General
- Appears bright, highly intelligent, and
articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level.
- Labeled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard
enough," or "behavior problem."
- Isn't
"behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the
school setting. - High in IQ, yet may not
test well
academically; tests well orally, but not
written. - Feels dumb; has poor
self-esteem; hides or covers up
weaknesses with
ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about
school
reading or testing. - Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics,
story-telling, sales, business,
designing,
building, or engineering. - Seems to "Zone
out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses
track of time. - Difficulty sustaining
attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer."
- Learns
best through
hands-on experience, demonstrations,
experimentation, observation, and visual aids.
Vision, Reading, and Spelling- Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while
reading.
- Confused by letters, numbers,
words, sequences, or verbal explanations. - Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions,
transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in
letters, numbers and/or words. - Complains
of
feeling or seeing non-existent movement while
reading, writing, or copying. - Seems to
have difficulty
with vision, yet eye exams don't
reveal a problem. - Extremely keen sighted
and observant, or lacks
depth perception and
peripheral vision. - Reads and rereads with
little comprehension.
- Spells
phonetically and inconsistently.
Hearing and Speech- Has extended hearing; hears things not said or apparent to
others; easily distracted by sounds.
-
Difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases;
leaves sentences incomplete; stutters
under
stress; mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words, and
syllables when speaking.
| Writing
and Motor Skills- Trouble
with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or
is illegible.
- Clumsy,
uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine
and/or gross motor skills and tasks;
prone to
motion-sickness. - Can be ambidextrous, and
often confuses left/right, over/under.
Math and Time Management- Has
difficulty telling time, managing time, learning sequenced information
or tasks, or being on time.
- Computing math
shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers,
but can't do
it on paper. - Can count, but has difficulty counting objects and dealing with
money.
- Can do arithmetic,
but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher math.
Memory and Cognition- Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and
faces.
- Poor memory for sequences, facts
and information that has not been experienced. - Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds
or words (little internal dialogue).
Behavior, Health, Development and Personality- Extremely disorderly or
compulsively orderly.
- Can be class clown,
trouble-maker, or too quiet.
- Had
unusually early or late developmental stages (talking,
crawling, walking, tying shoes). - Prone to
ear
infections; sensitive to foods, additives, and
chemical products. - Can be an extra deep
or light sleeper;
bedwetting beyond appropriate
age. - Unusually high or low tolerance for
pain.
- Strong sense of justice;
emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection. - Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with
confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.
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