Early Motherhood

How can I tell if my child has a learning disability?
During the preschool and kindergarten years, children learn at different rates and with different styles. But if your child has significant trouble with numbers, letters, or speech, she may have a learning disability. Learning disabilities are a category of disorders that affect how the brain processes information, making it difficult to grasp some concepts.

A child with a learning disability may understand a story perfectly when it is read to her but will struggle to answer questions about it afterward. Another child might easily recite the alphabet from A to Z but be unable to name individual letters when they are pointed out. Still another child may have a hard time putting together puzzles, tying her shoes, or buttoning a sweater.

Tommy Barrett is a dreamy-eyed fifth-grader who lives with his parents, twin brothers, two cats and a turtle in San Jose, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley. He’s an honor-roll student who likes math and science and video games. He’s also a world-class expert on Animorph and Transformer toys. “They’re like cars and trains and animals that transform into robots or humans — I love them!” he shouts exuberantly.

What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
ADHD is a behavioral disorder that may begin in early childhood and often lasts through adolescence and adulthood. Because no one yet knows the true cause of ADHD (though many experts now believe it’s a brain chemistry problem), the easiest way to define it is by describing its main symptoms. Children with ADHD consistently have short attention spans, difficulty controlling their impulses, and are often hyperactive or physically restless. Symptoms can start as early as age 3, but most children cannot be diagnosed until age 7, since many symptoms of the condition are within the range of normal behavior in young children.