What do Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, and Jay Leno have in common? They all have learning disabilities. So did Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Graham Bell.

What is a learning disability (LD)?

LD is a disorder that affects people’s ability to interpret what they see or hear, or how they link information together in the brain. At least 10% of school-age children have LD.

“There’s a real stigma about learning disabilities,” says Georgia Abi-Nader of Sacramento, whose son was teased by his classmates in elementary school. “Children with disabilities are often called ‘retard,’” she says, “but mental retardation is something totally different.” In fact, research shows that many people with LD have above-average intelligence.

Abi-Nader’s son was very angry at being teased, and she worried that he might lash back at the other students. So during his sixth-grade year, Abi-Nader went into his classroom and had students do exercises like reading scrambled messages and writing while looking in a mirror, to help them understand a little of what it’s like to have LD.

What are the basic types of LD?

Developmental reading disorder, sometimes called dyslexia, is the most common type of LD. Children with this disorder may reverse numbers and letters, or lose their place on the page. More often, they have trouble telling sounds apart, which makes sounding out words very difficult.

Other types of LD are developmental writing disorder, dysgraphia and developmental arithmetic disorder, or dyscalculia. Some children have learning disorders that don’t fit into these categories.

What are the early warning signs of LD?

Early symptoms vary, but during the preschool years, a child with LD may have difficulty speaking, following directions, taking turns, or following simple steps to complete a task.

LD is rarely diagnosed in preschoolers. Even kindergarten and first grade may be too early for a diagnosis, since children develop at different speeds and are still learning to read.

Patrice Brewer of Antioch cares for her four-year-old nephew, “Tootie,” who has cerebral palsy. Tootie’s doctor and teachers agree that Tootie has strong “dyslexic tendencies,” but will not diagnose him yet.

“Tootie always writes his letters backwards,” says Patrice. “When he writes his name, he gets the order of the letters right, but every letter’s in reverse.”

Parents should be careful not to label their child “learning disabled” without a diagnosis. Most children struggle a bit when learning to read and write. It’s normal for a kindergartener or first-grader to reverse “b” and “d” sometimes. But struggling with basic reading, writing, or arithmetic into second and third grade may be a sign of LD.

What should I do if I suspect my child has LD?

If you suspect LD, contact your child’s teacher. Before testing can take place, the teacher is required to try several “interventions,” such as

• extra tutoring
• teaching in a multi-sensory way, like having the child learn letters by seeing them, saying them, and drawing them in sand
• special learning exercises to do at home.

If interventions don’t help and your child is significantly behind in school, you have the legal right, as a parent, to request testing. Put your request in writing and give it to the principal. If testing identifies a learning disability, your child may receive extra help in the classroom, in visits to a resource teacher, or in a special day class.

Abi-Nader and her son were relieved when he received a diagnosis of LD. “It was liberating to find out why [he was having problems in school],” she says. “It’s like he could finally say, ‘I’m not crazy, lazy, or stupid. I just have something I need to figure out how to work with.’”

What can experts do to help a child with LD?

Children don’t outgrow LD, but they can learn to read and succeed. Daylin Boyd, who has taught LD students in Hayward and Los Angeles, says a special education teacher helps the LD student by:

• finding out his or her abilities and inabilities
• changing or simplifying lessons to fit the student’s ability level
• explaining instructions in several ways to make sure the student understands
• setting up special ways to test the student
• giving the student time to work at his or her own pace
• using lots of repetition and practice
• using intensive reading programs and workbooks.

How can parents help?

“You have to work with your school. That’s an absolute must,” says Theresa Cooper, who directs a Los Angeles organization, Loving Your Disabled Child. When her son Eric was diagnosed with LD at seven, Cooper coordinated with the teacher.

“Ms. Wallace used Hooked on Phonics in the classroom with Eric,” she says, “and I used it at home too. That worked wonderfully for learning his letters and sounds.”

Cooper and the teacher also passed a notebook back and forth every day, to communicate about how Eric was doing.

Brewer does learning activities at home with Tootie. For example, she writes a letter on a piece of paper and lets Tootie paste beans on the lines to “get a feel” for the letters. She also has Tootie write letters in sand, in dirt, and with finger paints.

Abi-Nader also got involved with other parents of children with LD, to get more ideas on how to help her son. She now serves as president of the California Learning Disabilities Association.

More tips for parents

• Praise your child for what he or she does well. Give your child opportunities to develop those talents.
• Read out loud to your child every day, and have your child read out loud to you.
• Look for good, research-based, intensive reading programs, such as Lindamood-Bell (www.lindamoodbell.com) and Read Naturally (www.readnaturally.com).
• Learn more about LD. The more you know, the more you can help.
• Join parent groups for support.

Resources

• In Parent Training, Information, and Resource Centers, parents of children with disabilities provide support to others. For a list of these centers and other resources, go to www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/qa/caprntorg.asp or call 800-926-0648

• Learning Disabilities Association of America (Pittsburgh, PA), 412-341-1515, www.ldaamerica.org

• LD Online, www.ldonline.org

• International Dyslexia Association ( Baltimore, MD), 800-222-3123, info@interdys.org

• Dyscalculia.org, www.dyscalculia.org

Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin (updated 8-06)

• Recognition and Response, from FPG Child Development Institute, describes an early intervention system for young children that helps parents and teachers respond to learning difficulties in young children as early as possible. Online at http://www.fpg.unc.edu/

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