Spotting Learning Delays

I know that I am not an expert by any means. However, I have learned many things in the past twelve years of raising Luke and working with children with disabilities. The first thing that you must realize is that every child is different. There might be a text book list of what you can expect from autism or downs syndrome for instance, but your child doesn't have to have everything on the list to be considered for learning disabilities. Luke finally got a diagnosis for autism when he was around 10 years old. I knew that he had it since he was three but I could not get anyone else to see it. Even doctors with lots and lots of letters after their name couldn't see!!

Now, that I know some of the behaviors to look for, I can see them easier. Those little things that don't notice or you think doesn't matter ~ you realize they are part of their behavior and indeed are important. Those little things add up to the whole picture and without those little pieces ~ we would never understand the big picture.

One of the first things that I notice about children is their ability or inability to have eye contact. Luke has a hard time with eye contact like many children with autism and learning delays. When he was younger, it was noticeable so. As he has gotten older, he is able to make eye contact but honestly, he still doesn't like to for very long. It makes him uncomfortable. Some studies show, that infants as early as 3 months old have a preference for looking into people's eyes than any other part of the face. Amazing! So, when a child does not like you look into your eyes when they are speaking to you or you are speaking to them, it should be a warning sign.

Another thing that is easy to spot is children's sensory issues. Sometimes it is in food. (things feel weird in their mouth so they won't eat it) Sometimes it is their clothing. (elastic bands around their waist, roughness of corduroy, turtlenecks) Sometimes it is visual stimulation. (bright lights and things around like at a grocery store) For some children, it is sounds. (high pitched noise, music too loud.) Most children have more than one sensory issue. Luke's main issues have been with visual and hearing. Bright lights have always bothered him more than the other children. Also, music or high pitched sounds can drive him crazy sometimes.

Also, you have to be take an honest look at where your child is in his/her school work. Which, honestly, is very hard to do. The teacher may tell you that everything is fine and not to worry because your child is not behind in her class. But, I can tell you from experience that every school is different. My son was going to a school with a large ESL group and was placed in their 'help' sessions because he was on the same level as a lot of these kids. (although my son could speak English just not read it..but that's another post!) According to his teacher, he wasn't behind because after all, look at her class. However, once I moved him to another school, I was able to see just how far behind he was. In another example, my girlfriend has a son, J.W., my daughter's age that has always struggled to keep up in school. She was told that J.W. was passed basically because he was white last year. (Seriously?!) What they were doing in J.W.'s first grade class are things that my daughter did in the middle of kindergarten. J.W. is now going into 4th grade and still struggles. She is moving this summer so the kids can go to a better school. I believe that every school does try but there is such a difference in the schools, even within the same school district. Find out what your child should be doing for their age or grade for yourself.

Those are just three of the many signs of a possible learning disability or delay. There are several others but those are the first ones that I notice. I think I'll do another post with some other signs to look for. It is so important to start younger with these issues. Help is out there!! The younger they are started with therapy the better. These kids deserve support from their families and from us. So many times the parents are in denial that anything could be wrong with their child. So instead, of searching and trying to get help and answers, anger usually surfaces because they don't want to face it. If you are concerned about your child or some one you may know, do some research so when you talk to them, you know a little about what your talking about. (might help calm down any anger that may arise) Also, do it with love. So much in this life can be overcome with a little love.