Get a Life! How to Create
Balance for your Child with
Learning Disabilities
Family, School, Social and Community
Trends
4.6 Million
(or 1.7%)
Americans
have a
learning
disability
 2/3 of students identified
with LD are male.
 LD is the largest category of
children receiving special
education services
 2.4 million American public
school students identified
with LD under IDEA
 7/10 individuals link learning
disabilities with intellectual
disabilities
Trends
55% of people mistakenly believe that LD are often the product
of a home environment
51% of people think that what people call LD are the result
of laziness
54% of students with LD plan to attend a 2-year or 4-year
college
28% of parents think that their child will attend
postsecondary school.
Parental expectations are found to be directly related to posthigh school outcomes
Types of Learning Disabilities
 Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
 Dyscalculia
 Dysgraphia
 Dyslexia
 Language Processing Disorder (LPD)
 Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (NVLD)
 Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit
 ADHD
 Dyspraxia
 Executive Functioning
 Memory
Leonardo da Vinci
 Da Vinci was a perfectionist
who may have had
Asperger’s, as he had
savant-like skills and an
enormous single-minded
dedication to art and
science.
Napoleon Bonaparte
 Napoleon’s hypersensitivity
to touch and his military
strategic genius are two of
the many symptoms that
have led some modern
scholars to suggest that he
was a high-functioning
autistic.
Albert Einstein
 Einstein’s parents once
thought that he was
mentally retarded due to
his odd habits and
difficulties in school. If he
were born today, Einstein
would probably be
diagnosed with Asperger’s
Syndrome, a mild form of
autism.
Thomas Edison
 Edison is believed to have
had dyslexia and possibly
ADHD. Edison was homeschooled. He developed a
voracious appetite for
reading and made major
scientific breakthroughs
with his unusual
methodology.
Auditory Processing Disorder
(APD)
 Also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, this
is a condition that adversely affects how sound that
travels unimpeded through the ear is processed or
interpreted by the brain.
 Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences
between sounds in words, even when the sounds are
loud and clear enough to be heard.
 They can also find it difficult to tell where sounds are
coming from, to make sense of the order of sounds, or
to block out competing background noises.
Dyscalculia
 A specific learning disability that affects a person’s
ability to understand numbers and learn math facts.
 Individuals with this type of LD may also have poor
comprehension of math symbols, may struggle with
memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty
telling time, or have trouble with counting.
Cher
 Cher is one of the most
iconic performers, singers
and actresses in the world.
She has a form of dyslexia
that makes it difficult to
remember numbers or to
perform basic mathematics.
Dysgraphia
 A specific learning disability that affects a person’s
handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
 Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent
spacing, poor spatial planning on paper, poor spelling,
and difficulty composing writing as well as thinking and
writing at the same time.
Agatha Christie
 Christie was the most
famous mystery novelist of
her time. Christie had
dysgraphia, a learning
disability that affected her
ability to understand
written words.
Dyslexia
 A specific learning disability that affects reading and
related language-based processing skills.
 The severity can differ in each individual but can affect
reading fluency, decoding, reading comprehension,
recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech and can
exist along with other related disorders.
 Dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a Language-Based
Learning Disabilities.
Alexander Graham Bell
 Bell invented the telephone,
but struggled with
traditional schooling. It’s
believed that he had some
form of learning disability,
possibly dyslexia.
Richard Branson
 A billionaire businessman,
Branson credits his business
intuition and unique
perspectives to his early
struggles with dyslexia,
which affects the way he
visualizes words.
Erin Brockovich
 Brockovich is a former legal
clerk whose success in
building a case against
illegal groundwater
contamination led to a
major motion picture
starring Julia Roberts.
Brockovich is dyslexic.
Tom Cruise
 Cruise is among the most
recognizable actors in the
world. He has dyslexia and
has spoken publicly about
his disability.
Language Processing Disorder
 A specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) in
which there is difficulty attaching meaning to sound
groups that form words, sentences and stories.
 While an APD affects the interpretation of all sounds
coming into the brain, a Language Processing Disorder
(LPD) relates only to the processing of language. LPD
can affect expressive language and/or receptive
language.
Suzanne Somers
 Somers had a learning
disability which led to poor
performance in school and
an inability to understand
written language. She’s
most famous for her role on
the sitcom, “Three’s
Company”.
Non-Verbal Learning
Disabilities
 A disorder which is usually characterized by a significant
discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker
motor, visual-spatial and social skills.
 Typically, an individual with NLD (or NVLD) has trouble
interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or
body language, and may have poor coordination.
