LEARNING PROBLEMS [Part 2]

How can I find out if I have a learning problem?

Talk with a counselor who can help you look at all of the different factors that might be contributing to difficulties in your performance. Looking closely at your background information including medical, academic and personal/social histories is a good place to start. Many potential problems need to be considered before it can be determined if you have a significant learning problem. Do you want to be in college? Are you organized? Do you know how to study and take tests? Can you control the inevitable anxiety that develops when you take a test or give a presentation? Discussion of your attitudes toward college, your study habits, and how you manage the stress of being in college may reveal areas you need to address. Many problems can be resolved with intervention in these areas.

A systematic plan for evaluating a more complex learning problem might include an assessment for a potential learning disability, especially if you are working very hard, doing everything right, and getting poor results. An assessment for learning disabilities usually includes extensive individual diagnostic testing. These evaluation tasks measure your performance across a wide variety of activities. One goal is to compare your learning potential with your academic achievement in different areas to determine if you are experiencing a specific learning disability. Learning disabilities are usually identified in the areas of reading, math, and written expression.

Even if the evaluation process does not reveal a specific learning disability the evaluation process can provide you with valuable information about the way you learn and help you develop strategies that will improve your learning capability. You might learn that you have difficulty grasping information that is presented verbally, or you might discover that you need to find ways to package information effectively for long-term storage.

Retrieved from: http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/career/learningproblems.htm