Bumping into things

Sitting too close to the television

Reading a with their face close to the text

Losing their place while reading

Sensitivity to light (often paired with headaches)

Squinting/Tilting of head

Eye rubbing

Poor eye-hand coordination

Crossed eyed/turned eyes 

Dyslexia is the specific learning disability in reading. Children affected with dyslexia find it very difficult to read. It occurs in children with normal vision and intelligence.

Symptoms of Dyslexia in School going Kids

Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that affects written expression, for example difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper.

Symptoms of Dysgraphia in School going Kids

Dyscalculia is a specific learn disability that causes difficulty in learning arithmetic, understanding numbers and doing mathematical calculations. About 3 to 6% of population is affected with some degree of dyscalculia.

Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.

Developmental Aphasia

Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is always due to injury to the brain-most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals.

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This is a disorder that affects attention span, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

There is no one cure for ADHD. However, there are many things that can be done to help a student with this disorder. Some solutions include tutoring, accommodations in the classroom, and medication.

Diagnosis of a specific learning disability is not a one-step process. It is made through a thorough round of observations, family history, interviews, and school reports. Exhaustive testing, such as neuropsychological testing can be used for diagnosing specific learning disabilities. Diagnosis also considers difficulty in reading, writing, and other such symptoms for six months despite genuine help, difficulty in mathematical reasoning, and a substantially lower academic level for the age and grade. Neurological conditions such as pediatric disorder are also ruled out to conclude a specific learning disorder. 

Though complete prevention for some learning disabilities is not possible, their risk can be lowered. It is advised to avoid alcohol before, during, and after pregnancy for the same. Toxins shall be avoided during pregnancy and after childbirth by mother and child. Over-the-counter medications shall be avoided, and prescription shall be taken after proper assessment of side-effects with the help of a medical professional for the child, and during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Stress shall be avoided during pregnancy and from the home and social surroundings of a child. Immediate help shall be taken if any hearing or seeing a defect is noticed in the child. Keeping track of childhood milestones and providing healthy nutrition and child may prevent specific learning disabilities.

In addition to these strategies there are also others ways in which children with a specific learning disability can be helped. Parents and teachers are among the first to notice and  intervene to support. A trained professional can help a child improve academic skills like reading and writing. Specialized or Individualised Education Programme can help improve a child’s capabilities and living standard during his lifetime. Specific therapies such as speech therapy and occupational therapy can improve children's speaking and motor skills with writing problems. Also a complimentary or alternative treatment, such as music therapy, can help a child with a specific learning disorder.

There are many causes of learning disabilities, some of which include brain injuries or organic problems with the central nervous system. Other common causes may be due to areas in the brain that control specific functions like reading and writing; these can be caused by environmental factors such as low oxygen at birth or exposure to toxins while still in utero.

There are some treatments for students with SLD. They can work to their full potential in school and beyond. Learning problems like these should not be ignored; they do not go away on their own. It is important for teachers to understand this disability if it is present in a student they are teaching.

In order to help a student with SLD, you will need some tips and tricks up your sleeve. Here are some things that teachers should do when working with students who have learning disabilities:

Articulation 
speech impairments where the child produces sounds incorrectly (e.g., lisp, difficulty articulating certain sounds, such as “l” or “r”)

Fluency
speech impairments where a child’s flow of speech is disrupted by sounds, syllables, and words that are repeated, prolonged, or avoided and where there may be silent blocks or inappropriate inhalation, exhalation, or phonation patterns

Voice
speech impairments where the child’s voice has an abnormal quality to its pitch, resonance, or loudness

Language
language impairments where the child has problems expressing needs, ideas, or information, and/or in understanding what others say. 

SLI (speech or language impairment) can affect not only child's speacking but also his listening, reading and writing. SLI is also called developmental language disorder, laguage delay or developmetal dysphasia.
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health estimated that between 7-8% of 5-year-olds are affected by this disorder. 

Some learners have problems with the muscular movements needed to form words. They may have trouble producing certain sounds and simply leave them out, or substitute one sound for another. This can make them difficult to understand and result in delayed or unclear speech.

