by Frances Simon

Created on: November 15, 2007

Having a learning disability can cause emotional and behavioral problems for both the parent and child. The frustration a child can feel from having this invisible disability can be overwhelming, potentially causing long-term problems. The earlier the problems are diagnosed, the earlier intervention can begin; the earlier intervention begins, the better the outcome is likely to be.

You can suspect that your child has a learning disability if:

*Your child struggles with work that you and the teacher thing he should be able to do. If you find yourself saying "You can do it if you try" frequently, the problem may not be that he is not trying, but that he has a learning disability that gets in the way of being able to do the task.

*Your child seems very talented in some areas and well behind his classmates in others. A child with a learning disability will probably perform at different levels at different tasks.

*Your child acts out in class, or becomes the class clown, only when certain types of tasks are presented.

*Your child who previously enjoyed school starts trying to avoid it, either with frequent physical complaints, dawdling in the morning or even hiding.

*Your child does great during the weekend, but come Sunday night he is in tears.

*Your child is behind the other children in reading, but otherwise seems of average or above average intelligence.

*Your child has difficulty completing written work even though his language skills are average or advanced.

*Your child is generally cooperative but has difficulty following instructions.

*Your child lags behind other children his age in performing certain routine tasks such as buttoning his coat, tying his shoes, riding a bike and getting dressed.

*Your child has to be re-taught the same task repeatedly.

*Your child is a skilled artist, Lego builder athlete and math student, but struggles mightily with reading.

*Your child gets easily lost in new places, and has trouble learning the way to new places. He may get panicked at the very thought of being someplace new.

*Your child can read words, but doesn't really understand the story.

*Your child's social skills seem far less developed than other children his age.

*Your child's speech is delayed, but he seems to be able to hear sounds just fine.

Children develop at different rates, so having any one of these signs does not necessarily mean your child has a disability. If you have concerns, talk to your child's teacher. If your child is having serious problems, ask the school to

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