Is it a Learning Disability

Lots of possibilities, including auditory processing disorder, receptive language problems, overall slow processor, ADHD. He is young to be evaluated, but I would get him tested. FYI, sibling IQs are usually within 10 points of each other, so don’t rule out giftedness in your younger child.

My (now adult) daughter is highly gifted but can’t follow two-step directions, has real trouble with left and right, and can’t read an analog clock, among other things.

Help him over the weak points, teach him coping skills, and work hard to develop his gifts. The gifts will carry him through a lot of the trouble spots.

It’s important to stress his intelligence and positive abilities to his teachers, not to focus only on deficits.

Thanks for the info. I thought my son was the only one who had problems with left and right. We finally drew arrows on his boots because he just can’t tell the difference, even though I explained it a thousand times. We also get velcro tennis shoes which I usually put on for him. It seems to work for him, at least he does not struggle with it anymore. I just don’t know how to get him to understand directions better. I am currently filling out the paperwork for testing. I know it will be awhile, so what do I do in the mean time. If I had a clue what it was I could start helping him.

Things that may help: Explain things clearly, don’t just assume he’ll understand. Forget wht he “should” be able to do and work on where he is. Say one thing at a time. Stop after a direction and give him time to absorb it. Especially for very important things, have him repeat the direction back to you to be sure he’s got it. Try hard to avoid the usual parental screaming which doesn’t help. The arrows on the boots are good, but also teach him to feel inside himself which is left and which is right — have him close his eyes and think a second then raise the correct hand, whichever you tell him. Draw sketch maps, floor plans, and diagrams and start teaching him how to read a map.

Things that will help him develop in general: sports — individual sports such as skiinng, swimming, martial arts so he doesn’t get yelled at by the team when he can;t figure out what is going on. These develop balance and timing, and are good social outlets, so they can be important to him.
Teach him to read at home, using a systematic research-based system, not hope and guess. If he can read far ahead of his class he can be the eccentric genius, a much better position than being a failure.
Teach him math and logic too.
Music lessons — rhythm and rhyme are powerful tools for learning. Kids who have music lessons consistently score higher on academic skills as well, and music is also a social skill. Singing is good if he can do it, and it is especially good to learn an instrument he likes.
Many people are in favour of Interactive Metronome and PACE to train brain skills, and if you can afford them they can be good.

Shawna,
The great thing is your son is so young. Whether he has an LD or not there are plenty of things you can do to help with his development in general.

One book I wish I had when my son was younger was Dr. Kenneth Lane’s “Developing Your Child For Success.” It has directionality exercises and other great games for brain/body work and helping develop the visual system. You can find it by doing a search on Google.

I also recommend “Language Wise” and “Reading Reflex” both by McGuinness. these two books can be found online and also at many book stores.

You might also want to stop by your local library and see if you can check out a book called “When the Brain Can’t Hear.” It will give you informaiton about Auditory Processing Deficit. If you suspect your son may have this you may want to find someone qualified in testing for this. If you eventually find your son has this difficulty you may want to look into Earobics or Fast ForWord (computer programs).

You are wise to start reasearching this early. Good luck!

This child needs an assessment by an occupational therapist. The problems with shoes and left/right are a big tipoff. Is he clumsy in other way? Does he have problems holding a pencil? Does he hate to draw? Is he a sloppy eater? Are there certain foods or textures he can’t abide? Does he have any problems with articulation? Any or all of these could indicate motor coordination problems that could be helped with OT. All of Victoria’s suggestions are great, espec. the part about emphasizing strengths, but you may need some professional assistance as well. With a child as young as this, you have a great opportunity to correct or work around little issues before they become big ones.

. I thought my son was the only one who had problems with left and right.

One tip that helped me (it took me FOREVER to learn left from right) The left hand the thumb and forefinger form an L when they are extended the Right hand forms the letter but backwards. Now I’ve got the extra tip of the wedding ring but I still sometimes have to do the trick and I’m almost 34 years old. I was in the gifted and talented classes and even had troubles with that. Hope the tip helps!

I advise great caution with cute little mnemonic tricks. If you can remember and use the cute little trick so easily, then you don’t have too severe a problem to begin with.
The cute little hand forming an L trick presupposes:
(1) That you are positive which direction an L goes in — a lot of people aren’t, and a lot of us start to get confused looking at both ways. (I read mirror and upside down as fast as many people read straight — never had to learn this, my mind works both ways naturally)
(2) That you remember which side of the hand to look at — those of us with real fierce direction confusion don’t remember if the trick is supposed to work on backs or palms, so we get the wrong answer as often as the correct one.
(3) That you have time to sit and puzzle over both hands — not practical in sports or driving.
It takes a while longer to get an interior kinesthetic feel for directions, but it is a lot more practical for many of us in the long run.

of a time in Gr. 2 when my son came home DISGUSTED…they had done a mirror-writing exercise of their names…he explained the exercise and showed me the paper they had used…but he was angry, cuz when HE went to the mirror and looked at his name card, HE COULDN’T SEE ANY DIFFERENCE! One more reason to feel ‘not welcome’ in a nasty grade 2 experience…I think he thought there was some trick or conspiracy to make him feel stupid. Once I explained the connection to his problem with reversals, and that some people NEVER get the direction mixed up or see the letters backwards and so THEIR names looked funny and hard to read in a mirror…he calmed down, writing it off to one more useless ‘teacher task’.

Definitely, little ‘L’ tricks with your finger would not have helped him at ALL. Luckily as he wrote with his right…so I committed the same sin in a different way — ‘your RIGHT is the hand/side you WRITE with’! That’s how I learned to tell my right from left, and so I passed it on. But I agree that it is NOT more than a bandaid solution so as to not look like a dork in certain situations.

Interesting topic, ‘developing an internal kinesthetic feel for directions’…wish we had more time for that one, Victoria!

Have a great LD weekend, everyone!