What are the Signs of Learning Difficulties?

Author Justin Clark, Learning Difficulties Tutor in Brisbane.

Help for Learning Difficulties By Early Intervention

Learning difficulties are best managed by early recognition and early intervention, thus recognising the signs of learning difficulties and then taking action as soon as possible is very important.

Why Early Intervention Helps with Learning Difficulties

When learning takes place, the brain makes connections which create pathways.  As these pathways develop, the brain recognises previous information when it is encountered again and is able to respond more accurately.

Young children’s brains are resilient and it is this resiliency that allows the brain to make connections more easily than older, more mature brains.  The earlier a child is recognised with a learning difficulty, the more time there is for intervention and the better chance there is of addressing these difficulties and the emotional problems these can cause. Thus it is important to know and recognise what are the signs of learning difficulties.

Signs of Learning Difficulties

Students with learning difficulties can have one or more specific learning difficulty such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Reading Disorder, Disorder of Written Expression or a Mathematics Disorder.  These are marked by significant difficulties in the acquisition of basic skills in reading, written language or mathematics.  Signs of learning difficulties thus are when students struggle with basic skills (reading, writing or mathematics) despite adequate instruction and normal intelligence.

Learning difficulties are due to a dysfunction in the way a student processes and retains information.  Students’ responses to appropriate intervention can often be slow and inconsistent in comparison with other students.  Errors may persist despite extensive amounts of instruction and practice and the student may struggle to remember basics that have been taught over and over.  An example of this is students with dyslexia who may have phonological difficulties where the student may not be able to “hear” the individual sounds in a word that they are trying to spell.

Other difficulties and common signs of learning difficulties are problems with written output.  Even though these students may be able to explain their ideas very clearly when they are talking, their written language may be inaccurate, untidy, and a poor representation of what they know.

Students with learning difficulties may also have problems with mathematics as well as literacy.  They may also have concentration difficulties in staying on task, and in following instructions and may become frustrated and lose motivation because of their struggles with learning.

For students with dyslexia, a core difficulty is automatic word recognition.  Words that the student may have seen or written many times before are handled like new words that have to be processed all over again because they are not yet automatically recalled when needed.

Parents are often the first to notice that “something doesn’t seem right.” If you are aware of the common signs of learning difficulties, you will be able to recognise potential problems early.  This leads to early intervention which gives your child the best chance of being able to keep pace with their peers and prevents the child from falling too far behind.  It also means that effective individualised intervention can be implemented to meet the child’s unique pattern of difficulties and strengths.

Summary of Learning Difficulties Signs

The signs of learning difficulties are:-

• The learning difficulties relate to specific areas being the acquisition of basic skills in reading and/or written language and/or mathematics.
• The learning difficulties do not seem to reflect the student/child’s intelligence.
• The student struggles more than his/her peers to learn having received the same level of teaching and instruction.
• The student repeatedly makes errors despite extensive instruction and practice as the student struggles to remember the basics of what they have been taught, even if they previously mastered a skill.
• Even when a student is provided with appropriate intervention they still struggle and their learning is slow and inconsistent compared to their peers.
• A sign of dyslexia that relates to phonological difficulties is when a student can’t “hear” individual sounds in words.
• A student is able to verbally express ideas and knowledge but this is not represented in their written work which can be messy, containing many spelling mistakes and missing words etc.
• A student seems to have a low concentration span and also poor concentration levels, thus multiple instructions are often too hard to follow.
• Poor automatic word recognition, often a word seen and practiced is not recognised after a relatively short interval of time.

Hope Tutoring in Brisbane and Online

Justin Clark is a learning difficulties tutor in Brisbane.  His qualifications include (MEd, MLearningInnovation, BEd, BA).  Justin is also very experienced, supportive and very patient, characteristics that are extremely important in helping students with learning difficulties.  If you recognise some of the learning difficulties signs in your child and are seeking help you can contact Justin via email or on 0407 407 233.