• Delays in language development. By 2½ years of age, your child should be able to talk in short sentences.
• Trouble with speech. By 3 years of age, your child should speak well enough so that adults can understand most of what she says.
• Trouble with coordination. By 5 years of age, your child should be able to button, cut, and hop. She should be able to copy a circle, square, or triangle.
• Short attention spans. Between 3 to 5 years of age, your child should be able to sit still and listen to a short story. As your child gets older, she should be able to pay attention for a longer time.

• Follow directions.
• Get and stay organized at home and school.
• Understand verbal directions.
• Learn facts and remember information.
• Learn subjects taught in school (for example, math, reading, or spelling) but seem smart in other things.
• Fit in with their peers or communicate with others.
• Sound words out and read or spell.
• Write clearly (may have poor handwriting).
• Concentrate and finish schoolwork (may daydream a lot).
• Explain information clearly with speech or in writing.

• May not remember the names of letters and the sounds they make.
• May not understand words that are read to them.
• May not understand that words are made up of sounds and that letters stand for those sounds.
• May not be able to sound out words at the right speed and correctly.
• May have trouble spelling.
• May take longer to read words they know.

• May have trouble using a pen or pencil.
• May not remember how letters are formed.
• May have trouble copying shapes or drawing lines and spacing things out correctly.
• May have trouble writing words to express themselves.
• May have trouble organizing and writing their thoughts on paper.

• May have trouble with math concepts such as number values, quantity, and order.
• May have trouble with fractions, percentages, geometry, and algebra.
• May have trouble with things like time, money, and measuring.
• May have other problems, including problems with shapes and drawing.

• May have problems with nonverbal cues, like body language.
• May have poor coordination.

• May have problems understanding and using language (this may affect how well they can read and write).
• May struggle to understand instructions or new information.

• May have no problem hearing but they may not interpret and store words that are heard.
• May have a specific weakness in learning from sounds. These children may have even more difficulty when there's a lot of background noise.

Children with ADHD

• May have problems completing schoolwork or homework.
• May have problems remembering assignments.
• May have problems staying seated.
• May have problems staying focused or paying attention.
• May have problems remembering information.
• May become easily distracted.
• May have disruptive classroom behavior.

Schools are required by law to help all children with language or learning difficulties at no cost to parents. If you're concerned about your child's problems with learning or think your child may have a learning disability, talk with your child's teacher and your pediatrician. Informal screening and formal evaluation are ways that teachers and other education specialists can help determine if there's a problem.

Published online: 9/07
Source: Learning Disabilities: What Parents Need to Know (Copyright © 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics, updated 5/07)

Healthcare professionals may order this publication in multi-copy packs.
Parents can find more information on this topic in Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12. To order a copy of this book visit the AAP Bookstore.

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The information contained in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.