Challenges to Learning

Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center

Helping Children, Teens and Adults Succeed in the 21st Century

Common Learning Challenges

Children diagnosed with Dyslexia, ADHD and other learning challenges often have a very different Learning Style.

In many situations, children with a more visual or non-verbal learning style find themselves struggling to meet the demands of a system which neither appreciates their abilities nor understands their needs. As a result, the ADHD or visual-spatial thinker is prone to a variety of academic challenges both in and out of the classroom.

In addition to their apparent lack of ability in the classroom, the ADHD child may begin to exhibit a variety of behavior problems. These behaviors are often the result of repeated failures and repeated attempts to communicate their inability to meet the demands being placed upon them. In many cases, visual thinkers find themselves the proverbial square peg in a round hole.

In general, students diagnosed with Dyslexia, ADHD and other sensory-based learning challenges may exhibit some or all of the following challenges:

Inability to focus or pay attention: The visual child or adult is constantly being distracted from the task at hand. Simple tasks, homework, for example, may take several hours instead of 30-40 minutes. Classroom participation may suffer because of the frequent interruptions caused by the inability to stay on task.

Difficulty reading and/or writing: It is not uncommon for a child with above average visual-spatial acuity to exhibit difficulty decoding auditory and symbolic information. This difficulty may occur as problems with reading, listening, memorization, test-taking or following instructions.

In some cases, it is the excellent visual and spatial abilities of the visual thinker that may actually interfere with their ability to process letters, numbers and punctuation (see Dyslexia).

Difficulty with mathematics: For some visual thinkers, their difficulty with mathematics may be the result of a deficiency processing symbolic information. For others, their difficulties may be the result of a lack of order, sequence and a sense of time in their thought process. Math problems (like long division) that require more than 2 or 3 steps may confound the visual thinker.

Most mathematics is taught as a series of steps with the presumption that, if a student is taught the steps necessary to solve the problem—essentially the ‘how’ of the problem, then he or she will naturally infer the intention of those steps—the ‘why’ of the problem.

Unfortunately for many visual-spatial thinkers, this presumption is completely incorrect. For these students, a strategy for understanding the ‘why’ of the problem is critical to their success.

ADHD and Other Learning Challenges, continued... (click here)