’t have to be held back by their disability.

Accommodations remove the learning barriers children face. They don’t, however, address other areas—a child with a math disorder won’t receive a reading accommodation. Accommodations also aren’t in place to make learning effortless or to guarantee good grades. A student is accountable for doing what needs to be done to earn a grade. An accommodation for a learning disability simply gives them opportunities equal to the other students.  

A student with a specific learning disability can also receive modifications, but they’re not as common as accommodations. While accommodations change how a student learns so they can stay on par with their classmates (like that text-to-speech software), modifications change what a child learns or is expected to do in the classroom. With a modification, a student won’t learn exactly what their peers are learning. They’ll learn something slightly different, like reading a different book. They also might receive a reduced amount of work, perhaps only part of the book their peers are reading, or the same book but only a portion of it.

What accommodations and/or modifications a child receives is determined by the Education Planning Team that created the IEP. Every child with a learning disability is unique, even when two children have the same disability, such as dyslexia. Another way a learning disabilities IEP helps your child is by ensuring that all accommodations and modifications are properly suited for your child and your child is positioned to take charge of their learning.

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An Individualized Education Program, often referred to as an IEP, is an education plan designed specifically for a student with special needs. When a child has a disability, school can create unhealthy levels of stress because it feels seemingly impossible to learn, get along with classmates, and keep up with expectations. Help in the form of an individualized education program is available to eligible students attending a public school.

Special needs can be physical/medical, developmental, behavioral and/or emotional, and sensory impairment. Having a disability, though, doesn’t automatically qualify someone for an IEP. An individualized education program is created for a student whose disability negatively affects their functioning at school.

Students who might qualify for an IEP are those whose disability creates special needs in various ways in the school environment. Some examples of who might need an IEP include children and adolescents with:

• Specific learning disabilities
• Speech or language problems
• Cognitive problems
• Emotional or behavioral disorders
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Physical disabilities
• Hearing or visual impairment

What follows is a closer look at what, exactly, an individualized education program is, what’s included, how it’s created, and your rights as a parent.

What Is an Individualized Education Program?

An individualized education program is required for any child receiving special services from the school. The IEP is a plan designed to meet the special needs of a student with a disability that disrupts their learning or interactions at school. Every plan is different, and each child who qualifies receives a unique IEP.

A child’s IEP will establish where their education will take place. State and federal laws mandate that students be placed in the least restrictive environment. This varies from one special needs child to another.

Some students do best when remaining in the regular education classroom all day (this is known as inclusion or mainstreaming). Others need to stay in a special education room, while still others spend some time in each setting every day. If a student’s needs are severe, their IEP will specify a special school environment for intense education interventions.

In addition to outlining where the student will receive their education, the IEP includes many other types of support for students with special needs.

What’s Included in an Individualized Education Program?

To ensure the optimal learning environment for a student with an education-disrupting disability, an individualized education program incorporates a student’s unique strengths and needs.

The IEP specifies several things, including:

• Child’s present level of functioning and performance and how their disability is limiting them
• Learning goals
• How progress toward the goals will be measured
• Special accommodations and support needed for the student to achieve the goals
• Services the district will provide
• Modifications the child must receive
• Testing parameters (how and where the student will take academic tests and whether they are exempt from state and federal testing)

The content of a child’s IEP is reviewed yearly and modified as needed. When possible, the people who review it yearly are those who were initially involved in creating the IEP.

How an IEP is Created

If you’re the parent of a child with special needs and believe they should qualify for an IEP for extra support, you can request that your child be evaluated. You can initiate the process with a letter to the school principal officially requesting an evaluation. Teachers can request IEP evaluations, as well. Your child can’t be tested, though, without your written permission.

Once the process begins, it proceeds methodically.

• An Educational Planning Team (EPT) meeting is formed, and anyone with insights into the child’s school experience is invited, including the parents
• The student is evaluated with valid and reliable written assessments; written observations from teachers, parents, and others who interact regularly with the child; and verbal interviews with the child
• The EPT meets to discuss results and if the child qualifies, goals, placements and accommodations are set to create the IEP

Parents have the legal right to be involved in the entire process of creating an IEP for their child. Parents need to consent not just to test their child but to approve the final document. Parents or caregivers receive a written document, sometimes called procedural safeguards, with all their legal rights at the beginning of the process.

