School should be a rewarding experience filled with fun, friends and learning. But sometimes problems arise that keep a child from learning the way he or she should. Often these problems are beyond the child’s control because learning disabilities are the cause.
Learning disabilities have nothing to do with a child’s intelligence, but the way information is processed, understood and remembered. Some of our greatest minds have suffered with learning disabilities. There’s no shame in having a learning disability, anymore than there would be shame for having high blood pressure, or the need for glasses.
Learning disabilities can make school an unpleasant prospect, when a child feels he doesn’t understand things other kids understand. It can make the idea of going to school unpleasant, can cause anxiety, feelings of isolation, low self-esteem, depression, and can even put a child at greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse as the child gets older and has more access to those things.
How do you know if your child is just having trouble with a particular class or school year, or if it’s one of many possible learning disabilities? That can be hard to distinguish, but there are some symptoms that lean more toward learning disability than simple problems with a particular subject or period of time. Aside from poor grades, things like memory problems, losing track of time and a child who’s very easily distracted could be indicators of a learning disability. A socially awkward child, one who has trouble with basic things like naming colors or shapes because there’s no obvious difference, problems understanding instructions and getting easily excited or frustrated can also be indications of learning disabilities. Learning disabilities can also cause a child to appear very gullible, as if he or she can’t distinguish when someone’s joking or playing a prank.
If your child seems to withdraw and spend a lot of time alone along with those other signs, it could be one of many possible learning disabilities causing problems. Talk to your child’s teachers to find out about your child’s behavior in the classroom. Most teachers have dealt with children with a variety of learning disabilities and might be able to distinguish between true signs of a disability and normal childhood behavior more easily than you can. The school guidance counselors and principal are good resources, too. While they won’t be as familiar with your child as the teachers, they can offer information about learning disabilities.
Finally, talk to your child’s doctor. There may be some tests he can run—typically asking questions or observing your child in a certain situation, for instance—that can help him determine whether learning disabilities are the problem. If your child does have learning disabilities, once the diagnosis is made, steps can be taken to minimize the effect they’ll have on your child’s life and get him or her back on the road to learning and enjoying school.
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