Sara's Story

When Sara was in the first grade, her teacher started teaching the students how to read. Sara's parents were really surprised when Sara had a lot of trouble. She was bright and eager, so they thought that reading would come easily to her. It didn't. She couldn't match the letters to their sounds or combine the letters to create words.

Sara's problems continued into second grade. She still wasn't reading, and she was having trouble with writing, too. The school asked Sara's mom for permission to evaluate Sara to find out what was causing her problems. Sara's mom gave permission for the evaluation.

The school conducted an evaluation and learned that Sara has a learning disability. She started getting special help in school right away.

Sara's still getting that special help. She works with a reading specialist and a resource room teacher every day. She's in the fourth grade now, and she's made real progress! She is working hard to bring her reading and writing up to grade level. With help from the school, she'll keep learning and doing well.

Noah

Noah felt like he was always hitting the books. While his friends were meeting for pickup soccer games after school, he was back home in his room reading and rereading the same material. But no matter how hard Noah studied, he had difficulty remembering things and his grades stayed average. Meanwhile, his friend Sean, who never seemed to study, always aced tests. It didn't seem fair.

Because Noah was so frustrated, his dad and teachers made an appointment with the school psychologist. She diagnosed Noah with a learning disability. Although Noah felt relieved to know what was going on, he was also worried. He didn't like the "disability" label. And he was concerned about what it might mean for his future. Would he be able to go to college and study engineering as he'd hoped?

Contents

1. Learning disabilities………………………………………………. 5

2. The Signs of a learning disability………………………………… 6

3. What about school?………………………………………………… 8

4. Tips for parents…………………………………………………….. 9

5. Tips for teachers………………………………………………….. 10

6. Causes…………………………………………………………….. 11

7. Coping with a learning disability………………………………... 12

8. Types of learning disabilities……………………………………. 13

9. Accommodations for students with learning disabilities………... 15

10. Vision-related learning disabilities……………………………... 18

11. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)…………………22

12. Causes of a learning disability…………………………………….23

13. Errors in fetal brain development…………………………………..24

14. Other factors that affects brain development………………………24

15. Genetic factors…………………………………………………….26

16. Tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use……………………………...25

17. Problems during pregnancy or delivery……………………………27

18. Toxins in the child’s environment………………………………....27

19. Identification and learning disabilities…………………………….28

20. Formal diagnosis of a learning disability………………………….29

21. Learning disability treatment………………………………………32

22. Medication…………………………………………………………34

23. Learning disabilities and the family……………………………….36

24. Course of learning disabilities……………………………………..38

25. Learning disability glossary of terms………………………………40

26. Appendix…………………………………………………………...52