When people consider the disabilities that children can have, their immediate assumption is that a disability is likely to be physical, and thus one that is clearly visible. However, not all disabilities are physical, and unfortunately children, and adults for that matter, can suffer from disabilities that are not immediately obvious.

These are disabilities that exist mentally or psychologically, and those which are particularly an issue for children are specific learning disabilities. These are disorders that affect a child’s ability to learn, and they are most prominently found in relation to a child’s ability to read, write, and count, so consulting a psychologist should be your first call of action.

As these are regarded as the key academic skills which allow learning in a whole range of other subjects, plus the fact that they are essential for each person to deal with basic everyday situations as we grow up, there is obviously a cause for concern if a child shows symptoms of a specific learning disability.

To look at these in more detail, the first, and the one which most people have heard of, is dyslexia. This condition means a child’s ability to recognise words is compromised with an impairment in reading with all the issues which that can create.

Next, we have dysgraphia which is a learning disability with an impairment in written expression. This is not the same as dyslexia as many believe but relates purely to how a child writes, rather than their ability to read.

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