What are the signs that someone has LD?
The most important sign is self-identification. Students with LD generally have been diagnosed at an earlier point in their education, such as in grade school. But this is not always the case. If a student is having problems in a class, the most important step is to have a thorough conversation with that student as to his or her perceptions of the problem. Simply present your concerns to the student. For example, “You’ve been getting Ds on all your exams, and your essays have common grammatical errors.” The student’s response is crucial. Is the student working two jobs plus taking a full course load? Is the student in need of more study and review time? Is the student unsure of why he or she is not doing well and claims to be putting in adequate time? Some common things to look out for are the following: poor organizational skills; difficulty with short- or long-term memory; discrepancies between what the student knows and how he or she performs on exams; trouble conveying information
