What are the symptoms of learning disabilities?

There are five main areas, which are affected by learning disabilities; these include:

• Speech and language
• Arithmetic
• Writing and reading
• Reasoning
• Memory

Some people may experience difficulties with some areas but not others and other people may experience difficulties in all the five areas. Common symptoms of learning disabilities amongst both children and adults include:

• Difficulties with reading, including getting letters mixed up and skipping words
• Difficulty remembering things
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Lack of concentration
• Poor standards of performance compared to other pupils
• Taking longer than others to complete work
• Lack of ability to understand the consequences of individual actions
• Hyperactivity
• Being disorganised
• Becoming frustrated easily
• Poor social skills
• Mood swings
• Difficulty copying words, images or actions

Some of these symptoms are characteristic of specific disorders, including dyslexia and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), while others are more general; it is very uncommon for people to be affected by all the symptoms listed above and most people are affected more severely in certain areas than others; for example, some people may have problems with reading and writing but their speech may be fine.

Learning Disabilities

• Learning Disabilities
• What causes learning disabilities?
• What are the symptoms of learning disabilities?

• Examples of learning disabilities
• Diagnosing learning disabilities
• Treatment for learning disabilities