- It’s difficult for your child to keep a natural flow of conversation going, reflecting an inability to read a social scene.
- You see a pattern—waiting until the last minute to do things, leaving books at school, can’t manage his time, etc.
“These kids have always thought of themselves as smart,” Green says. “They initially had success in school and it’s not happening anymore. They don’t really put a lot of energy into studying and get grades back that don’t fit their perception of their intelligence.”
Instead of making assumptions, Green suggests, “let your teen explain it to you. Since learning different children often have trouble with “why?” questions, you might phrase it, “Tell me what’s going on with you at school. I’m concerned.” Kids who have purely LD or attention problems may be able to tell you, ‘I’m just having a hard time. I’m getting to the bottom of the page, and I don’t know what I’ve read.’”
The Next Step: Treatment
Start with a professional you trust: a pediatrician, adolescent psychiatrist/psychologist, or school counselor. Then, try not to fixate on labels.
Dr. David Clark, a chiropractic neurologist in Dallas, feels that the labels usually placed on LD kids aren’t specific enough. There are many different types of reading issues, just as there are different types of ADD, ADHD, and dyslexia (see sidebar). There is no one answer that works for every child. His exams and treatments involve different types of auditory and visual stimulation for the right and left-brain.
Some kids with LDs have visual processing problems. Dr. Harold Friedman, chief of Vision Therapy and Rehabilitation Services at SUNY College of Optometry in New York City, explains that children must be evaluated by an experienced optometrist using accepted standardized testing. If it is discovered that their learning difficulty relates to a visual processing dysfunction, an individual therapy program is designed to help the child compensate. Less mainstream options are also worth looking into: behavior modification therapy, chiropractic neurology, the interactive metronome, homeopathic remedies, nutritional changes, biofeedback, and neurofeedback.
With ADD or ADHD, there is always a question as to whether medication is advisable. This is a very controversial issue. While Green agrees that some kids are medicated who don’t need to be, he thinks there are others who would do much better if they were prescribed medications such as Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, or Strattera. When LDs or attention disorders are not properly diagnosed and treated, says Green, it can begin to erode the teen’s self-esteem. Medication should never be the sole treatment. Other strategies at school and home must be put into play to help the teen make changes.
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