Do you feel that your child is behind his or her peers in school? Do they have difficulty recognizing words or understanding them? Or do they have problems understanding basic mathematical concepts? If you feel that your child isn’t doing as well in school as they have the potential to, they may have a learning disability.

What is a learning disability?[1]

The term learning disability (LD) refers to a group of disorders that affect the way a child understands, remembers and responds to new information. A child with a LD might have trouble with:

• Listening or Paying Attention
• Speaking
• Reading
• Doing Math
• Writing
• Spelling

What causes learning disabilities?[2]

The exact cause of learning disabilities is unknown, but there are a number of factors that may be risk factors for learning disabilities. These include:

• Heredity or family history
• Low birth weight, prematurity, birth trauma or distress
• Extreme stress before or after birth
• Severe head injury
• Chronic illness, like diabetes or asthma
• Poor nutrition
• Treatment for cancer or leukemia

Most children with learning disabilities, however, do not have any of these factors in their backgrounds.

Are learning disabilities common?

Among children age 6 to 17, it is estimated that between 5 and 10 percent have learning disabilities.[3] There are undoubtedly many more children with learning disabilities that have not been identified.

About one-third of these children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which causes additional difficulty with concentration.[1]

What can I do if I think my child might have a learning disability?

You know your child better than anyone else. If you feel that he or she is having trouble learning, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. The first step may be to talk to your child’s teacher. Sometimes a sight or hearing problem can have the same symptoms as a learning disability, and this possibility should always be assessed by your child's doctor. These professionals may refer you to a more specialized clinic like the University Center for the Child and Family for further testing.

The University Center for the Child and Family's "Student Learning Evaluations" can help assess your child's learning style, intellectual level, and possible learning difficulties.

What kinds of treatments are there for learning disabilities?

If your child is diagnosed with a learning disability, early intervention is very important. The earlier the diagnosis, the earlier you can begin to help your child reach his or her potential. Learning disabilities are manageable through many types of interventions. Individualized education plans, special education classes, classroom/homework accommodations, educational therapy and strategies for working with children at home have all been shown to increase children’s learning capacities.[2] Your child’s evaluation at UCCF will include referrals to the proper interventions based on the results of the assessment.

References

1. MedlinePlus by the National Institutes of Health
   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/learningdisorders.html
2. University of Michigan Health System
   http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/ld.htm
3. The National Center for Learning Disabilities
   http://www.ncld.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=483
4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report
   http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5443a8.htm