Learning Disabilities in Children and Teens

When a child is not performing up to their potential at school, they may be struggling with a learning disability. In other words, they may learn differently. It’s not about whether or not they’re smart – lots of very bright and successful people have struggled with learning disabilities (Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Tommy Hilfiger, Charles Schwab, Patrick Dempsey, and Whoopi Goldberg, to name a few).

Learning disabilities manifest themselves in various ways:

• problems with reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia) or math (dyscalculia)
• difficulty remembering information
• problems with organization and reasoning
• physical coordination issues

Learning disabilities occur in approximately 5% to 15% of the population, and reading problems (dyslexia) are the most common. Additionally, about 60% of individuals with dyslexia also show symptoms of dysgraphia, highlighting the frequent overlap between these learning differences.

Our assessments will:

• Pinpoint the reason for your child’s struggles, including a specific diagnosis to help guide treatment.
• Help determine if your child needs special education services (IEP) or an accommodations plan (504 Plan).
• Provide a better understanding of the following: intellectual functioning; academic achievement in reading, writing, and math; language; problem solving and executive functions; memory and learning; attention; motor skills; and personality assessment.
• Identify how your child best learns information, his/her favored learning style, and how to most effectively assist them in a learning situation.
• Provide personalized and individualized educational accommodations that speaks directly about your child’s strengths and vulnerabilities, to help them reach their full potential.

We offer short learning disability evaluations when this is the only area of concern, to optimize your time and resources. In other cases, a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is the first step in determining whether learning disabilities are present, and in ruling out other potential causes of attention difficulties.

If you have questions about our services or like to schedule a consultation with one of our neuropsychologists, please call (248) 644-9466 or email us through the form on our contact page.