Search Google Appliance

Common Learning Disorder Signs

While every person's experience is unique, there is also a great deal of common ground among different types of learning disabilities. Many people experience one or two of these symptoms, but those who have learning disabilities typically experience many more and to a much greater extent. The following is a compilation of classic signs of learning disabilities by AHEAD, the Association on Higher Education and Disability:

  1. Reading Skills

    1. Slow reading rate and /or difficulty in modifying reading rate in accordance with material's level of difficulty.

    2. Uneven comprehension and retention of material that is read.

    3. Difficulty identifying important points and themes.

    4. Incomplete mastery of phonics, confusion of similar words, difficulty integrating new vocabulary.

    5. Skips words or lines of printed material.

    6. Difficulty reading for long periods of time.



  2. Written Language Skills

    1. Difficulty planning a topic and organizing thoughts on paper.

    2. Difficulty with sentence structure (e.g., incomplete sentences, run-ons, poor use of grammar, missing inflectional endings).

    3. Frequent spelling errors (e.g., omissions, substitutions, transpositions), especially in specialized and foreign vocabulary.

    4. Difficulty effectively proofreading written work and making revisions.

    5. Compositions are often limited in length.

    6. Slow written production.

    7. Poor penmanship (e.g., poorly formed letters, incorrect use of capitalization, trouble with spacing, overly large handwriting).

    8. Inability to copy correctly from a book or the blackboard.



  3. Oral Language Skills

    1. Inability to concentrate on and to comprehend spoken language when presented rapidly.

    2. Difficulty in orally expressing concepts that they seem to understand.

    3. Difficulty speaking grammatically correct English.

    4. Difficulty following or having a conversation about an unfamiliar idea.

    5. Trouble telling a story in the proper sequence.

    6. Difficulty following oral or written directions.


  4. Mathematical Skills

    1. Incomplete mastery of basic facts (e.g. mathematical tables).

    2. Reversal of numbers (e.g., 123 to 321 or 231).

    3. Confuses operational symbols, especially + and x.

    4. Copies problems incorrectly from one line to another.

    5. Difficulty recalling the sequence of operational concepts.

    6. Difficulty comprehending word problems.

    7. Difficulty understanding key concepts and applications to aid problem solving.

    8. Organizational and Study Skills

    9. Difficulty with organization skills.


  5. Social Skills

    1. Some adults with leaning disabilities have social skills problems due to their inconsistent perceptual abilities.

    2. These individuals may be unable to detect the difference between sincere and sarcastic comments.

    3. They may be unable to recognize other subtle changes in tone of voice for the same reason that a person with a visual perceptual problem may have trouble discriminating between the letters "b" and "d".

    4. Difficulties in interpreting nonverbal messages may result in lowered self-esteem and may cause some adults with learning disabilities to have trouble meeting people or working cooperatively with others.


  6. Psychological Barriers

    1. It's hard to begin writing a paper, because it takes so long to get focused and get thoughts organized.

    2. Feeling lazy, stupid, or ashamed because of the difficulty doing tasks which come so easily to others (low self-esteem).

    3. Feeling constantly behind regardless of the amount of effort applied or learning achieved.

    4. Feeling that your own work is infantile or crude or otherwise not as good as that of others, and that your output does not reflect the complexity of your thinking.

    5. Frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to read, write, spell, and speak correctly.

    6. Feeling as if you are "faking" your education: people say you are smart, but you don't genuinely feel this is true even though you may be getting good grades.

    7. Anxious about deadlines.

    8. Fear of filling out forms and applications and using the telephone.

    9. Isolation: fear of not being understood.

    10. Intensified self-consciousness and stress because of your other problems.

    7. In addition to the above, the following characteristics of learning disabilities are included in a list published by Brown University:

    Brown University. Learning Disabilities and Alternative Learning Styles: A Student Perspective. 5th ed. Providence: The Office of The Dean of The College of Brown University, 1993.