Is there a specific learning disability that refers to someone who has trouble getting information from his head to the paper? He can learn well in a lecture atmosphere, but is working to read, study, and write. My son spent 14 years in the school system and never graduated. He has been working in a pretty good job for some time now, but the company is making some changes and I am worried that he will be laid off. Job searching, especially the interview process, is impossible for him. He is now 25 years old. Do you have any suggestions?
What a failure on the part of your school system that he spent 14 years and never graduated. I wonder if he was ever evaluated or if he received services during his education.
Learning Disabilities might involve reading skills. Some individuals have difficulty learning to decode and read. Others might have difficulty understanding what they have read (comprehension). Still others might have difficulty retaining what they have read and comprehended (fluency). Same thing with writing. Some may have difficulty forming the letters correctly and getting the words onto the page and in the proper place. Others might have difficulty with what is called “language arts,” spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.
Still, others might have difficulty getting the thoughts and words needed to respond in writing pulled from memory and organized. These students have difficulty organizing thoughts and getting them onto the page (writing fluency). The more difficult the task, the more difficult organizing one’s thoughts and writing is.
Many students might also have problems with math. They might have problems recognizing and using the number symbols and/or getting these symbols onto the page in the proper place. Some might have difficulty learning such concepts as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Others might have difficulty reading and understand the word problems. And, still, others might have difficulty retrieving from memory the necessary math concepts, applying these concepts, and getting the steps written on the page (math fluency).
In order to get accommodations from your son’s employer, it will be necessary to document the disabilities. It might be necessary to have formal psycho-educational testing done. Such testing will clarify why he has difficulties. With this new knowledge, he might want to think about taking the GED with accommodations as well. LD OnLine has information on taking the GED tests and requesting accommodations.
Topic
Adults with LD