An individualized education program is created for positive reasons. It provides students with disabilities extra support so they can succeed academically, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially. IEPs seek to even the playing field for all students.

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Parenting children with special needs creates a vortex of roiling emotions that swirls over you, your child, and your entire family creating difficulties that you might wish weren’t part of your life. Whether your child’s disability is emotional or behavioral, physical/medical, sensory, or developmental, their needs are often intense and exhausting. The following insights and tips for parenting children with special needs can help relieve parenting stress and frustration.

Tips for Parenting Children with Special Needs: Ideas for Child-Raising

The disorders, conditions, and disabilities of kids with special needs can be confusing and overwhelming. Make things easier by becoming an expert in your child. Learn about their condition and what they need to function well. Keep a binder or files on your computer with key information; doctors, therapists, and other specialists who your child needs to see; contacts in your community; and notes from appointments. You’ll feel more in charge of the disorder and better equipped to deal with it.

Sometimes, parents with special needs children wonder if they should bother with discipline. Some wonder if there’s a point. Others think it might be too harsh or cruel to discipline a child who’s already having extra struggles. On the contrary, failing to discipline sends the message that your child isn’t capable of learning behavior skills or isn’t worthy of the effort. Here are some tips for learning how to discipline a special needs child:

• Understand everything you can about your child’s condition so you know what drives their behavior
• Focus on teaching right from wrong
• Clearly define your expectations
• Keep expectations and rules simple
• Be clear and consistent
• A system of rewards and consequences works best
• Praise your child often
• Remember that your child is a whole person, more than just their discipline problems

Other helpful tips for parenting your special needs child include:

• Of all your roles, remember the most important—you’re their parent who loves, comforts, and supports them
• Listen to your child fully, with undivided attention
• Empathize with their frustrations and struggles
• Celebrate their little victories together
• Advocate for your child to make sure they’re treated properly 
• Consider yourself an imported member of your child’s care team of therapists, and doctors
• Believe in your child—and in yourself

Even with these tips, parenting a special needs child is demanding and exhausting. Preventing burnout is important.

Tips for Preventing Special Needs Mom Burnout

Special needs mom burnout (and dad burnout) happens. You can avoid living in a constant state of tension by parenting yourself as much as you parent your children. Here are some ways to do it:

• Commit to self-care by acknowledging its importance and drawing up a contract for yourself to keep your commitment
• Remind yourself that calm has a ripple effect, beginning with you and extending outward through your family
• Tune into yourself by periodically closing your eyes and slowly scanning from your feet to your head, noting tension and stretching gently to release it.
• Take short breaks to relax and reset, walk around your yard, or other things you enjoy
• Ask for help. Even superheroes have teams or support people.
• Join a support group to socialize with people in similar situations, learn how they cope, and more
• Avoid isolating by getting out on your own, with your child, and as a family and enjoying simple, fun activities

Feeling stuck and alone, stressed and upset, guilt for sometimes resenting your special needs child or for thinking that you don’t do enough, and myriad other negative thoughts and emotions build and threaten to take over when you’re frazzled. Self-care reduces the intensity of the negative and replaces it with more realistic, positive thoughts and emotions. Keeping special needs parent burnout at bay with self-care does wonders for you and your child.

Parenting Children with Special Needs: Tips for Quality Family Life

A child with special needs requires more of your time and energy than do your other children and partner. It makes sense to focus on your special needs child. Remembering to nurture your relationship with other family members contributes to a happier, calmer family (and, of course, you are a family member, too). Fostering love, acceptance, and positivity for everyone in your family involves things like:

• Scheduling one-on-one time for you and your partner, you with each child, and your partner with each child
• Show interest in and support of everyone’s activities and pastimes
• Be open and honest about your child with special needs, answering the questions your other children ask
• Foster an attitude of acceptance, compassion, and respect for everyone
• Intentionally focus on everyone’s strengths, accomplishments, and character

Parenting children with special needs involves flexibility and compassion. It also means embracing your unique “normal.” Each family has their own type of normal. Yours has one, too. Own it, enjoy it, and don’t apologize for it.

See Also:

• What’s an Individualized Education Program? Who Needs One?
• A Learning Disabilities IEP: How Does It Help Your Child?

