Your 8-year-old daughter usually likes school. But lately, you’ve noticed that she struggles to read or pronounce certain words. After talking to her teacher, you learn that the same issues are showing up in the classroom. What now? 

Difficulties with reading, writing, and pronunciation are often signs of language-based learning disabilities, or LBLDs. Dyslexia is a common LBLD. Children with LBLDs may be eligible for a variety of classroom accommodations and modifications. These changes can help your child reach their full potential. 

This article helps parents understand what language-based learning disabilities are and how they can affect a child’s school experience. It also lists signs of language-based learning disabilities that parents might notice. Finally, it explains how a New York City therapeutic school can help. 

What Is a Language-Based Learning Disability (LBLD)? 

Several federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), require schools to support children with qualifying disabilities. The IDEA lists 13 categories of qualifying disabilities, including “Specific Learning Disability.” The Specific Learning Disability category includes disabilities that affect “the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell . . .” 

In other words, a child has a LBLD when a brain processing issue impacts their ability to read, write, speak, or listen. 

Note that LBLDs do not apply in certain situations. For example, the law also says, in part, that the LBLD cannot primarily be the result of “visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, [or] intellectual disability.” So, a blind child or a deaf child would not qualify if their language issues primarily resulted from physical issues. Similarly, a child with cerebral palsy whose muscle tremors hinder their ability to write would not qualify if the tremors were chiefly caused by a motor disability rather than a processing problem. Finally, if the language issues were primarily caused by an intellectual disability such as Down’s Syndrome, it would not be a qualifying disability under this category. 

Despite these exclusions, the law covers a wide range of disabilities that affect language learning, including: 

• Dyslexia: This processing disorder affects a child’s ability read and work with letters. 
• Dysgraphia: These children can usually read words, but struggle to put their thoughts in writing, as shown by difficulty with penmanship, grammar rules, and similar issues. 
• Language Processing Disorder (LPD): Like dyslexia and dysgraphia, LPD affects verbal and written language. However, while dyslexia can affect the ability to “decode” letters and words, LPD affects the ability to understand their meaning. 
• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): In this disorder, the brain pathways that support language development are impaired, leading to difficulties understanding written and spoken language. 

Other disorders that aren’t quite LBLDs can still affect language. These include:

• Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD): NVLD impairs a child’s ability to interpret nonverbal cues (e.g., body language) and tones (e.g., sarcasm). 
• Auditory processing disorder (APD) (also called central auditory processing disorder (CAPD)): This affects the parts of the brain that control hearing (not language).  
• Dyscalculia: Dyslexia affects the ability to understand written letters and language. Similarly, children with dyscalculia struggle to process numbers and the rules (e.g., place value). This issue may be particularly acute with number problems. 

Finally, a child can experience multiple LBLDs at once. For instance, many children with DLD later develop dyslexia, while children with LPD may have issues with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or working memory. 

Common Signs of LBLDs that Parents Might Notice 

Every child learns and develops at their own pace. As such, it can be difficult to know whether your child has a learning issue or is simply unmotivated. However, there are a few signs that might point to a larger problem. These include: 

• Reading more slowly than others 
• Guessing at words instead of sounding them out 
• Getting frustrated when asked to read aloud 
• Writing sloppily  
• Producing work with repeated grammar, punctuation, and spelling 
• Experiencing difficulty following verbal instructions, especially more than one at a time 
• Struggling to put their ideas into words 

Experiencing one of these problems for a short time may not be evidence of an LBLD, but repeated patterns might deserve further attention. Also, note when teachers say that your child’s written work doesn’t match their knowledge. This is a strong sign that an LBLD could be present. 

How Language-Based Learning Disabilities Are Identified and Diagnosed

If you believe your child may have LBLD, the next step is to refer them for evaluation. In New York City, the evaluation process must be completed within 30 days of the day you consent to it.

During evaluation, a specialist – usually a child psychologist – will test your child. Your child will likely take several tests of their spoken and written language abilities. They will also review your child’s academic records and talk to their teachers. 

How Schools Can Help Students with Language-Based Learning Disabilities

Schools can do many things to help students with LBLDs improve their language abilities. This might involve strategies such as: 

• Teaching sounds individually rather than just letters
• Teaching children to break words into sounds
• Teaching writing one step at a time – letters, words, sentences, then paragraphs, etc. 
• Checking student progress frequently 
• Allowing students who need more time on a concept to continue even after the class has moved on to another topic 
• Providing writing structures or supports (e.g., sentence frames or paragraph organizers) 
• Allowing students to use assistive technology to help with reading or writing assignments

Once these changes have been put in place through a Section 504 Plan or an IEP, you should see improvement. However, if your child still struggles despite these accommodations or modifications, your child might need a different school environment, such as a therapeutic school. Therapeutic schools focus on skills, not ages, tests, or grades. This means that the instruction adapts to the child, not the other way around. Also, therapeutic schools in New York City have smaller class sizes than the city’s traditional schools. This allows them to give each child individual attention that fits their unique needs. Additionally, because community values and social-emotional learning are prioritized at therapeutic schools, students easily build confidence in their language skills and other subjects. 

If you are looking for a therapeutic school in New York City, consider Academics West. Our school has small classrooms and a well-trained and dedicated staff. This combination allows us to help each student take their own hero’s journey to success. Check out our virtual tour. Then call 212-580-0080 or use our booking tool to schedule an in-person visit to our Upper West Side campus.