General - Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level.
- Labelled 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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