Teens with learning disabilities have a “hidden” handicap! Unlike blindness or a missing arm or leg, it can’t be seen because the disorder takes place inside the brain. Simply stated, the brains of learning disordered youngsters are “wired” differently from the brains of other people. Preteens and adolescents who are learning disabled are often bright and creative but the way their brains are wired makes it hard for them to do well in certain areas such as reading, math, or communication skills.

Dyslexia, for example, is the name of the learning disability which makes it especially difficult to learn how to read and write well. ADD, attention deficit disorder, prevents youngsters from paying attention or concentrating on what they are supposed to learn or do. Twenty percent of the nearly four million school aged children who are said to have learning disabilities are labeled as ADD or ADHD. A large number of teens with ADHD are not only unable to pay attention or focus on what they are learning, they are also hyperactive. In both ADD and ADHD, those affected find it difficult to listen, concentrate, or get work done. In school and at home, they may look like they’re daydreaming rather than focusing their minds on what they are supposed to be studying. Even when learning disabled adolescents try hard to concentrate, their attention span is short. Does this sound familiar? If it does, you are not alone.

A disorder you may not be familiar with is auditory processing delay. Children who can’t process sound correctly have a hard time understanding or even hearing what people say. Background noise and complex data worsen the person’s ability to distinguish sound or pay attention to the primary speaker (desired signal). The various deficiencies which interfere with auditory processing can be corrected by manipulating the listening environment and improving auditory skills.

Many people your age struggle for years without their parents or teachers realizing there is a problem. When learning disorders aren’t recognized, or steps aren’t taken to deal with them, teens are at great risk. They become frustrated, angry and are in danger of losing their feelings of self-worth and self-confidence. When the home or the school fails to recognize or understand a teen’s learning disability, dangerous mislabeling results. A capable, creative, conscientious teen may be “written off” as stupid or lazy. This mislabeling all too often causes the learning disabled adolescent to live down to the low expectations set rather than live up to the level his normal or above normal intelligence can take him (or her).

Don’t let this happen to you. Educate yourself on the various learning disabilities and their warning signs. If you are having trouble with something, let your teachers and parents know. Nobody wants to be labeled as disobedient, stupid or inattentive because of an auditory disorder. And you don’t want to be misdiagnosed as having something you don’t. WARM2K is here to provide you with useful information and the resources to get the necessary help. If a friend or sibling is having difficulties, share what you learn.