Visual Perceptual /
Visual Motor Deficit
 A disorder that affects the understanding of information
that a person sees, or the ability to draw or copy.
 A characteristic seen in people with learning disabilities
such as Dysgraphia or Non-verbal LD, it can result in
missing subtle differences in shapes or printed letters,
losing place frequently, struggles with cutting, holding
pencil too tightly, or poor eye/hand coordination.
ADHD
 A disorder that includes difficulty staying focused and
paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior and
hyperactivity.
 Although ADHD is not considered a learning disability,
research indicates that from 30-50 percent of children
with ADHD also have a specific learning disability, and
that the two conditions can interact to make learning
extremely challenging.
Will Smith
The fresh prince has done it all
in his illustrious career — from
rapping to acting! He never
settled for one lane and this is
a direct result of his ADHD.
Will once described himself as
the “fun one who had trouble
paying attention.” He even
admitted before that he has
trouble reading movie scripts.
So he just does what any great
actor does — wing it!
Robin Williams
 Williams is a comedian and
actor. He has been
diagnosed with attention
deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) which
affected his education and
his ability to memorize
scripts.
And many, more!
 Walt Disney, The Founder Of Disneyland
 Michael Phelps, The Most Decorated Olympian Of All
Time
 Justin Timberlake, Singer/Actor/Producer/Businessman
 Michael Jordan, The Greatest Of All Time
 Jim Carrey, Actor/Comedian/Poducer
 David Neeleman, Aviation Entrepreneur
 John F. Kennedy, The 35th President Of The United
States
 Richard Branson, Business Mogul
Dyspraxia
 A disorder that is characterized by difficulty in muscle
control, which causes problems with movement and
coordination, language and speech, and can affect
learning. Although not a learning disability, dyspraxia
often exists along with dyslexia, dyscalculia or ADHD.
Executive Functioning
 An inefficiency in the cognitive management systems of
the brain that affects a variety of neuropsychological
processes such as planning, organizing, strategizing,
paying attention to and remembering details, and
managing time and space.
 Although not a learning disability, different patterns of
weakness in executive functioning are almost always
seen in the learning profiles of individuals who have
specific learning disabilities or ADHD.
Memory
 Three types of memory are important to learning.
 Working memory, short-term memory and longterm memory are used in the processing of both
verbal and non-verbal information.
 If there are deficits in any or all of these types of
memory, the ability to store and retrieve
information required to carry out tasks can be
impaired.
Being the Parent of a Child
with a Learning Disability
Parent
• Discovering
• Accepting
• Understanding
• Stress
• Family
Learning Disabilities Affect
Every Area of Life
Processing:
The way
they view
the world
• Daily Tasks
• Behavior
• Meals
• Siblings
• Relationships
• Family Life
• School
• After-school Activities
General Challenges for
Kids with LD
Communication
Behavior
Organization
Memory
Time and Space
Academics
Social Interaction
Self-Esteem
Behavior
Independence
Being the Parent of a Child
with a Learning Disability
You NEED to be
different because your
child needs MORE
You need to be a COACH!
Communicate
Educate
Explain
Encourage
Consistency
Advocacy
Empowerment
Home
Goal: A happy,
confident and
resilient kid
•Challenges and Strategies
•Self-Esteem
•Behavior
•Communication
•Understanding Expectations
•Memory
•Organization
•Asking for help
•Independence
•Siblings
School
Goal: A kid that can
access the curriculum
and ask for help and
enjoys school in general.
•Challenges and Strategies
•Self-Esteem
•Behavior
•Communication
•Understanding Expectations
•Memory
•Organization
•Asking for Help
•Independence
•Peers
Social/Community
Goal: A kid that enjoys
friendships and activities
and is able to navigate
relationships with some
coaching.
•Challenges and Strategies
•Self-Esteem
•Behavior
•Communication
•Understanding Expectations
•Memory
•Organization
•Asking for Help
•Independence
•Peers
Overall Strategies
Get Involved
Establish the Coaching partnership
Listen and Observe
• Force the conversation
• Set schedules and stick with them
• Create systems that work for your child
• Be consistent
• Make it easy to stay organized
• Mistakes are the way we learn
• Set high expectations
• Find out what they are interested in and good at and encourage it (50%)
• Empowerment
• Advocacy
• No “I can’t” only “I can’t YET”
Keep the “Big Picture” in mind: Happiness, Health and Resilience
Resources
 “Mindset” by Carol Dweck
 “Roadmap from Learning Disabilities to Success” by
Kathy Johnson
 www.understood.org
 www.ldaamerica.org
 http://www.specialeducationguide.com/
 www.in-spite-of.org