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Learning Disabilities Across the Lifespan
Pre-school - 3 to 5 years old
As a child grows into early childhood, his/her world begins to change dramatically. S/he becomes more independent and begins to pay more attention to adults and children outside of the family. S/he wants to explore his/her surroundings even more.
Interactions with family and others assist in developing the child’s personality and individual way of thinking and interacting with his/her environment. During this stage children should be able to ride a tricycle; build a tower of more than six blocks; use four- and five word sentences; play make believe with dolls, animals and people; express affection openly; play with other children; sort objects by shape and color and take turns in a game.
The focus of the academic curriculum for the preschooler is on recognition skills. Children are able to recognize letters, sounds, concepts from pictures, and directionality, and utilizing classroom resources such as picture dictionaries and word walls.
Children who are struggling may present with difficulties in the following areas, but not limited to:
- Speaks later than most children do
- Pronunciation problems
- Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word
- Difficult rhyming words
- Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes
- Difficulty with buttoning, zipping, typing skills
- Difficulty controlling pencil, crayons, scissors
- Trouble interacting with peers
- Difficulty following directions or routines
- Fine motor skills slow to develop
- Trouble seeing things from another’s point of view
- Difficulty accepting failure
LD checklist (.pdf)
Developmental Milestones by the End of 4 Years
Developmental Milestones by the End of 5 Years
