Dyslexia is a language-based processing or reading disorder that is often identified when a child is learning to speak, read or write. However, it can appear later when a student is in middle or high school. Educators might notice a lack of age-appropriate vocabulary and grammar, and poor reading and conversation skills in secondary students with dyslexia. These students might also have trouble following directions or might need to have things repeated to them constantly. Older students with dyslexia often have issues reading aloud quickly and tend to skip over or substitute words as they read.
Dyscalculia is a wide-reaching, math-based learning disability that often affects secondary students throughout their schooling and beyond. While many students struggle with math, teachers can identify dyscalculia if a student persistently struggles. The signs that teachers watch for in middle-grade students are problems counting and calculating rapidly, learning basic arithmetic and equation skills, and measuring and estimation. Students with dyscalculia also have spatial issues and might not understand left and right or able to accurately judge speed and distance or the passage of time.
Dysgraphia is a learning disability that effects writing in secondary students. Teachers can diagnose dysgraphia when a student has consistently poor motor skills and problems with spelling and handwriting. Students also typically have problems with organization on the page when writing numbers, letters and words. Students often struggle with the entire writing process, from deciding what words to write, getting them down on paper, making them legible and creating a piece that is what they intended it to be.
Several disorders are not classified as learning disorders but are symptoms among students with major learning disorders. Dyspraxia, for example, affects the motor skills of students, and teachers often notice problems with movement and coordination. Secondary students who have problems cutting with scissors, writing, running, jumping or anything that involves hand-eye coordination might have dyspraxia. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, visual and audio processing disorders represent other common disorders that can make learning disorders more severe.