Search Results for: blog specific learning disabilties and your child

15 “Steps” to Find the Right Education Program for Your Child

The path to find the right education program for your special son or daughter can be confusing. Many parents get lost, stuck, or just don’t know which way to go. Here is a map to help you find your way. (If your child is preschool-aged, he or she will benefit from early intervention.) 1. Get an accurate diagnosis. It’s absolutely vital that you understand whether your child has a specific learning disability, ADD/ADHD, an emotional disturbance, mental retardation, is gifted, falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or has a mixture of several disorders. If you’re still searching for answers, follow … Continue reading →

Your Child Could be BOTH Gifted and Learning Disabled

Is your child bright and intelligent, yet still struggles in school? Are you often amazed at your child’s creativity and talents, but can’t figure out why certain things aren’t getting through academically? It’s not often understood that a person can be both gifted and learning disabled. We assume that a child who is gifted has no learning challenges, and a child with ADHD or a specific learning disability is “slow.” It’s hard to imagine that both conditions could exist at the same time. But they can. The classification is “Gifted and Talented/Learning Disabled” or “GT/LD.” These children require a whole … Continue reading →

“Your kid is HOW old?” Guiding Your Child To Age-Appropriate Behaviors

Children with special needs often have developmental delays which may cause them to be more immature than their peers. Mental retardation, autism, and various learning disabilities can create a noticeable gap between a child’s developmental age and his or her actual age. For example, an eight-year-old girl with Down Syndrome might be fixated on carrying a tattered baby blanket. Or a boy on the autism spectrum who is ten might want to wear a Barney T-shirt. It’s a good idea for parents to help guide their special kids into behaviors which are more age-appropriate. Does “age appropriate” really matter? I … Continue reading →

Dyslexia and School Accommodations

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In my previous blogs I have been discussing the specific types of learning disabilities and what schools should be doing to accommodate the student that has them. I have touched on dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Today I want to talk about school accommodations for the student with dyslexia, perhaps the most well known of the types of learning disabilities. If you read another blog, written by Kristyn, in the special needs parenting section, you can get a brief overview of what dyslexia is. My job is to inform you of some of the expectations of the school for a child with … Continue reading →

Accommodations and Strategies for the Child with Dysgraphia

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I was reading with interest a blog in the special needs section of Families.com by a blogger named Kristyn. This blog was about the different types of learning disabilities that could affect your child. I had already had it in mind to post several blogs about the different types of learning disabilities, but since Kristyn described them so well, I changed my mind. I would much rather focus on what can be done academically in a school setting to help children out that have each specific type of learning disability. If you read Kristyn’s blog, you can read a brief … Continue reading →

The Trouble with Labels

When dealing with people of any race, gender, religion, or disability, labeling is a touchy subject. In order to identify people we sometimes need to classify them. And how can government assistance be given to individuals without grouping them in some way? Yet nobody wants to be labeled. There are disadvantages to labeling a child as “Asperger’s Syndrome,” or “Pervasive Developmental Disorder,” or “Learning Disabled.” With those classifications, expectations are set-up. The person hearing the label now assumes that the child will behave a certain way. A teacher, for example, might treat a child differently, either babying her, or allowing … Continue reading →

Could My Child Have Dyslexia?

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If your child is struggling with reading, and seems to fall below her peers in writing ability, it’s a reasonable question to ask. However, some children who initially have difficulty with reading and spelling soon catch up to their peers, with encouragement and more exposure to books. If your child does have dyslexia, the sooner you intervene the better. So it’s a good idea to understand the condition and recognize the symptoms. What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, which is biological in nature. It is neurological, meaning that it comes from faulty brain functioning. It is genetically … Continue reading →