What are Signs of Learning Difficulties in Children?

Learning difficulties in children are often the result of a learning disorder, a neurological disorder that interferes with a child’s ability to listen, speak, read, write, or do math. Parents are usually the first to notice signs of a learning disorder or learning difficulty, but teachers may also notice some signs. Symptoms can vary greatly among individuals, but common signs are difficulties in learning concepts or skills that cause deficits when a child is compared to his or her peers.

Learning difficulties in children are often neurological in nature, rather than a result of the child not trying hard enough. Most children with learning disorders are of normal intelligence, but they have deficits in certain skills. There is no cure for a learning disorder, however, intervention and extra help in the area a child struggles with can be enough to enable a child to catch up to his or her peers. Depending on the type of learning difficulty, there are different strategies parents and teachers can employ to help a child learn.

Many of the symptoms of learning difficulties in children are seen in normal children as well. They become a cause for concern when a child shows several of the symptoms and they persist for a long time. Parents should be on the lookout for signs of learning difficulties, because the sooner a child receives help, the better the results. Often, learning difficulties in children will cause difficulty in one specific area, such as writing, but the affected child will perform just as well as his or her peers in other areas such as math.

In preschool children, a common symptom of learning difficulty is slowness to learn to speak when compared to peers. These children may also have a limited vocabulary and show difficulty finding the word they want to say. They may also have a hard time learning preschool concepts like the alphabet or the names of colors. Often they are easily distracted and have difficulty following even simple directions.

Learning difficulties in children during grade school can also manifest as language trouble, with a child often learning to read much later than peers. Learning new skills, especially mathematical skills, may be very difficult. A child may also have problems with spelling and often mix up letters such as “b” and “d.” A child with learning difficulties may struggle with word problems or writing assignments, and may avoid these assignments.