School Age

Whenever the teacher asked a question, Kyra Hope was always the first in her grade-one class to shoot her hand up with the right answer. But her reading was laboured and her writing virtually non-existent; she started falling behind. Her private school recommended a $2,500 assessment for learning disabilities (LDs). The psychologist’s verdict: Kyra was a bright, sociable and engaging child with no LDs. Yet Kyra continued to struggle. Her parents transferred her to a public school, but the problems persisted.

Kyra’s mother, Belinda, wasn’t willing to wait up to two years for a publicly funded assessment. She paid another $2,500 for a second assessment, by another private psychologist. This brought a radically different diagnosis: LDs severe enough to warrant special accommodation. Now in a tiny class of seven with two teachers (one with an LD herself) in a public school in Richmond Hill, Ont., eight-year-old Kyra is happier than she’s been in some time. The third-grader says proudly, “Today at school, I read a book and only made one mistake.” Her mom, meanwhile, is keeping her fingers crossed.

Learning disabilities affect how kids perceive, think, remember, understand or use verbal or non-verbal information. They are caused by genetic or neurobiological factors, including injury and exposure to toxic heavy metals, such as lead. (The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, or LDAC, considers attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to be a distinct disorder and not an LD, although the two conditions can coexist: About one-third of kids with LDs also have ADHD.)

LDs are staggeringly common. It’s estimated that they affect one in 10 people, which means a typical classroom of 25 averages two or three kids with LDs. Kids with LDs have average to above-average IQs, explains Judy Kerr, executive director of LDAC, although they are often mistakenly assumed to be intellectually limited. In fact, while they have a range of abilities, they actually function at grade level intellectually. Some even exceed the scholastic expectations for their age group, which is very different from kids with developmental delays. With the right help, kids with LDs can not only learn, but accomplish great things, possibly because of their out-of-the-box thinking. Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Whoopi Goldberg, Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Graham Bell and Tom Cruise all achieved remarkable success despite their LDs.

Trouble is a lot of kids don’t get the right help. The criteria for what constitutes an LD, and for the best ways to evaluate a child, vary widely across the country. “In every province, city, school board and school, there are radically different approaches and standards,” says David Philpott, an associate professor of education at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s. The result: a mishmash of services and a growing industry of expensive private special education, essentially creating a two-tier education system.

That often leaves parents in the position of having to do their own LD research. But data about LDs isn’t conclusive and studies are still ongoing, so it’s important not to be alarmist. “One sign by itself does not constitute a diagnosis,” says Elizabeth Walcot, a long-time LD researcher. “It’s the combination of a number of these signals that may denote a problem.” She adds that these indicators lie along a continuum: Everyone mixes up letters sometimes, but doing it excessively could indicate an LD.

While a professional assessment is necessary to determine whether and what kind of LD a child has, Kerr points out that “a lot of parents have already seen the clues at home and know there’s something hindering their child’s ability to learn.” Here are some guidelines for what to watch for as possible LD signs. Keep in mind, though, that there can be a great deal of crossover, and few children fall under a single category.

Originally published in Today's Parent, April 2009