We are all individuals with likes and dislikes, as well as, learning styles that are specific to us as individuals.  This, along with character, all adds up to make us the individuals that we all are.  The role of schools is to present an agreed upon curriculum in a sequential order beginning with learning basic skills, then, using basic skills, and, finally, developing thinking skills, the process by which concepts are learned, blended, and, then, presented, by the student, in a new, often creative, way.  Since a school system often deals with large populations of students, a general approach to teaching is often used in order to deal with the variety of student differences in a classroom.  Most children are successful at acquiring the information taught in schools, but there are some who may have difficulty in learning the material in the way that it is presented, possibly because the teaching strategies do not match the student’s learning style, the pace of presentation of information is too fast with not enough practice, and/or, the child is not developmentally ready to learn the information that is being presented at that time.  If this difficulty is not easily remedied by extra tutoring or practice, the student may have a learning disability.  Indicators of a learning disability often are found in the areas of motor development and speech development.

Motor Indicators

            Motor activities refer to anything using muscles and movement.  Motor skills are usually broken down into two categories, Gross Motor and Fine Motor.  Gross Motor activities and skills require the use of the large muscles.  Examples of this would be walking, running, jumping, hopping, and most athletic activities.  Fine Motor activities and skills require the use of the small muscles, usually in the hands.  Activities that require fine motor skills are writing, playing a musical instrument, painting, assembling toys, and models.

            Most children develop these skills at about the same time in a developmental or sequential order starting from birth.  Movement that babies make, such as waving their arms about serves three purposes, strengthening muscles, exploring their world, and helping to develop neural connections in their brains.  These three purposes can probably be used to explain a lot of the activity that children engage in.  Children should be encouraged to engage in safe activities that will allow them to explore their world and develop their cognitive, or reasoning, abilities.

            There have been many books written for parents to understand what the important developmental milestones are for children.  They will usually go into great depth, often elaborating development month by month for the first 2 years of a child’s life.  Listed here are some of the major milestones for young children:

·        Sitting, crawling, standing by age 1

·        Reaching, using pincer grasp (thumb and fingers) by age 1

·        Walking independently, using stairs between ages 1 and 2

·        Throwing a ball, stacking block between ages 1 and 2

·        Running, jumping, kicking between ages 2 and 3

·        Turning a page, stringing large beads between ages 2 and 3

When speaking of developmental milestones, it is often said that the time periods that are allotted for the achievement of a specific milestone, such as standing by age 1, is the “normal” time period when this should have been achieved.  What needs to be kept in mind is what the concept, “normal”, really is and means.  How have researchers come up with the idea that accomplishing or achieving a skill at a certain time is “normal” or not?  Information about when children do certain important things, such as sitting, walking, and talking, has been collected by pediatricians and other individuals interested in studying child development over a long period of time.  This information is then analyzed to determine if there is a pattern, such as, an age range, when a specific skill is achieved.  This age or age range is then assigned as the “normal” time when a child acquires that skill.  As mentioned earlier, all children are individuals, and, as individuals, will do things in their own way and time. 

Terry was a precocious 9 month old who was beginning to walk.  At 9 ½ months of age, Terry could walk independently and by 10 months old was tearing around the house.  Terry’s parents were very proud of their, obviously, bright child and bragged about her to friends and relatives.  At a church outing, Terry’s parents met Linda and Linda’s parents.  Terry and Linda had been born within a week of each other and were just about the same age.  Linda was still practicing standing and could not stand independently, whereas, Terry was fully mobile.  Linda, on the other hand, was speaking in short sentences, putting her language development in the exceptional range, whereas, Terry as still at the “dada” level of speech.

Children who exhibit severe deviations from the normal developmental timelines may have a more severe learning disability or developmental disability.  Muscle tone can be an indicator of a learning disability or developmental disability.  An athlete has well developed muscles that are strong and firm.  Although most young children will not have the muscle tone of an athlete, it will be similar in the sense that the muscles are strong and firm.  If a child has very low muscles tone, making the child appear floppy or, very high muscle tone, making the child appear rigid, this can indicate that the child may have a developmental disability.  A child who walks significantly later than the “normal” age, or, who never walks at all may have a developmental disability.  Not being able to grasp an object with his/her hands may indicate a severe problem.

