Difficulties in Reading and Writing but Not in Math
A learning difficulty is a condition that tin cause an individual to feel problems in a traditional classroom learning context. It may interfere with literacy skills development and math/maths and can also affect memory, power to focus and organizational skills. A child or developed with a learning difficulty may require additional time to complete assignments at school and can often benefit from strategy educational activity and classroom accommodations, such every bit material delivered in special fonts or the ability to employ a figurer to take notes.
No two individuals with a learning difficulty are exactly alike and many conditions, such as dyslexia, attention arrears disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, exist on a wide-spectrum. At that place is also dyspraxia, a motor-skills difficulty that can bear on a learner's ability to write by mitt, and may impact on planning skills. Information technology's non uncommon for learning difficulties and motor-skills difficulties to co-present. For instance, dyslexia and dyspraxia, or ADD/ADHD and dyspraxia can occur together.
Learning difficulties are sometimes referred to as learning disabilities. You may also encounter the terms learning differences or specific learning differences. The differences between these labels tin seem subtle only may have implications for how an individual with a learning difficulty views him or herself. The give-and-take disability implies a person is less able than his or her peers. Information technology can too suggest they are in a permanent state of disadvantage and cause them to lose agency.
On the other hand, a learning difference takes the reverse approach in underscoring that a person simply learns in a different manner from others. They are not disabled, information technology's just that their brains work differently. The term fiftyearning difficulty falls somewhere in-between, describing the added challenges an individual might face in a typical school environs, but likewise suggesting that these challenges are difficulties that can be overcome.
1. Dyslexia
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning difficulties - also known equally learning disabilities, in the US. At that place are different types of dyslexia but the most common blazon is phonological dyslexia which affects the manner people break words down into their component parts.
This has consequences for decoding in reading and tin too cause spelling and writing difficulties. Considering reading and writing are cardinal to most school curriculum, children with undiagnosed dyslexia can quickly fall behind their peers as they experience problems with notation taking, reading, homework, writing assignments and assessments.
Dyslexia is non associated with lower intelligence, but language difficulties tin can crusade children to believe they are less intelligent than their peers and result in low-conviction and a poor self-image.
Some common signs of dyslexia include problems reading out loud, inconsistent spelling – they may be able to spell a discussion one day and non the side by side - losing one'south place on a page, a poor grasp of phonics, letter reversals, halted writing due to trouble with spelling, and a vocabulary that's more express in scope. Acquire about the signs of dyslexia, strategies for students with dyslexia, Am I dyslexic? and How to aid adults with dyslexia in these posts.
ii. Attention difficulties
Attending deficit disorder (ADD) and attending deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) used to be grouped under the umbrella term of Add together. However, in recent years it is ADHD that has go the general label for attention difficulties, both with and without the hyperactivity. ADHD with hyperactivity is oft characterized by difficulties maintaining focus over extended periods.
Children with ADHD can accept poor impulse control, be fidgety, and produce messy written piece of work. They are often easier to selection out in a classroom than a student who has Add together without the hyperactivity, as in the case of the latter a learner may non call whatever attention to themselves.
In fact, a learner with Add together may appear to exist paying attending and thus the learning difficulty can go unnoticed until it results in incomplete assignments and poor functioning on tests. In certain cases a child may even exist told they are not trying hard enough.
Reading comprehension, staying on task, post-obit directions, completing extended projects, and organisation tin can all be problematic. Learn more in our posts on ADD, Strategies for students with ADHD, ADHD reading problems and ADD vs. ADHD at school.
3. Dysgraphia
Children who struggle with dysgraphia have a hard time with writing and may produce text that is illegible. Writing can be labored, taking a long time to consummate and causing frustration and stress. The spatial orientation and planning aspects of writing can be particularly challenging for people with dysgraphia. This includes planning the white spaces between messages and words, writing in a direct line and/or producing lines of text that are vertically spaced.
Staying in the margins, using punctuation and choosing between capital and lowercase letters may also exist difficult. Alphabetic character germination itself might exist problematic and typing on the computer is often a recommended accommodation at school.
Children with dysgraphia are often eager to avoid handwriting, especially in forepart of their peers. They may feel embarrassed when writing on the board, produce less text than is necessary for written assignments, and can generally perform poorly on assessments that require written answers. Learn more about the signs of dysgraphia or read our article on the differences between dyslexia and dysgraphia.
iv. Dyscalculia
As opposed to dyslexia and dysgraphia which are both linguistic communication based learning difficulties, dyscalculia has to do with processing numbers. Children with dyscalculia can have problem performing uncomplicated arithmetic. They may not know how to approach a math/maths problem. Sometimes the spatial aspect of balancing equations is tricky, as well as grouping numbers and performing the correct gild of operations.
