Faith Christian Ministries

Learning Disorders and the Pre-school Child

The time to look for children with what we call learning disabilities is early. By early we mean age 5 or earlier and not until ages 7 - 10. We can then identify "high risk" children early and give them top priority.

What things might indicate or be suggestive of learning disabilities?

1. Pre-natal and natal history
A. The presence of spotting, bleeding, or toxemia during the pregnancy
B. Precipitate or prolonged delivery

2. Neo-natal history
A. Jaundice
B. Extreme irritability - to the extent that sedation was required
C. Severe feeding difficulty - the infant has a weak sucking or unable to suck and requires assistance with feeding; the infant might also exhibit vomiting or spitting
D. Vasco-motor instability - the infant might have required paradidic external heating; an inability to maintain proper temperature.

3. Post-natal history
A. Environmental instability or disruption, or excessive mobility during the first three years of life
B. Slow development of speech
C. A prolonged retention of infantile speech patterns
D. A delayed body awareness and development

The characteristics which the classroom teacher may note are:

1. Poor visual perception and memory for words
2. Poor auditory memory for words or individual sounds in words
3. Persistent reversal of words, syllables or letters in reading, writing, and speaking
4. Rotation of inversion of letters, inverse sequencing of letters and syllables or transposition of numerals
5. Poor recall for reproduction of simple geometric figures
6. Poor memory for auditory or visual sequence
7. Clumsiness and poor head control
8. Immature articulation
9. Hyper-activity
10. Distractibility

Repeat this phrase to the child one time, slowly and clearly, after explaining to the child that you want him to do as you tell him. In this test we are checking out your child's verbal comprehension and his ability to carry out directions. Example: Put this book on the table, give me the pencil, and sit on the chair.

Did your child pass or fail the test?

Auditory sequencing: Have your pre-school child say the following numerals in the exact order that you say them. "5-2-4-8" or "3-8-5-2" or "7-2-6-1". Did your child pass or fail? He should get at least 1 of 3.

Auditory memory span for nonsense syllables: Say to your child each nonsense syllables once (any more would be cheating) and have him repeat them after you:

Diddle dee die (pass or fail?)
Hi ho hum
Reggity jiggity ho
See si so sa
Bing bang skettle skoo
Mumblety jumblety wigglety wum

Teach your pre-school child to speak in sentences: Tell him "I want you to say something for me; I want you to say that 'I am a big girl. (or boy).' Then say "I want you to say 'I went to visit Grandma.'" Then have him say 'Mother is driving Daddy's car.' Then have him say, 'I am going to visit Grandma.' Have him say 'I like to ride on my bicycle for many hours.' Have him say 'I love to eat hamburgers and candy at dinnertime.' If your child hesitates, urge him to try to repeat what you said by asking him to say it. To obtain your true objective you should not repeat the sentences. Your pre-school age child up to 5 years old should be able to say 4 out of the 5 sentences repeating them back to you.

Now tell your pre-school child "I am going to tell you something to do. You listen and do just what I tell you to do."

1. Show me the table top.
2. Sit down in the chair.
3. Close the door, then bring me that book.
4. Go to the window, then put this magazine on the floor.
5. Put this fork on the table, then close the door, then fold your hands on your lap.

Give one point for each thing your child did correctly. A child of 5 years should be able to do 7 out of 10 commands correctly and in the proper order.

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