Teen Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are problems that affect the brain's ability to receive, process, analyze, and store information. Having a learning disability does not mean that a person is dumb, or can not learn. It simply means that it takes extra time and effort for the individual to learn, or that they need different methods of instruction to help them learn. There are a number of types of learning disabilities and some only affect how your teen will learn specific information. For example, some teens may have a very hard time reading, but understand everything about math. In such a case, their learning disability is in a specific area.

Most teens with a learning disability have had the disability for a long time, but may have learned ways around the disability so that it has gone unnoticed. As a teen they may reach a point where school work is more difficult and they can't find a way around the hard things. This is when you may notice that they are not doing as well as they always have, or they may seem to show signs of teen depression or more than normal levels of teen stress. If your teen is spending a lot of time on school work but still isn't doing well or he/she often complains that the work is just too hard,  you may want to have him/her tested for a learning disability.

Once it is determined that your teen does have a learning disability, it is much easier to find ways to help them. Teens with a learning disability are typically just as smart, or even smarter than most of their peers. Teens with a learning disability will most likely just need a few extra tools to help them keep up and stay on track with the rest of their peers. Let's take a look at some of types of tools and learning materials that can really help teens with learning disabilities:

• Hands-on projects
• Experiments based on real-world experiences
• Logical examples to link new learning to ideas they already understand
• Meaningful visual materials, not just photocopies of text
• Multi sensory learning tools (pictures, colors, video, models, smells, textures)
• Flexible testing methods (allow teens to show what they have learned in ways they are comfortable with)

A teen with a learning disability is just as normal as every other teen. Don't make them feel stupid, don't criticize or demean them. Help them find learning methods that work the best for them and then find a school that will support those learning methods. Not everyone learns in the same way, so it only makes sense that not every school is the right fit for every kid. If your school doesn't offer the help and support your teen needs, find one that does!