While learning disorders are being diagnosed earlier and earlier nowadays, sometimes certain cases still slip through the cracks. This is unfortunate, since the sooner a problem is identified, the sooner it can be dealt with. However, it's always better to know that an issue exists than to never know, so if this is what's happened with your family, keep in mind that there are still plenty of treatment options available to your child. Of course, the first step is figuring out whether or not your child has a learning problem, and if so, which one.
Below, you'll find a list of symptoms grouped by disability type: Dyslexia: Teenagers and adults who have yet to be diagnosed with dyslexia may have considerable difficulty with spelling. This may be demonstrated by spelling the same word multiple ways within the same essay. Those with dyslexia often rely heavily on phonetics when trying to spell a word. They may also write their letters or punctuation marks incorrectly (backwards, upside down, etc.) or put them in the wrong order.
Dyscalculia: People who don't know that they have dyscalculia may still have extreme difficulty with basic mathematical principles and practices, such as addition and subtraction. They may have trouble dealing with number sequences, columns of numbers, and mathematical symbols. Other common signs of dyscalculia include overreliance on calculators and confusion with left and right.
Dysgraphia: Those with dysgraphia have a hard time writing or drawing within a defined space, like a piece of lined paper. This is due to poor development of fine motor skills. Another symptom of dysgraphia is illegible handwriting, which isn't due to carelessness, but instead indicates a difficulty with handling a pen or a pencil.
Audio and Visual Perception Disabilities: If your child often has to ask you to repeat yourself, it may be a sign that they have an audio perception problem. It's not that he or she isn't listening carefully enough to you, it's that their brain is unable to sort out which sound or tone to interpret first. Those with visual perception problems may transpose letters, punctuation marks, numbers, and mathematical symbols. Once again, this is an issue of sequencing malfunction in the brain, not lack of attention.
Memory Disabilities: These can manifest themselves in different ways. One common symptom is the inability to retain information that has just been relayed. For example, if your child can't remember a passage that they have just finished reading, they may continue to reread that passage over and over again. This indicates a problem with short-term memory. Long-term memory problems may announce themselves through difficulties with retrieving information. For instance, if your child can't recall the mathematical formula that allows them to calculate the circumference of a circle, long-term memory problems are at fault. Of course, the two are related, since if a piece of information doesn't stick in your short-term memory, it won't make it to your long-term memory either.
Studies have shown that earlier speech is not an indicator of higher intelligence. In fact, toddlers who begin talking later in life may have an easier time with larger words, phrases, and sentences, due to their greater physical development, since much of speech progression is due to control of the muscles in the mouth and throat.
Later language development isn't necessarily a cause for alarm. Some toddlers simply display a greater interest in another aspect of their development-such as their physical abilities-which doesn't leave them with much time or energy for other pursuits.
However, if your toddler doesn't seem to understand or respond to your speech, you might want to talk to his or her pediatrician about your concerns. The pediatrician will probably suggest getting your child's hearing tested. Once that has been ruled out, your toddler may be sent to meet with a speech pathologist. If there's a problem, your child will begin speech therapy. The sooner a learning disability is identified, the better, since it can be dealt with effectively and have less of an impact on your toddler's self-esteem.
In the meantime, there are lots of things that you can do as a parent to facilitate your child's language development. Some simple things that you can easily incorporate into your everyday life include:
1. Talking to your child This may sound obvious, but it's something that's rather easy to forget to do, especially if your child hasn't started speaking yet. It may take some time for you to not feel silly when you're doing this, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run. Talk to your toddler about everything-what you're doing, what he or she is doing, where the two of you are going, etc.-using simple language and clear pronunciation. Keep a running commentary going and your child is sure to pick up on the words you use most often and eventually, their meanings as well.
2. Reading to your child Regularly reading out loud to your toddler is extremely valuable to helping develop his or her language skills. Even if your child doesn't sit down and listen, keep on reading. Using different voices for each character and sound effects to illustrate actions may help to maintain your toddler's interest. You might also want to try giving your child a toy to play with or book of their own to flip through while you read to them. Once they get used to being read to, they may develop favorites. While it may not exactly be exciting for you to read the same story again and again, the repetition will help your toddler to build their vocabulary over time.
3. Singing to your child Once again, you may have to work on your level of embarrassment, but you really shouldn't worry too much. Children usually respond with great interest to music, and they're not too particular about whether the person singing to them has perfect pitch or not. Nursery rhyme songs with accompanying hand motions-such as "The Incy Wincy Spider" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"-have the added plus of being interactive. These additional memory cues will help to encourage your toddler's language skills.
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