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Parent's Corner |
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- Learning
Disabilities : Common Warning Signs
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- If parents, teachers,
and other professionals discover a child's
learning disability early and provide the right
kind of help, it can give the child a chance to
develop skills needed to lead a successful and
productive life. A recent National Institutes of
Health study showed that 67% of young students
who were at risk for reading difficulties became
average or above average readers after receiving
help in the early grades.
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- If you are aware of the
common signs of learning disabilities, you will
be able to recognize potential problems early.
The following is a checklist of characteristics
that may point to a learning disability. Most
people will, from time to time, see one or more
of these warning signs in their children. This
is normal. If, however, you see several of these
characteristics over a long period of time,
consider the possibility of a learning
disability.
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- Preschool
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Speaks later than most
children
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Pronunciation problems
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Slow vocabulary growth,
often unable to find the right word
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Difficulty rhyming words
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Trouble learning numbers,
alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes
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Extremely restless and
easily distracted
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Trouble interacting with
peers
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Difficulty following
directions or routines
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Fine motor skills slow to
develop
- Grades K-4
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Slow to learn the
connection between letters and sounds
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Confuses basic words (run,
eat, want)
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Makes consistent reading
and spelling errors including letter reversals
(b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions
(felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)
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Transposes number
sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x,
/, =)
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Slow to remember facts
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Slow to learn new skills,
relies heavily on memorization
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Impulsive, difficulty
planning
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Unstable pencil grip
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Trouble learning about
time
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Poor coordination, unaware
of physical surroundings, prone to accidents
- Grades 5-8
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Reverses letter sequences
(soiled/solid, left/felt)
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Slow to learn prefixes,
suffixes, root words, and other spelling
strategies
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Avoids reading aloud
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Trouble with word problems
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Difficulty with
handwriting
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Awkward, fist-like, or
tight pencil grip
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Avoids writing
compositions
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Slow or poor recall of
facts
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Difficulty making friends
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Trouble understanding body
language and facial expressions
- High School Students
and Adults
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Continues to spell
incorrectly, frequently spells the same word
differently in a single piece of writing
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Avoids reading and writing
tasks
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Trouble summarizing
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Trouble with open-ended
questions on tests
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Weak memory skills
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Difficulty adjusting to
new settings
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Works slowly
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Poor grasp of abstract
concepts
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Either pays too little
attention to details or focuses on them too much
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Misreads information
- * Excerpted from the
Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities
booklet "Learning Disabilities: Information,
Strategies, Resources."
- All contents © and ™
1997, 1998, 1999
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