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Learning Disabilities Across the Lifespan

Junior /Senior High 13-18 years old


Adolescence is a time of numerous physical, mental, emotional, and social changes. Hormones change as puberty begins. Youth at this age might be worried about these changes and how they are looked at by others. Teens make more of their own choices about friends, sports, studying, and school. They become more independent, with their own personalities and interests.

Some of the changes that teens may experience are: they are more concerned about body image, looks, and clothes, there is more focus on self, a constant going back and forth between high expectations and lack of confidence, showing more interest in and influence by peer group, less affection shown toward parents, may sometimes seem rude or short-tempered, anxiety from more challenging school work, more ability for complex thought and better ability to express feelings through talking.

Students in junior/senior high school who are struggling may present with difficulties in the following areas, but not limited to:
  • Reverses letter sequences (soiled/solid, left/felt)
  • Slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other spelling strategies
  • Avoids reading aloud
  • Trouble with word problems
  • Difficulty with handwriting
  • Awkward, fist-like, or tight pencil grip
  • Avoids writing compositions
  • Slow or poor recall of facts
  • Difficulty making friends
  • Trouble understanding body language and facial expressions
  • Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spell the same word differently in a single piece of writing
  • Avoids reading and writing tasks
  • Trouble summarizing
  • Trouble with open-ended questions on tests
  • Weak memory skills
  • Difficulty adjusting to new settings
  • Works slowly
  • Poor grasp of abstract concepts
  • Either pays too little attention to details or focuses on them too much
  • Misreads information
  • Struggles with organization and time management
Links:
LD checklist (.pdf)