Even counting can be a struggle and it is often recommended that individuals with dyscalculia exist allowed to apply a computer to support their learning.
When dyslexia and dyscalculia are present together, reading word problems is made more hard, and number reversals may exist frequent. This can introduce errors into the work and cause a student to get the wrong respond. Dysgraphia and dyscalculia together mean a child often finds showing math/maths work in long form specially difficult to complete.
Writing math/maths symbols may be near impossible, as can certain spatial or graph oriented aspects of math/maths. Lastly, in dyspraxia and dyscalculia, getting steps in the right lodge can be a problem. Acquire more in our mail on math/maths difficulties in the classroom.
5. Dyspraxia
While not e'er grouped under the learning difficulties/ learning disabilities header, dyspraxia is a motor skills difficulty that tin as well impact on academic success. That'due south because it affects the planning and coordination of muscles, including those of the hand.
As gripping the pen or pencil in written language product is painful, writing may contain more than spelling errors and less text equally a result. In cases of verbal dyspraxia/ apraxia of speech, the muscles of the face, rima oris and throat are affected, limiting spoken language production.
People with dyspraxia may too walk with a funny gait, take trouble using a paintbrush in art class, experience difficulties playing a instrument, and/or performing coordinated movements in sports. They can be clumsy and might also struggle with arrangement and tasks that involve planning. Learn more in our articles Helping students who have dyspraxia, and Dyspraxia in adults.
In addition, some students may present with processing issues. Tiresome processing tin can mean a child requires more than time to complete school assignments and boosted exposures are needed to bring information into working retentivity.
Expressive and receptive language disorder and apraxia of speech are also language based difficulties that cause issues with comprehension and spoken language production. Learn more in What is processing speed?, Expressive receptive language disorder, Dyspraxia vs. Apraxia of speech
Screening and testing for difficulties/ disabilities
When a learning difficulty is suspected, information technology'southward typically recommended that an individual exist screened. This is washed using a short and sometimes online cess tool that tin can signal whether or not more than testing is recommended. If dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD or dyscalculia are suspected, comprehensive testing can exist performed by an educational psychologist, or in some cases a spoken language and language therapist.
The reason for this is no 2 people with a learning difficulty struggle with the same set or severity of symptoms and thus it's important to understand where strengths and problem areas prevarication in order to provide the all-time strategy grooming and accommodations. Learn more in this mail: How practice they test for dyslexia
Accommodations and technology
Information technology'due south oftentimes recommended that individuals who struggle with specific learning and motor skills difficulties exist allowed to use a computer to complete school work. One reason for this is typing takes intendance of many of the presentation aspects of writing, from letter formation to spacing and neatness.
For individuals who struggle with linguistic communication-based difficulties, learning to impact-type too helps to encode a word as a series of muscle movements in the fingers, which supports spelling skills. Additionally, writing on a device opens upwardly access to auto-complete, predictive text, and spell-checkers. It is as well easier and less painful for students with dysgraphia and dyspraxia to blazon vs. write by hand.
Touch on-blazon Read and Spell
Even so, learning to type may non be as easy for students with learning difficulties as it is for their peers. Typing programs that emphasize speed over accuracy put pressure on students to perform in timed lessons. They too may not offer attainable displays, which can pb to more frustration and lower conviction.
TTRS was developed to help individuals with learning difficulties primary typing and so they tin access technology and avert handwriting at work or at schoolhouse. At the same time, information technology was designed to help strengthen literacy skills. The programme takes a dyslexia-friendly Orton-Gillingham based arroyo which is multi-sensory.
Students hear the words, see them on screen and type them out, which helps to reinforce learning in memory. Lessons are broken down into bite-sized modules so they can exist repeated as many times equally is necessary and every pupil can learn at his or her own pace. Additionally, the words presented follow a program of English phonics so students enhance decoding, sight reading and spelling skills as they progress.
TTRS is accuracy based, which means students must correct mistakes in order to movement on. It's a learning programme which builds confidence gradually as learners echo modules and improve their skills.
Learning typing not only makes it easier for individuals with learning difficulties to admission other tools and online programs, only it builds conviction and self-esteem too!
If you liked this post, have a read through these manufactures on developing spelling skills, encouraging students with learning difficulties and what motivates students to learn.
Source: https://www.readandspell.com/types-of-learning-difficulties