MIMAANSA

An important requirement in the diagnosis of learning disabilities is the discrepancy between intelligence, or one's ability to perform, and their actual performance.

There is no one sign that shows a person has a learning disability. Characteristics that may be apparent include:

• Trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds
• Problems identifying individual sounds in spoken words
• Not reading for pleasure
• Not making use of reading to gather information
• Making many errors when reading aloud, and repeating and pausing often
• Focusing on word recognition to such a degree that it detracts from reading comprehension
• Not understanding what he or she reads
• Showing persistent problems with spelling
• Having sloppy handwriting that is difficult to read or holding a pencil awkwardly
• Struggling to express ideas and communicate in writing
• Learning language late, lacking complex language and having a limited vocabulary
• Having trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight distinctions between words
• Having trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm
• Having difficulty with non-literal or figurative language such as metaphors, idioms and sarcasm
• Having trouble following directions
• Mispronouncing words or using a wrong word that sounds similar
• Having difficulty with verbal memory and processing large amounts of spoken language
• Having trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or not being able to think of the word needed for writing or conversation
• Not following the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns, and standing too close to the listener
• Confusing math symbols, misreading numbers, or difficulty retrieving math facts
• Having visual-spatial deficits and ineffective use of visual imagery
• Having difficulties in language processing that affect math problem-solving
• Difficulty retelling a story in order (what happened first, second, third)
• Not knowing where to begin a task or how to go on from there
• Having a distinct gap between the level of achievement that is expected and what is actually being achieved
• Having problems with abstract reasoning
• Making impulsive decisions and judgments
• Difficulties with socio-emotional skills and behavior
• A lack of “executive functions,” including self-motivation, self-reliance, selfadvocacy and goal-setting or
• Problems with attention, which may be accompanied by hyperactivity, distractibility or passivity.