Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Once upon a time there was a little boy who everyone referred to as The Professor because he was unbelievably bright. However, when The Professor went to kindergarten he nearly flunked out. How is that possible?

The child had a learning disability, or several of them, that weren’t recognized and treated. Of course, this was back in the day when teachers and parents weren’t as well schooled on learning disabilities and how they needed to be addressed.

Here are the top ten kids’ learning problems:

10. Dyslexia

Ten to thirty percent of the population suffers from dyslexia, which means that reading written words and letters and spelling is extremely difficult for them. This is considered developmental reading disorder. This disorder is the result of poorly developed phonological awareness. The cause of that is anyone’s guess. It may be that dyslexia is the result of an unusual and somewhat abnormal form of development in the brain before an infant is born. This kind of brain is not organized in a fashion that allows the person to learn the sound structure of language.

9. ADHD

ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder involves impulsivity, over activity, or both, as well as inattentiveness, which makes sitting still long enough to learn rather difficult. ADHD brains are different from non-ADHD brains. Imaging of the the ADHD brain shows has shown that these individuals handle dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin, which are all neurotransmitters differently. This may be genetic. Children with ADHD are at risk of developing depression, behavior problems, inability to learn, tic disorders and learning disabilities.

8. Hearing impairment

If a child is hearing impaired, he can’t possibly understand what is being said to him. Get your child’s hearing checked before he goes to school or even earlier if you suspect he can’t hear well. If a hearing impairment is corrected through a hearing aid or other devices the child may not have any learning disabilities at all. However, if the child has a substantial hearing loss and has had for quite some time he may be lagging behind in language, speech and communication skills and development. The loss of hearing can delay development at a time in the child life’s that is critical and this can lead to poor school performance, low self esteem and isolation.

7. Vision impairment

Vision impairment can lead to learning disabilities because the child can’t see what he needs to see. In fact, about 40 percent of those who have learning disabilities have a problem with their eyesight. If this problem isn’t recognized and treated it can result in poor academic performance as well as aggressive behavior and self abuse.

6. Speech impairment

Speech and language learning disability can be indicated by an inability to produce sounds properly or a difficulty understanding what is being said. If a child has development articulation disorder, he can’t control his rate of speech, or he may lag behind when it comes to learning how to make speech sounds.

5. Development Expressive Language Disorder

Development Expressive Language Disorder means that a child has difficulty expressing himself with words. They may call an object by the wrong name.

4. Development Receptive Language Disorder

Development Receptive Language Disorder means that a child doesn’t respond to his name, or he hands you a flower when you asked for a ball. It can also be the person who can’t follow directions. This person can hear okay, but he can’t make sense out of words or sentences or the sounds that he hears, which makes him seem inattentive.

3. Developmental Arithmetic Disorder

Some children have dire problems when it comes to mathematics. They may be suffering from Developmental Arithmetic Disorder. When a child can’t memorize facts, recognize symbols or numbers or comprehend abstract concepts such as fractions this adds up to a development arthritic disorder.

2. Dysgraphia

Some children suffer from dysgraphia, which means they have a difficult time writing. Their handwriting is disorganized, and sloppy. Their letters are poorly formed, and they don’t use capitalization properly. These children write very slowly and aren’t able to copy correctly what is written in a book or on the blackboard. When a child suffers from developmental writing disorder this may be the outcome of a problem with the brain networks that deal with grammar, hand movement, memory and vocabulary.

1. Differently – abled

First off, recognize that a learning disability does not mean a child or an adult is dumb. It means that he has a different way of learning than the majority of people. A learning disability is hidden. It isn’t obvious, at first, as are blindness or paralysis or a physical handicap. A learning disorder doesn’t disfigure an individual or provide obvious signs that something is wrong. When a child or adult has a learning problem this means they lack or have limited ability to interpret what they hear and then see or link this information from different parts of their brain.