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Language-based learning disability (LBLD) is a learning disorder that, at its most fundamental level, involves impaired language abilities. A lack of language skills interrupts communication and comprehension. Communication and understanding form the base of learning and school life in general. Beyond this, the ability to read, analyze, and communicate ideas are essential to life outside of the classroom as well. If a child has a language-based learning disability, they risk struggling in school and beyond.

A language learning disability impacts reading skills and communication skills because it impedes crucial skills and functions that are necessary for language development, such as:

• Memory
• Concentration and attention
• Auditory and visual perception and processing
• Understanding the patterns of language
• Executive functioning (planning, self-regulation, and other higher-order functions)

A more in-depth exploration of what a language-based learning disability is will help clarify the meaning of this very broad learning disability.

What, Exactly, Is a Language-Based Learning Disability?

This learning disorder encompasses a spectrum of problems around spoken and written language. It’s considered a spectrum because it has a such a wide range of effects and affects kids very differently, including specific areas of disability and degrees of severity. This could be a reading learning disability like dyslexia, or it could create other communication and comprehension problems.

While all kids with LBLD have language acquisition, use, and expression difficulties, the disability is individualized. No two children are the same with identical learning problems. With unique problem areas, each child falls somewhere on the spectrum of having just a few symptoms and effects to having numerous challenges. Also, a child’s learning disability could range from mild to severe or anywhere in between.

One of the biggest indicators of having any learning disability, including language-based learning disability, is the discrepancy a child has between their aptitude and their performance. For a child with language-based learning disability, their intelligence and academic potential are at least average and often above average; however, their performance on reading, writing, and communication tasks can be quite far below average. Understandably, this can be upsetting for a child and parents, too.

Understanding how LBLD impedes learning can help you know what skills your child needs help with.

Language-Based Learning Disability’s Effects on Learning

Language-based learning disability can create problems in many areas of learning and functioning. Kids with the disability may experience difficulties like:

• Expressing thoughts and ideas
• Forgetting names of common objects
• Forgetting names of people close to them
• Pronunciation problems
• Sequencing problems, like the ability to string together events to tell as story
• Forming sentences, verbally or in writing
• Making grammatical errors
• Putting letters and words in alphabetical order
• Inability to sound out new words
• Reading deficiencies involving decoding words
• Reading deficiencies involving understanding what is read or what is heard
• Reding deficiencies involving talking or writing about what they’ve read
• Listening attentively and comprehending
• Speaking
• Writing
• Spelling
• Organizing
• Remembering/recalling
• Self-regulating
• Perseverance
• Following directions
• Making requests

LBLD can directly impact social skills, too. Often, kids with this disability don’t maintain eye contact, don’t understand how to take turns in conversations, and have a hard time staying on one topic. This can cause them to be left out, isolated, and hurt.

Take some time determining exactly how language-based learning disability affects your child. Observe them at home, and talk to their teacher about which skills create the most difficulty and which ones aren’t an issue. Knowing your child’s areas of strengths and weaknesses will help you know how to help them. Emphasize their strengths and identify a few areas that are bothering your child the most. Start skill-building there.

What about speech problems? Should you worry about those?

Language-Based Learning Disorder vs Speech Disorder

The impact of a language-based learning disability is far-reaching because language encompasses so much of learning and living. Because this language learning disability involves communication, many people wonder if it is also a speech disorder.

While LBLD does involve verbal communication problems, it is drastically different from a speech disorder. Speech disorders involve the production of sound and the physical movements of the tongue, lips, jaw, and vocal tract. LBLD, on the other hand, involves the understanding and use of written and spoken language. Speech disorders are mechanical, while a language-based learning disability is related to use and processing.

A language-based learning disability is very broad, yet it can be simplified. All LBLDs affect language acquisition, comprehension, and communication. It is useful to know the specific effects so you can coordinate with your child’s teacher to create and follow a plan that helps them gain the necessary skills for learning and success ("What’s an Individualized Education Program? Who Needs One?").

See Also:

• How Do I Get a Learning Disabilities Diagnosis for My Child?
• What Are Treatments for Learning Disabilities?
• What Are the Different Types of Learning Disabilities?
• How Do You Spot a Math Learning Disability?

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