Learning Disability symptoms..........http://mindzone.in/child-and-adolescence/

What are we looking for in the adult or adolescent learner suspected of having a learning disability? 

Most individuals with learning disabilities display a number of characteristics at one time or another and in varying degrees. These characteristics are listed under "General Characteristics" and include:

• Auditory and visual deficits
• Oral/Verbal Expressive Language
• Memory/Recall
• Reasoning/Processing
• Organization

Auditory and visual deficits affect one’s ability to develop and use language effectively; the effects are most apparent in reading, math, writing, and spelling skills. In both instances, the central nervous system is not processing symbols correctly. 

The individual:

	demonstrates variable or unpredictable performance;
	has difficulty staying on task or using a procedure past the point of its being appropriate;
	is able to learn information presented in one way, but not in another;
	experiences severe underachievement in one or more of the basic academic areas (reading, writing, spelling, math);
	reveals an obviously uneven profile on a battery of tests (showing real strengths and real weaknesses);
	has generally poor work and organizational habits;
	seems to lack resourcefulness.

It is important to note that many of these observed learning characteristics and behaviors result from problems that the individual experiences in the areas of visual discrimination and visual memory, as well as auditory discrimination and auditory memory.

• Visual discrimination refers to the learner’s ability to retain a full mental image of what s/he has seen. In both instances, the central nervous system is not processing symbols correctly.
• Visual memory refers to the learner's ability to store and recall what has been seen.
• Auditory discrimination involves the ability to recognize the differences between sounds. The result of an auditory deficit is that the individual fails to hear vowel or soft consonant sounds in spoken words. 
• Auditory memory refers to the learner’s ability to store and recall what has been heard. 

Auditory and visual deficits affect one’s ability to develop and use language effectively; the effects are most apparent in reading, math, writing, and spelling skills.

Oral/Verbal Expressive Language

The individual:

	omits or uses words inappropriately;
	has problems explaining things logically;
	has trouble expressing thoughts concisely (forgetting, confusing, or having difficulty articulating words);
	has trouble with telephone conversations;
	frequently misunderstands verbal communications (because of auditory discrimination problems, the person may process the sounds in words out of sequence, e.g., hears “aminal” instead of “animal”);
	has difficulty expressing herself in group settings;
	substitutes words incorrectly;
	has trouble retrieving known words;
	has problems making generalizations;
	is hesitant to speak out in class or at work;
	has difficulty listening;
	manifests slow verbal information processing;
	has trouble understanding words or concepts;
	has difficulty selecting relevant information;
	has auditory sequencing problems;
	has problems organizing ideas and expressing ideas in words;
	misinterprets language subtleties (e.g., tone of voice, sarcasm);
	has difficulty following complex directions.

Memory/Recall

The individual:

	has difficulty with short-term memory (e.g., following simple and/or multi-step instructions, remembering material read and/or information presented orally);
	cannot remember personal history or data (long-term memory); q has problems repeating information (saying the same thing over and over without  realizing it);
	has difficulty synthesizing discussion (time, place, events);
	has difficulty retaining information without excessive rehearsal, practice, or other memory techniques;
	has trouble remembering information presented orally;
	has trouble remembering information read;
	has trouble with multiple directions;
	experiences difficulty retaining recently learned material;
	has problems recalling simple instructions (e.g., how to deposit money in the bank).

Reasoning/Processing

The individual:

	has difficulty absorbing major ideas from oral presentations (instructions, lectures, discussions);
	makes frequent errors, both verbal and written;
	needs information to be repeated and reviewed;
	demonstrates poor decision-making skills;
	has poor abstract reasoning skills;
	shows poor cause/effect reasoning;
	has trouble recognizing and learning from mistakes;
	cannot recognize mistakes;
	has trouble moving from one idea to the next one;
	delays verbal responses;
	takes longer on reasoning tasks;
	has difficulty with abstractions; needs concrete demonstration;
	has trouble following oral information;
	has difficulty solving problems;
	is unable to transfer or generalize skills or integrate information;
	has difficulty drawing conclusions, making inferences, dealing with abstractions, seeing the whole.

Organization

The individual:

	has problems managing the details of daily life; q has trouble organizing;
	experiences difficulty prioritizing;
	has problems identifying the next step;
	manifests inconsistent performance;
	jumps from topic/idea to topic/idea;
	shows poor organization of concepts and tasks (including sequencing, prioritizing, grouping or categorizing, generalizing, grasping similarities between items, relating parts to the whole);
	has difficulty with maps, graphs, and charts;
	has trouble following multiple directions, especially in a prescribed sequence;
	complains of getting lost easily/disoriented easily;
	arrives very early or very late;
	has difficulty spacing assignment on a page (e.g., crowding math problems on a page);
	has difficulty telling time;
	has problems adjusting to change.

Sunil Kumar                                  Jayasudha Kamaraj
Clinical Psychologist                    Counseling Psychologist
Founder                                         Co-founder
MIND ZONE http://mindzone.in/child-and-adolescence/