What is a learning disability? It is a condition that affects a person’s ability to learn and it can pose issues when it comes to speaking, writing, reading and understanding what is said. Having a disability does not mean that they are not intelligent or that they are lazy – it’s just that some people’s brains receive and process information differently. Certain factors can also play a role in terms of learning disabilities, such as genetics, problems during pregnancy and environmental exposure.

While no parent wants their child to have a hard time in life, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no fix or cure for a learning disability – it is something that individuals have to deal with their entire life. However, this does not mean that people cannot be successful in school and go on to achieve extraordinary things. A common approach to managing learning disabilities is providing the students with special education. Learning specialists have been trained to find a person’s strengths which can make up for certain weaknesses. There are various methods these experts apply to assist children when it comes to learning. Furthermore, having a disability support worker around can also help a student in achieving their goals.

As a parent, it can be overwhelming to find the right type of support for your child’s particular issues, and many parents find it difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, there are online resources such as Kinspire that will enable a parent to get a quick assessment of their child’s needs in order to quickly locate the most suitable pediatric therapist for any given situation.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most common learning disabilities.

Dyslexia

A learning disability that most people seem to be aware of is dyslexia. This disorder manifests itself by affecting a student’s ability to read a text and understand it. Dyslexia can be present in various ways and different severity levels. For instance, some individuals experience issues with phonemic or phonological awareness while others have difficulties when it comes to spelling, reading, fluency and comprehension.

Dysgraphia

Other than reading disabilities, writing disabilities are also quite common and equally challenging. Known as dysgraphia, this disorder can affect individuals in all sorts of ways. For example, some students have difficulties writing as their posture can be too tense or they cannot hold a pen correctly. Seeing as how their handwriting and other motor skills are impacted, their inability to write can often result in frustration and discouragement. Furthermore, they can have trouble organizing their thoughts and writing while thinking. Poor spatial planning, illegible handwriting and bad spelling are all potential obstacles people with dysgraphia might face.

Dyscalculia

Learning disorders are not exclusively associated with letters and words. Dyscalculia is a disability which prevents individuals from properly understanding numbers and learning math. In addition to performing poorly in math classes, they also have issues when counting, putting numbers into order or memorizing them. Moreover, some processes, like telling time, estimation and measuring certain things, can also be hard to conquer.

Auditory processing disorder

A disorder that affects how sound is processed and interpreted by a person’s brain is called the auditory processing disorder or APD. This disorder means that individuals that have it are unable to recognize any slight differences when it comes to sounds in words. They also have difficulties in terms of ordering the sounds they hear and making sense of them, blocking out background noise as well as distinguishing where sounds are coming from.

Language processing disorder

LPD is a type of APD which affects the processing of language. This means that a person often has problems when it comes to attaching meaning to sounds that form words and stories. Seeing as how it can impact a person’s ability to interpret or express language, it often causes issues at home, in a social setting and at school or work.

Non-verbal learning disabilities

Individuals that are dealing with non-verbal learning disabilities typically have better verbal skills but lack in social, motor and visual-spatial skills. They also have difficulties when it comes to interpreting facial expressions and body language, in addition to potentially having poor coordination.

Visual perceptual deficit

Also known as visual motor deficit, this disorder affects how a person sees, copies or draws. They can struggle with eye/hand coordination, holding pencils too tightly or using scissors. People with this disability often also experience dysgraphia or non-verbal learning disability.

Unfortunately, these disorders are usually recognized only once a child starts school. So, if you notice your child is having problems, talk to their teacher and consult some specialists to see what can be done to ease the struggles. It’s not uncommon for individuals to suffer from low self-esteem when they cannot learn properly, so as a parent, do your best to support and encourage your kid.