Dyslexia: a language and reading disability
• Reads slowly and painfully
• Experiences decoding errors, especially with the order of letters
• Shows wide disparity between listening comprehension and reading comprehension of some text
• Has trouble with spelling
• May have difficulty with handwriting
• Exhibits difficulty recalling known words
• Has difficulty with written language
• May experience difficulty with math computations
• Decoding real words is better than nonsense words
• Substitutes one small sight word for another: a, I, he, the, there, was
Dyscalculia: problems with arithmetic and math concepts
• Shows difficulty understanding concepts of place value, and quantity, number lines, positive and negative value, carrying and borrowing
• Has difficulty understanding and doing word problems
• Has difficulty sequencing information or events
• Exhibits difficulty using steps involved in math operations
• Shows difficulty understanding fractions
• Is challenged making change and handling money
• Displays difficulty recognizing patterns when adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing
• Has difficulty putting language to math processes
• Has difficulty understanding concepts related to time such as days, weeks, months, seasons, quarters, etc.
• Exhibits difficulty organizing problems on the page, keeping numbers lined up, following through on long division problems
Dysgraphia: writing or fine motor skills deficit
• May have illegible printing and cursive writing (despite appropriate time and attention given the task)
• Shows inconsistencies: mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lower case, or irregular sizes, shapes or slant of letters
• Has unfinished words or letters, omitted words
• Inconsistent spacing between words and letters
• Exhibits strange wrist, body or paper position
• Has difficulty pre-visualizing letter formation
• Copying or writing is slow or labored
• Shows poor spatial planning on paper
• Has cramped or unusual grip/may complain of sore hand
• Has great difficulty thinking and writing at the same time (taking notes, creative writing.)
Dyspraxia: problems with motor coordination
• Exhibits poor balance; may appear clumsy; may frequently stumble
• Shows difficulty with motor planning
• Demonstrates inability to coordinate both sides of the body
• Has poor hand-eye coordination
• Exhibits weakness in the ability to organize self and belongings
• Shows possible sensitivity to touch
• May be distressed by loud noises or constant noises like the ticking of a clock or someone tapping a pencil
• May break things or choose toys that do not require skilled manipulation
• Has difficulty with fine motor tasks such as coloring between the lines, putting puzzles together; cutting accurately or pasting neatly
• Irritated by scratchy, rough, tight or heavy clothing
Central Auditory Processing Disorder: difficulty processing and remembering language related tasks.
• Has difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks but may have no trouble interpreting or recalling non-verbal environmental sounds, music, etc.
• May process thoughts and ideas slowly and have difficulty explaining them
• Misspells and mispronounces similar-sounding words or omits syllables; confuses similar-sounding words (celery/salary; belt/built; three/free; jab/job; bash/batch)
• May be confused by figurative language (metaphor, similes) or misunderstand puns and jokes; interprets words too literally
• Often is distracted by background sounds/noises
• Finds it difficult to stay focused on or remember a verbal presentation or lecture
• May misinterpret or have difficulty remembering oral directions; difficulty following directions in a series
• Has difficulty comprehending complex sentence structure or rapid speech
• “Ignores” people, especially if engrossed
• Says “What?” a lot, even when has heard much of what was said
Non Verbal LD: trouble with nonverbal cues
• Has trouble recognizing nonverbal cues such as facial expression or body language
• Shows poor psycho-motor coordination; clumsy; seems to be constantly “getting in the way,” bumping into people and objects
• Using fine motor skills a challenge: tying shoes, writing, using scissors
• Needs to verbally label everything that happens to comprehend circumstances, spatial orientation, directional concepts and coordination; often lost or tardy
• Has difficulty coping with changes in routing and transitions
• Has difficulty generalizing previously learned information
• Has difficulty following multi-step instructions
• Make very literal translations
• Asks too many questions, may be repetitive and inappropriately interrupt the flow of a lesson
• Imparts the “illusion of competence” because of the student’s strong verbal skills
Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit: Reverses letters; cannot copy accurately; eyes hurt and itch; loses place; struggles with cutting
• May have reversals: b for d, p for q or inversions: u for n, w for m
• Has difficulty negotiating around campus
• Complains eyes hurt and itch, rubs eyes, complains print blurs while reading
• Turns head when reading across page or holds paper at odd angles
• Closes one eye while working, may yawn while reading
• Cannot copy accurately
• Loses place frequently
• Does not recognize an object/word if only part of it is shown
• Holds pencil too tightly; often breaks pencil point/crayons
• Struggles to cut or paste
• Misaligns letters; may have messy papers, which can include letters colliding, irregular spacing, letters not on line
Language Disorders: Aphasia, Dysphasia or Global Aphasia: Trouble understanding spoken language; poor reading comprehension
• Has difficulty gaining meaning from spoken language
• Demonstrates poor written output
• Exhibits poor reading comprehension
• Shows difficulty expressing thoughts in verbal form
• Has difficulty labeling objects or recognizing labels
• Is often frustrated by having a lot to say and no way to say it
• Feels that words are “right on the tip of my tongue”
• Can describe an object and draw it, but can’t think of the word for it
• May be depressed or having feelings of sadness
• Has difficulty getting jokes
