Anxiety
Children who experience difficulty with reading, spelling, writing and/or math in school may develop anxiety or phobias and may exhibit low self-esteem and lack confidence. Below are some links that describe anxiety disorders and how to help kids through these struggles.
- http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/childhood-anxiety-disorders
- http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/anxiety-disorders-school
- http://www.worrywisekids.org/node/40
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability that affects an individual’s ability to learn numbers and math facts. Those with dyscalculia may also have poor comprehension of math symbols, may struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, may have difficulty telling time, and/or may have trouble with counting.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is a specific learning disability that affects an individual’s ability to plan and coordinate physical movement. Children with dyspraxia tend to struggle with balance and posture. They may appear clumsy or “out of sync” with their environment. Dyspraxia goes by many names: developmental coordination disorder, motor learning difficulty, motor planning difficulty and apraxia of speech. It can affect the development of gross motor skills like walking or jumping. It can also affect fine motor skills. These include things like the hand movements needed to write clearly and the mouth and tongue movements needed to pronounce words correctly.
Executive Function Impairments
Executive Function essentially describes the brain's ability to organize and complete daily tasks. Impairment in this area makes it difficult to initiate and sustain tasks chronically. There is much overlap with ADHD. Executive Functions are considered a sort of "umbrella" of skills necessary to complete activities of daily living.
- https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/understanding-executive-functioning-issues
- http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/7051.html
- http://developingchild.harvard.edu/key_concepts/executive_function/
- http://www.additudemag.com/q%26a/ask_the_add_medical_expert/7228.html
- ADHD and EF
Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition in which the brain doesn't process information returning from the senses in a "standard" way. This can result in a want or need for unusually low or highly stimulating environments. It can also show in the form of motor clumsiness, behavioral issues, misdiagnosed as ADHD or a variety of other conditions. Oftentimes SPD can coincide with other learning challenges.