Your eight-year-old daughter has sophisticated ideas and insights and a vocabulary to match, yet she’s not reading anywhere near her grade level. Or your first-grade son knows everything about dinosaurs and can do complex math equations in his head but he struggles to express his ideas.

The problem may be a learning disability (LD), a neurological disorder marked by a gap between intelligence and performance. LDs affect an estimated 5 to 10 percent of the population but are frequently overlooked or misidentified. “I often see kids after they’ve been on medication for ADHA (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and aren’t improving,” says Larry B. Silver, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center, in Washington, D.C. “That’s because the underlying problem is LD.”
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Part of the confusion stems from the fact that LDs, which can hinder the ability to read, write, listen, speak, do math or even function socially, are poorly understood and highly idiosyncratic. Although about 80 percent of LD sufferers have dyslexia, which literally means difficulty with reading (and, by extension, with writing and spelling), the problems manifest themselves differently in each person. Some kids cannot learn to read while others breeze through Henry and Mudge but stumble over comprehension. Among the other 20 percent, some find basic match a challenge (a condition known as dyscalculia) or may have impaired motor and organization skills or short-term memory. “It’s never one specific thing,” notes Jane Browning, former executive director of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, in Pittsburg. “Each kid carries a different load.” What LD kids do have in common is intellectual potential; a child with a low IQ would not be considered learning disabled.

A Brain That Works Differently

No one is quite sure what causes LD: Genetics is a factor in roughly half the cases and, in rare cases, problems during pregnancy and birth may also play a part. But the fog around LD is beginning to lift, as new technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enable scientists to observe the brain at work, and as educators become more adept at recognizing LD. “We’ve dramatically improved our ability to identify children with LD and treat them effectively,” says Sally Shaywitz, M.D., codirector of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, in New Haven, Connecticut.

What scientists are discovering is that the LD brain is wired differently; information doesn’t always travel from point A to point B but takes a more circuitous route. And while LD sufferers are, by definition, intelligent (Winston Churchill and—evidence suggests—Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison numbered among their ranks), certain skills elude them. Frustration or shame can trigger disruptive behavior, making it easy to mistake LD for ADHD. (In fact, the problems often coexist; up to 50 percent of people with ADHD also have LD.) A sense of incompetence and failure can erode a child’s self-esteem. “When my son was in second grade, he was so out of sync with his classmates,” recalls Amy Goldin, a mother of two from New York City. “I’d see him at the desk in the corner, tears in his eyes, trying in vain to read.”

Discussion: Signs to Watch For

Early Intervention is Key
While educators are getting better at detecting LD, the warning signs are still easy to miss. Parents need to be alert for the red flags—preschoolers with language delays, for instance, or who struggle to learn simple nursery rhymes. With school-age kids, signs may include reading below grade level or weak math or writing skills.

For some kids the problems diminish or even disappear as they mature. Still, it’s crucial to be proactive from the first indication of a problem. “Don’t wait until your kid is in serious trouble to do something,” advises Dr. Silver.

If you are concerned, the first step is to educate yourself. Talk to your child’s teacher or care provider as well as to her pediatrician and any other adult with whom she has regular contact. “Document, catalogue and collect as much informational data as possible,” advises Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D., director of professional services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, in New York City. “Be able to articulate exactly what your concerns are.” Mention anything you’re uneasy about. Armed with this information, ask your child’s school for psycho-educational testing. This evaluation is typically done by a psychologist, special educator or speech-language pathologist; it assesses a child’s intelligence, achievement levels in school skills and his ability to receive, process and express information.

Unfortunately, your school may lack the resources to do this testing. In that case you need an independent evaluator, and the fee for a private evaluation can exceed $1,000. A good evaluation will identify not only weaknesses but areas of strength and strategies for helping your child. A child who struggles with reading, for instance, may need systematic phonics instruction to understand the letter-sound pairings that are the building blocks of reading. Multi-sensory approaches—hearing the sounds, touching three-dimensional letters and playing letter-sound games—are often effective.

If testing identifies deficits, public schools are legally required to create an individualized education program for your child. Remember, though, that while federal law entitles every child to a free and appropriate education, the definition of “appropriate” varies. That’s why parents must be forceful advocates for their children. To find out more about what services your school must provide, go to www.lhj.com/schoolservices.

These remedial services can make a huge difference, helping a child acquire important academic skills as well as the confidence to succeed. Since beginning a special-education program, Goldin’s son, now in eighth grade, has regained his joy in life and has made great strides academically—even managing to skip a grade. The key is early intervention. A 2004 brain-imaging study found that, with remediation, the brains of formerly poor readers between the ages of 6 and 9 begin, over time, to function like the brains of good readers. “We’ve shown that the brain can change,” says Dr. Shaywitz, the study’s author.

This is not to say that learning disabilities are curable. They’re not. But the hope is that by adulthood (ideally sooner) LD sufferers will have mastered the skills to compensate for their limitations. “Learning disabilities never go away,” says Dr. Horowitz, “but they do not have to be a lifelong burden.”

To Find Out More About Learning Disabilities, Contact These Organizations:

• The National Center for Learning Disabilities www.ncld.org
• Learning Disabilities Association of America www.ldamerica.org
• Schwab Learning, a guide for parents of children with learning disabilities www.schwablearning.org
• The International Dyslexia Association www.interdys.org

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