As we enter into a brand new school year, parents need to be aware of any issues their child might face in the upcoming academic year. We need to take note of the children who are struggling to read, have trouble with their writing assignments, or are find math tricky.
Our clinicians at A+ Solutions have been working with a young boy. His parents and teachers reported that in kindergarten, he knew his letters and the sounds that the letters make. He was also able to pick up on a significant amount of sight words. He seemed to be just fine and was keeping up with his peers. In first grade he seemed to be progressing well as he learned to read more at the single word level. However, once his teacher started to teach the children to put the words together in sentences and short paragraphs he began to struggle and fall behind.
They determined that he has trouble with reading fluency. He needs to sound out each letter in each word to read. This takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. If reading one word is such a challenge then reading a sentence seems nearly impossible. This makes it difficult to progress in reading skills. Reading comprehension is also compromised; if you are sounding out each word you do not have the brainpower to start thinking about the meaning behind what you are reading. The child’s Mom did report that if she read stories to him, he was able to comprehend and enjoy them.
This child’s difficulty in the area of reading is an example of a specific learning disability (LD). Other areas where LDs manifest include writing and math. When a teacher reports to parents that their child is not keeping up in school or that he seems unmotivated or can’t work well in a group, there could be many underlying issues besides Executive Function difficulties. These issues often fall under the category of Learning Disabilities. Parents need to know that there are LDs that are easily spotted. But many LDs are subtle and can go undetected. If this child had trouble identifying letters in kindergarten, his teachers would have noted that and started intervention straight away. Because his reading problems started at the sentence and paragraph level, his learning problems were harder to detect.
Learning disabilities usually fall under these 3 categories:
Dyslexia: difficulties with reading
Dysgraphia: difficulties with writing
Dyscalculia: difficulties with math
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia can be the result of visual-spatial difficulties: trouble processing what the eye sees. They can also be related to language processing difficulties: trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears.
Not everyone will exhibit Learning Disabilities in the same way; they can vary from person to person. For example, two people with Dyslexia can present with very different symptoms. Learning Disabilities can affect people differently at different stages of life.
In the next few weeks we will discuss the 3 categories of Learning Disabilities:
Dyslexia: difficulties with reading
Dysgraphia: difficulties with writing
Dyscalculia: difficulties with math
For more information, contact:
Hadassa Meyers, MA
Director of Educational Services
216.896.0111
hadassa.meyers@thinkaplus.com
Hadassa earned her Masters of Arts in Special education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1999. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Education with a concentration in early Childhood Education from Stern College, Yeshiva University.
Hadassa has a wealth of teaching experience ranging from general education to special education. Hadassa works the whole educational team in several ways:
Coordinating service plans for individual students
Mentoring classroom teachers, Title I instructors, and tutors on how to modify curricula for students varying needs
Consulting with parents and school administrators on how to best serve students in and out of the classroom.
Hadassa has been coordinating educational and related services at A+ Solutions for the past six years.