Expressive language difficulties can also affect the ability to put words in the right order in a sentence and tell stories with the events in the right sequence. Their speech can be jumbled up and hard to understand. Sometimes the learner will use inappropriate grammatical structures and their speech may sound immature for their age. They may also have trouble with learning and accessing vocabulary. These problems occur in their own language and will also appear when learning English. Having trouble explaining and describing things makes it hard to join in class discussions.

Some learners have problems with the way they hear and process language. This can impact on the ability to understand what others are saying and respond appropriately. Learners with hearing impairment have a physical barrier to understanding speech, but there are can also be ‘pragmatic language’ difficulties where, although the learner can hear what is being said, they do not understand the meaning.  There can also be problems understanding ‘figurative language’, which includes the use of irony, humour and metaphor. This can lead to a tendency to take things too literally. A learner with receptive language difficulties may have trouble in one or more of these areas.

Learners with speech and language difficulties are often lacking in confidence and shy about speaking in public, so avoid asking them to repeat mispronounced words or finish their sentences for them. It is better to model the correct form in your response. Concentrate on the message the learner is trying to communicate rather than the grammar. Allow alternative ways of communicating like gestures, writing or drawing.

Make sure your language is clear and direct and face the class so that learners can see your expressions and read your lips if necessary. Give instructions one at a time in the order you want them to be carried out, using visual cues and gestures to support them. If you say the learner’s name before asking them a question they will know you want their attention. Try to avoid ambiguous language and always be prepared to repeat anything the learner does not understand.

Explain to the whole class that it is important to be attentive and look at someone when they are talking to you, and not to interrupt. You can teach turn-taking by having a special object which is the ‘speaker’s token’. The holder of the object is the only person who may speak. When they have finished they pass it on.

All learners can benefit from this. Using the ‘think, pair, share’ model in class provides the time needed to process information and organize thoughts before having to answer.

We know that phonemes are the building blocks for language. You can help learners who have difficulty recognising and decoding phonemes through multisensory activities like clapping and stomping out syllables in new vocabulary or colour-coding the different groups of phonemes. Rhyming bingo and card games where the learner can match the same sounds can be really helpful.

If the learner has difficulty explaining things or telling stories in the right order, just ask them to give bullet points of what they want to say and put them in the correct sequence on a timeline. It is also helpful to cut up stories so they can practice putting them in order - you can use pictures for younger learners.

Use pictures, objects and photos to help understand and remember new vocabulary. Encourage learners to use their visual memory by making a personal vocabulary box of key words on picture cards.

Make sure to notice and praise good interactions and speech. Describe what they do well and identify and work with their other strengths, such as creativity and physical talents.

Always check that the learner has understood the task and clarify any misunderstandings. Encourage them to let you know if they have not understood by using a pre-arranged signal.

When a child has an articulation disorder, he or she has difficulty making certain sounds. These sounds may be left off, added, changed, or distorted, which makes it hard for people to understand the child.

Leaving out or changing certain sounds is common when young children are learning to talk, of course. A good example of this is saying “wabbit” for “rabbit.” The incorrect articulation isn’t necessarily a cause for concern unless it continues past the age where children are expected to produce such sounds correctly. 

Fluency refers to the flow of speech. A fluency disorder means that something is disrupting the rhythmic and forward flow of speech—usually, a stutter. As a result, the child’s speech contains an “abnormal number of repetitions, hesitations, prolongations, or disturbances. Tension may also be seen in the face, neck, shoulders, or fists.

A voice disorder involves problems with the pitch, loudness, resonance, or quality of the voice. The voice may be hoarse, raspy, or harsh. For some, it may sound quite nasal; others might seem as if they are “stuffed up.” People with voice problems often notice changes in pitch, loss of voice, loss of endurance, and sometimes a sharp or dull pain associated with voice use. 

Speech therapy may help with more severe symptoms or any speech problems that do not improve.

In therapy, the therapist may teach your child how to use their tongue to create certain sounds.

If a child has a speech disorder, parents are encouraged to:

Digital readers may help students with dyslexia. There are also dictation programs to assist students with dysgraphia. Pencil grips are another form of assistive technology that can help student learn.

2. Incorporate more physical learning experiences

3. Start a feedback book or chart

4. Encourage music in the classroom

5. Provide visual stimulus