Andy was a little late in walking and had difficulty with language as a toddler.  Andy’s parents were concerned but not overly worried until they noticed that Andy was not able to do some of the things that other children younger than he could do.  Andy had low muscle tone and was unable to grasp things with his hands.  When his parents put an object in his hands, it would fall out.  Andy was also very clumsy when he walked, often bumping into things or falling over.  These problems, along with some severe language delays, indicated to Andy’s parents that they needed to have Andy evaluated at a child development clinic, which did confirm that Andy had a severe developmental disability and needed early intervention services.

Most children will not have severe motor delay, but may have more subtle difficulties that will cause academic problems in school.  The following is a brief list of motor problems that can become academic problems in school:

·        Overly clumsy, can’t stay in his/her space

·        Hasn’t decided which hand to use for writing

·        Poor finger grasp of crayons and pencils

·        Can’t use scissors

·        Confuses left and right

·        Can’t easily move either left or right hand across the midline of the body

·        Can’t color within the allotted space

·        Has difficulty remaining still and focused

Language Indicators

            Language skills are broken into two major areas.  Receptive language skills are those that refer to understanding spoken and written language.  Expressive language skills are those that refer to an individual’s ability to communicate in spoken and written language.  There are many smaller skills that fall into each of these two broad categories.  As with the development of motor skills, there is a “normal” sequenced development of language skills starting at birth.  Listed here are some of the major milestones for young children:

·        Cries, babbles, focuses on adult speech by age 1

·        Knows name, name of familiar objects, and some body parts, 2 word sentences between ages 1 and 2

·        Speaks in short sentences, 2 to 3 words, between ages 2 and 3

·        Can say first and last name, speak in 3 to 4 word sentences, ask questions, follow simple verbal directions between 3 to 4 years of age

Severe delays in developing language skills can indicate a developmental disability.  If a child does not appear to understand what is said to him/her, or appears very confused by what is said to him/her, this could indicate a severe problem with receptive language skills.  If a child is unable to talk or cannot say words correctly so that you are unable to understand what the child is saying, this could indicate a severe problem with expressive language skills.  As a word of caution, if you suspect that your child is having a severe language problem, be sure to have the child’s hearing checked and check to make sure that there is no medical reason that the child cannot hear or speak.  Danny’s parents became alarmed when, at two years of age, Danny was not speaking and did not react to their talking to him.  When they visited the pediatrician next, they told him of their concerns.  They feared that Danny had a developmental disability.  The doctor was able to determine that Danny had a severe hearing loss which occurred when he was about six months old and had been very ill with a high fever.  Danny was fitted with hearing aids and able to be successful in school with a minimal amount of support.  Language difficulties in young children can be caused by hearing problems, including chronic ear infections.  If you suspect that your child has a language delay, check with you doctor to make sure that your child’s hearing is in the normal range.

Most children will not have severe language delays, but may have more subtle difficulties that will cause academic problems in school.  The following is a brief list of language problems that can become reading and written language problems in school:

·        Difficulty following simple verbal or written directions

·        Unable to shut out background noise and focus

·        Difficulty with rhyming

·        Can’t differentiate or identify sounds, i.e., short i and short e sound alike

·        Can’t manipulate sounds, i.e., take the l from plan and get pan

·        Doesn’t recognize the sounds that go with the letters of the alphabet

·        Can’t blend sounds together, i.e., c-a-t is cat

·        When writing, doesn’t separate words, everything runs together

·        Difficulty expressing thoughts in writing, doesn’t know what to write

·        Difficulty thinking of a specific word, will explain it but can’t think of the exact word

All children are capable of learning.  Problems that interfere with the “normal” learning process, when identified early and accommodated for in the educational process, can make for a positive outcome for the child.  Because a child interacts with knowledge and information in a different manner than what is considered the “normal” way, does not indicate that a child is incapable of learning or succeeding.  Everyone is different and has different strengths and weaknesses.  As adults, we have the luxury to avoid those things that we are not good at or don’t like.  A child is not given that option in school and is often faced day in and day out with coping with activities that he/she does not like or not always successful.  Every child can be successful.  It is important as adults that we make sure that we find out how we can help our children to succeed.