A recent National Institutes of Health study showed that 67 percent of young students identified as being at risk for reading difficulties were able to achieve average or above average reading ability when they received help early. President Clinton recently issued a challenge to America to educate all children to be reading and reading well by the fourth grade. Being aware of the warning signs and getting children the earliest possible help will increase the chance of meeting this goal, and will greatly improve the chances of those with learning disabilities for greater academic achievement and self esteem. The resulting problems can lead to poor self esteem, failure to thrive in school, and difficulty in the workplace. With early detection and intervention, parents can give their children the necessary skills for coping with and compensating or the learning disability, an opportunity that was denied to many of today's adults.
All children learn in highly individual ways.
Children with learning disabilities simply process information differently, but they are generally of normal or above-average intelligence. Having a learning disability can affect a child's ability to read, write, speak, do math, and build social relationships. Below are several early warning signs commonly associated with learning disabilities between the preschool years and fourth grade. Late talking, compared to other children. Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word.