Learning Disabilities and Late Intervention
Below, you'll find a list of symptoms grouped by disability type:
Dyslexia: Teenagers and adults who have yet to be diagnosed with dyslexia may have considerable difficulty with spelling. This may be demonstrated by spelling the same word multiple ways within the same essay. Those with dyslexia often rely heavily on phonetics when trying to spell a word. They may also write their letters or punctuation marks incorrectly (backwards, upside down, etc.) or put them in the wrong order.
Dyscalculia: People who don't know that they have dyscalculia may still have extreme difficulty with basic mathematical principles and practices, such as addition and subtraction. They may have trouble dealing with number sequences, columns of numbers, and mathematical symbols. Other common signs of dyscalculia include overreliance on calculators and confusion with left and right.
Dysgraphia: Those with dysgraphia have a hard time writing or drawing within a defined space, like a piece of lined paper. This is due to poor development of fine motor skills. Another symptom of dysgraphia is illegible handwriting, which isn't due to carelessness, but instead indicates a difficulty with handling a pen or a pencil.
Audio and Visual Perception Disabilities: If your child often has to ask you to repeat yourself, it may be a sign that they have an audio perception problem. It's not that he or she isn't listening carefully enough to you, it's that their brain is unable to sort out which sound or tone to interpret first. Those with visual perception problems may transpose letters, punctuation marks, numbers, and mathematical symbols. Once again, this is an issue of sequencing malfunction in the brain, not lack of attention.
Memory Disabilities: These can manifest themselves in different ways. One common symptom is the inability to retain information that has just been relayed. For example, if your child can't remember a passage that they have just finished reading, they may continue to reread that passage over and over again. This indicates a problem with short-term memory. Long-term memory problems may announce themselves through difficulties with retrieving information. For instance, if your child can't recall the mathematical formula that allows them to calculate the circumference of a circle, long-term memory problems are at fault. Of course, the two are related, since if a piece of information doesn't stick in your short-term memory, it won't make it to your long-term memory either.
About the Author
Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring Service called Aim High Tutors. Find out how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com and http://www.aimhightutors.com/blogWriters with Learning Disabilities
1. Robert BentonThis 74-year-old screenwriter grew up during a time when there wasn't much information available about dyslexia. Finding reading and writing difficult and branded as "slow," Benton's imagination was captured by the movies. He became a film fanatic, watching his favorites over and over again. This dedication led him to a deep understanding of what worked and what didn't in the cinematic world. After a brief stint as an art director for Esquire magazine, Benton decided to try his hand at screenwriting by partnering with his friend, David Newman. The product of their partnership was the critically-acclaimed screenplay for Bonnie & Clyde which launched his writing career. Benton went on to win best screenplay Academy Awards for Places in the Heart and Kramer vs. Kramer. He continues writing professionally to this day; his most recent work was the script for The Ice Harvest.
2. Fannie Flagg
Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Flagg struggled with severe dyslexia, which led her to believe that her dreams of being a professional writer were out of reach. She initially began her career as a news anchor, then moved on to acting in such movies as Five Easy Pieces and Grease. While Flagg had found success as an actress, the pull to write was just too strong to ignore. A writers' conference inspired her to craft her first short story, for which she won a prize. Encouraged by this warm reception, Flagg began writing in earnest. Her bestselling novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, was turned into a much beloved movie, for which she wrote the Academy Award nominated screenplay. Flagg's warm, funny novels have continued to land on the bestseller lists. Her latest book is Can't Wait to Get to Heaven.
3. Wendy Wasserstein
This late, great playwright also struggled with dyslexia throughout her formative years. She went on to receive degrees from Mount Holyoke, City College of New York, and Yale. Wasserstein was known for extremely witty and incisive plays about intelligent, successful women dealing with their inner demons. The Heidi Chronicles catapulted her into theatre world superstardom, earning her a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Her final play, Third, opened on Broadway in 2005. She is also the author of four books, including Elements of Style, and wrote the screenplay for the film version of The Object of My Affection.
