Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects reading skills. Dyslexia deals with difficulties in understanding sounds of speech and decoding the sound to actual letters or word(s). Dyslexia is not categorized as a problem with intelligence or hearing. Individuals with dyslexia are very successful when provided help, in the form of tutoring or specialized learning.

What are some common symptoms of dyslexia?

• The signs of dyslexia are difficult to see, but a child’s teacher may be the first to notice them.

  • Children before school age:

    • Delay in talking

    • Slower at recognizing new word(s)

    • Word formation of similar sound(s)

  • School:

    • Reading competency below actual age

    • Difficulty understanding speech

    • Difficulty finding the correct sentence structure

    • Problems remembering the sequence of things

  • Teenagers/ Youth:

    • Avoiding activities which involve reading

    • Mispronouncing names or words

    • Difficulty in summarizing a story

    • Trouble with learning another language

    • Trouble doing math problems with word sentence

How is Dyslexia caused?

Although developmental dyslexia is the more common type, dyslexia can be acquired in adulthood.

When to see a doctor?

Although many children are ready to learn by kindergarten or grade one, children with dyslexia often are delayed from that. If your child is facing dyslexia, you should talk to your health provider to ensure the child’s reading level is expected for the age or to look towards any other sign(s) of dyslexia.

Treatment:

Although there is no treatment, early signs can help control or support the child’s learning requirement(s). There are many cases in which children become competent reader(s).

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a learning disability which causes difficulty with writing for a specific age range. This is different from dyslexia, where reading and speech are areas of localization. This can be restricted to the physical act of writing, or also be forming writing from the thought. Dysgraphia is manageable with the help of teachers and strategies to support writing and thought.

Writing is a complex action, which involves many actions done so in a fluid process, such as fine motor skills, spatial recognition, memory, language order, as well as organization. We know this is complex to complete all of these simultaneously, which is why there is difficulty with diagnosis.

Specific symptoms of dysgraphia include:

• Trouble writing in a straight line

• Difficulty with controlling a writing tool

• Incorrect sequence of the sentence

• Having difficulty with forming letter(s)

• Incorrect grammar and punctuation for written sentence

• Neglecting words from sentences

• Trouble ordering words in sentences

• Incorrect use of verbs and pronouns

How can we diagnose?

We can assess the strengths and weaknesses concerning the symptoms of dysgraphia and learn from the child’s educational history. Additionally, we can consult occupational therapists or educational professionals to correctly form a diagnosis.

Educational interventions have three level(s):

• Accommodation: Access to mainstream education curriculum with additional resources without significant change in the curriculum

• Modification: The school can adapt the goals and learning objectives of the child, as well as include accommodations to support their symptoms of dysgraphia

  • For example, include oral examinations, instead of writing

• Remediation: The school provides aids to reduce the implications of dysgraphia

Dyscalculia

Many are familiar with the learning disorder dyslexia, but multiple other learning disabilities in society are less common, one of these being dyscalculia. This disorder affects the ability of one to perform math or number-related questions/calculations because their brains don’t comprehend math-related subjects as they may with other concepts. Someone’s brain with the disorder is known as being neurodivergent. Similarly to other learning disorders, dyscalculia symptoms usually begin early in childhood. But it is also important to know that many teenagers or adults may also have dyscalculia without even realizing it. 

Symptoms of dyscalculia: 

• Young children (pre-K to K):

  • Trouble counting upward, recognizing numbers, organizing numbers

• School-age children (6 years approximately):

  • Trouble counting on fingers with small numbers

  • Multiplication tables

  • Understanding < and > symbols, and simple calculations from memory

• Teenagers:

  • Trouble counting backwards

  • Word problems

  • Measuring items/quantities, including handling money

  • Understanding fraction

Emotional Symptoms: 

Feelings of anxiety, panic, anger (temper tantrums in younger children) when performing math-related calculations, fear (of attending school) 

Does dyscalculia make someone less intelligent?

No! Dyscalculia doesn’t directly affect intelligence. It is more common for people with dyscalculia to have an above-average IQ. People with dyscalculia are also often gifted in other areas, especially creative skills, problem-solving, and more. 

How can I help someone with dyscalculia?

• Seek out resources! Teachers or doctors may be able to provide expertise on how to navigate this disorder

• Search for things that work! Some children may benefit from games, simulators, or songs to understand math better

• Be patient! Remember, the child struggling can’t help it and they are frustrated too! They are much more likely to succeed with lots of support and encouragement behind them

Auditory processing disorder

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a hearing disability that impacts around three to five percent of school children. When someone has this disorder, they are unable to hear things the way others do. It is because their ears and brain do not cooperate in the same manner as other people’s ears and brains do.

What are the symptoms of APD?

• Mishearing words

• Loud environments are overwhelming

• Behavior improves in quiet settings

• Struggles to follow verbal directions

• Issues with spelling and phonetics.

• Written word math problems are hard to understand

• Conversations are hard to understand and follow

How is APD caused and diagnosed?

It is usually associated with head trauma, lead poisoning, a seizure disorder, or somebody who has chronic ear infections.

• It is usually diagnosed through various audio tests.

How can you help somebody with APD?

• You can provide physical accommodations

• Therapy from professionals

What age is it recommended to have APD diagnosed?

 Seven years old.

Nonverbal learning disabilities

Non-verbal learning is the ability to process and understand information in ways other than verbal or written forms. Non-verbal learning involves understanding ideas, relationships, and applying them later on. Non-verbal learning disabilities (NVLD) are disabilities that impact one’s ability to utilize their visual-spatial abilities. Individuals with this disability will struggle with organization, attention, nonverbal communication, and motor skills. However, this disability typically results in strengths in areas like verbal reasoning, strong factual recall, advanced vocabulary, and remembering specific details. 

NVLD is a quite rare disability and only accounts for 1.7% of all learning disabilities. Like many learning disabilities, NVLD can be easily missed; and 85% of those with NVLD will not get diagnosed until they reach their teenage years, when curriculums become more complex. There is currently no standard treatment for NVLD.

Younger children with NVLD typically have a more advanced vocabulary, and strengths in verbal reasoning. They are also more likely to struggle with puzzles, building blocks, and understanding big ideas in a narrative. 

Fine motor difficulties: struggles tying shoes, poor handwriting, problems with small tools

Social difficulties: trouble understanding humour, understanding empathy, prone to anxiety/depression, and perceptual skills 

Academic difficulties: understanding mathematical concepts, telling time, counting money, interpreting metaphors, or language-based tasks

Cause of NVLD: 

There is not yet a known definitive cause for NVLD. But, doctors suggest that disease or early damage affecting the right hemisphere may lead to NVLD. The right hemisphere is vital in spatial awareness and interpreting visual info. A study performed in 2016 found that individuals with NVLD have a high interhemispheric asymmetry. 

The following can increase risk of NVLD:

• Maternal drinking/smoking 

• Illness during pregnancy 

• Premature birth 

• Low birth weight

• Serious infections 

How to help! 

• Individuals with NVLD often struggle with performance in sports, so it is important to find physical activities for their well-being: track and field, martial arts, walking 

• Sports can also help with strength, coordination, and improve fine motor skills 

• Physical therapy 

• Occupational therapy to help improve fine motor skills 

• Classroom accommodation: extra time teaching, making outcomes more predictable, simplifying visual materials, reading math problems aloud 

Visual perceptual/visual motor deficit