School is hard, ask any student in any grade. Each new lesson brings challenges for students with undiagnosed learning disabilities and these challenge can turn into a burden. Development disabilities such as dyslexia and ADHD affect one in five children in the United State and 48% of parents believe their children will outgrow these disabilities.
Learning disabilities cannot be outgrown but they can be recognized at school, diagnosed properly, and a plan can be created for assisting a child with a learning disability. Our faculty are trained to notice the difference between attention issues and a learning disability. Below are different learning disabilities and how they are most commonly diagnosed:
ADHD
​Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a chronic condition that begins in childhood and will with a person as they grow older. A child with ADHD can be faced with mood swings, forgetfulness, and the inability to focus on the appropriate stimuli and move from task to task.
Students who are failing, struggling in their schoolwork for an extended period, or act out in frustration may have ADHD. A clinical psychiatrist or psychologist can provide a diagnosis for a child with these symptoms.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a learning disability in students who have severe difficulty with math calculations and functions. Some symptoms include difficulty counting backwards and remembering basic math facts, poor sense of numbers and estimations, and often high levels of anxiety around math. Dyscalculia makes it hard for students to do math tasks, sometimes these students understand the logic behind math but not how or when to apply that logic to solve problems.
Dyscalculia is one type of learning disability. Through a series of diagnostic math exams, a trained psychologist can identify symptoms consistent with dyscalculia. Coincidentally, a similar test is used to identify students who are excelling in math to place them in higher level classes such as calculus.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a learning disability diagnosed in students who have severe difficulty in their writing abilities. Symptoms of dysgraphia present themselves through difficulties spelling, poor handwriting, and struggle with the ability to write thoughts.
Dysgraphia is tested through a series of reading, writing, language, and IQ tests. Many functions of writing involve motor and information processing skills.
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Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning disability exemplified by severe reading difficulties. Symptoms often involve problems identifying speech sounds, trouble with decoding letters and words. Students with dyslexia may have delayed speech, difficulty learning new vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Dyslexia is diagnosed using a variety of assessments including oral language skills, word recognition, decoding, spelling, and phonological processing tests.
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At Lake Michigan Academy, when a student is struggling we work to understand how the student is struggling: it could be a difficulty focusing or it could be a difficulty with understanding math or reading. We work to ensure the student will be well-equipped for success in school and beyond.
Learning disabilities don’t have to hinder a student’s school experience. Learn more about our individualized and prescriptive educational plans and tutoring options for students by taking a tour of our school.
