Learning disabilities

[Mummyshell71]

Hello,

We have an ace 8yr old son, who we think as some sort of learning disability. We can't put our finger on it, but he seems to be displaying some symptoms from 4 the major learning disabilities in children. Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia.

Does anyone else have this problem? The list we have makes it look like he isn't a normal child, and is weird, but it's the things that add up. My mum hasn't noticed this, but we chatted recently and she said "oh yes, he does that doesn't he, I hadn't realised."

We should speak to the school. My husband is rather upset about it all, as am I...he needs help!

This is the list we have so far:

1. Clumsiness. drops, spills, falls over (occasionally, more likely to drop or spill than fall)
2. Difficulty writing, both forming letters and the speed.Gets d and b mixed up often.
3. Gets left and right mixed up often
4. Problems reading, misses out words, adds extra words in or says words of similar sounds, e.g. when’ for ‘then’ (vice versa)
5. Difficulty learning Maths - Writes numbers the wrong way round, or says numbers the wrong way round. Learning times table and remembering them, trouble understanding multiplication, addition, division, subtraction.
6. Speech problems - stutter at 2yrs old. but that disappeared after nearly 2yrs, they said he his brain and his mouth hadn't caught up with each other, and he wanted to speak like a big boy, but didn't know how.
7. Poor short term memory. E.g. If given a list of instructions to carry out, may remember the first and last one but not the ones in between.
8. Sometimes, forgets what you've just talked to him about, or an hour earlier.
9. Looks awkward walking and running.

10. Trouble using a knife and fork. E.g. cutting food and spreading butter. 11. Poor concentration. E.g. very easily distracted 12. Cannot keep eye contact when he’s talking to you. 13. Cannot organise methodically 14. Have trouble learning new tasks particularly those involving organisation and concentration. 15. Problems carrying out personal hygiene tasks, E.g. cleaning teeth, cleansing face, 16. Cannot keep still, swinging legs (sitting), hand gestures, swinging arms, makes loud noises, often noisy behaviour 17. Obsessive behaviour, tapping toothbrush 3 or 4 times on the side of the sink after brushing. 18. Gets quite angry at times, especially when we’re trying to teach him something. 19. Cannot describe real life situations in a clear concise manner. Can stray off talking if distracted by something else, trouble putting thoughts into words 20. Not too keen on busy places 21. Impatient 22. Wet the bed at night until he was nearly 7 yrs old 23. likes flavours, doesn’t like texture 24. doesn’t understand the concept of time 25. has trouble with abstract. 26. co-ordination problems, i.e. swimming breasttroke, catching a ball.

Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia are specific learning difficulties rather learning disabilities.

I am a little at the '...isn't a normal child, and is wierd...'

What are the difficulties your ds has?

Sorry cross posted - will read through!

I only meant for not being able to keep still, throwing his arms around, he does keep still some of the time, but when he starts to move he starts with the movements.

Some adults do use the terms 'not normal' and 'weird' however much we both dislike it!!!

They are classed as a learning disability though, especially dyslexia and dyspraxia. I've spent the entire night googling everything I can find out.

He's definitely displaying symptoms from all 4 of the above mentioned disabilities.

Thank you Tiggytape.

I'm only googling as it's the weekend and I can't do anything about it, but we do plan to approach the school next week, if I have knowledge prior to gong in they may take us seriously. We've been saying there's a problem since P2, but his teacher's have said it was maturity issues and once he starts to mature he'll get better and he hasn't :-(

We're going through hell with homework and it's awful to see him get so distressed and it's frustrating for all of us. He needs help and support, we just need the school to see it to, I don't think they are!

I agree that talking to the Senco is the best thing to do. All childen display some (most, even) of those behaviours from time to time, but if he is frequently or always showing the full house, then it is worth taking advice to find the right professionals to assess and, if required, recommend interventions.

2 of my DC are dyslexic. We got assessments at about this age, and targeted interventions really do help - one is now in year 8 and barely needs support because he has learned effective strategies, one in year 5 has come on in leaps and bounds with literacy support.

Sorry mummyshell, I think my experience of having one child with learning disabilities and one child with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia) influenced my post. I thought they were referred to differently.

As Meditrina says a lot of children display those behaviours, but if he is struggling at school due to the extent of them then obviously he needs help and the senco is the best port of call. I would make sure you have your list and just be really thorough in getting answers for your concerns. Wrt dyslexia, my dd2 had 2 assessments performed in school which showed the areas of difficulty. Concerns were originally raised by me, and then her teachers noted a big discrepancy in her reading abilities and her comprehension, which triggered the assessment.

I'm surprised the school hasn't identified these issues if they are causing difficulties in school. Speak to the SENCO and his class teacher.

Your list is comprehensive. Keep adding to it. I'm sure that the SENCO will (should) take you seriously. Keep going back to the GP, too. It sometimes takes a few visits and a bit of a wait before referral is made, unfortunately.
As for homework, ask SENCO and / or teacher how long she would reasonably expect your son to spend on his homework. Then stick to the suggested timeframe. It may be difficult to explain to your son that you may not finish it but will spend the amount of time suggested by Mrs XYZ on it. If it would upset him toouch to leave his homework incomplete, ask the teacher to set homework that your son is likely to be able to complete within the expected timeframe.

One other thing always worth doing, in parallel to seeing the Senco is getting his eyes tested, and perhaps a hearing test too. You can book any optician directly, see GP about hearing.