Learning disabilities are often challenging to identify because they vary from person-to-person.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common signs that might indicate, someone might have a learning disorder:
- not listening when you speak,
- forgetting things easily such as; names or dates,
- answering questions incorrectly,
- difficulty understanding graphics/maps,
- sometimes even after explaining basic scenarios, it might still be too complex to fathom!
Learning Disability Can Affect Anyone
These common signs indicate that you or someone in your family may have difficulty learning new information, processing what they’ve learned, and retaining it for long periods of time.
People with these conditions often struggle, however, there is hope!
With the right support from parents, teachers, and coaches, learning disabled challenges can be assisted through an array of strategies.
Are They Acting Out?!
Learning disabilities can make a student seem as if they are acting out, without really thinking about possible outcomes (impulsiveness). Such as “acting out” in school or social situations, difficulty staying focused and being easily distracted.
These struggles may affect their ability to learn and perform at an optimal level, both during the day, as well as after school hours.
Types Of Listening
Learning disabled students often use simple phrases instead of complex words, because it becomes difficult, if not impossible to try to say something correctly out loud.
Listening can be challenging for learning disabled students to understand that there are three types of listening:
Attended: This first stage of the listening process is the receiving stage, which requires hearing and attending. Attending is the process of identifying and interpreting particular sounds we hear as words.
Engaged: Engaged listening is hearing between words and beyond what is spoken. It’s focusing on listening to what the speaker holds relevant, essential and most important.
Disengaged: Disengaged listening isn’t only responsible for corrupting the communication that’s being received; it leaves the speaker feeling unimportant.
Listening And Hearing
Listening is not about hearing words – instead, it is about understanding the tone, gestures, and intention of what the speaker is saying and trying to convey/relate. Listening to the intent of the speaker, rather than listening to the words of the speaker, is how we define “good listening skills”.
Some students have trouble focusing on what you’re saying. They may be distracted by sounds around them, or they might not understand the meaning of your words, because of a language barrier and need more time to think before responding with an answer!
Let’s check a few learning disabilities below:
Dyscalculia is a math learning disability that impairs an individual’s ability to learn number-related concepts.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding).
Dysgraphia can appear as difficulties with spelling and/or trouble putting thoughts on paper.
These signs alone are not enough to determine that a student has learning disabilities. Only an expert, such as an educational psychologist or a skilled therapist (in evaluating students who have difficulty with abstract concepts) can diagnose this type of disorder, and offer the necessary treatment plans tailored specifically for them.
Remember, now will become easier later, once everything clicks together!
