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Verbal Disability--Any tips?

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Dear All,

My eight-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with a verbal learning disability (through our pediatrician). Do any of you have any experience with this? Any advice for me? She is struggling terribly in school, and my heart breaks for her every evening as we work on 1-2 hours of homework. I thank you in advance for your feedback!

Submitted by Mayleng on Wed, 03/26/2008 - 9:02 PM

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Does your daughter have an IEP with speech and language services?

There are lots of parents at http://millermom.proboards107.com/index.cgi

who can give you some advice on what to do.

Submitted by scifinut on Thu, 03/27/2008 - 10:44 PM

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I would have her tested by the school and see what the testing says. There are lots of things that can help but it all depends on what her specific issues are.

Submitted by amymetcalf on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 2:59 PM

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Thank you for your replies! I am still learning what a verbal disability is. I can share with you some of her problems: She doesn’t comprehend oral and written directions very well. She never understands jokes. She struggles with grammar, reading comprehension and spelling. She also struggles with problem solving, so subsequently she is not doing so well in math either.

In addition to these issues, she also has emotional issues. She is indecisive and easily influenced by others. She has no mental stamina. If something looks hard, then she is frustrated and discouraged before she even tries. She is afraid of new situations and she clings to me much as a preschool-aged child clings to her mother. She also has melt-downs over everyday, insignificant things, (like when her water bottle falls out of her backpack she will scream instead of bending over and picking it up.)

She is going to begin counseling next month to help develop some coping skills. Her teacher and I have requested an evaluation from the the public school system. She attends a small Christian school. So, right now we are waiting for the teacher consultant to respond to our request. I know that she is busy, but I am starting to see that I will need to become a “squeaky wheel.”

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