Symptom Tests

[Self-Test] Could My Child Have a Learning Disability?

As many as half of all children with ADHD also have a learning disability (LD). Learn more about the symptoms in the self-test below.

By ADDitude Editors Verified Updated on April 3, 2024
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If your child continues to struggle academically even after treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), he or she may be among the 30 to 50 percent of individuals with ADHD who also have a learning disability (LD). The symptoms in this self-test relate primarily to elementary school, which is when LD is most often identified. Complete this test and take the results to an education professional for evaluation.

This self-test is designed to determine whether your child shows symptoms similar to those with learning disabilities, but it is not a diagnostic tool. A trained educational psychologist can make a diagnosis of learning disabilities through clinical evaluation. This self-test is for personal use only.

From the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.

Does your child confuse math symbols and misread numbers?

Does your child appear awkward or clumsy, dropping, spilling, or knocking things over a lot?

Does your child have trouble understanding humor, puns, comic strips, idioms, and sarcasm?

Does your child have trouble telling time or conceptualizing the passage of time?

Does your child struggle to express ideas in writing?

Did your child have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds?

Does your child have difficulty understanding instructions or following directions?

Does your child mispronounce words or use an incorrect word that sounds similar?

Does your child ignore the social rules of conversations, such as taking turns or standing a comfortable distance from his or her conversation partner?

Does your child have trouble retelling a story in order (what happened first, second, third)?

Does your child have trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or thinking of the word he or she needs when writing or in conversation?

Does your child have very messy handwriting or does he hold a pencil awkwardly?

Did your child learn language late and/or have a limited vocabulary?

Does your child have a hard time understanding what he or she reads?

Does your child have real trouble with spelling, remembering the sounds that letters make, or hearing slight differences between words?

Does your child have difficulty knowing where to begin a task and/or how to proceed from there?

Does your child make mistakes when reading aloud, and/or repeat and pause? 

Does or did your child have trouble with buttons, hooks, snaps, and zippers? Or with learning to tie his or her shoes?

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Learning Disability Symptoms in Children: Next Steps

1. Take This Test: Dyslexia Symptom Test for Children
2. Take This Test: Dyspraxia Symptom Test for Children
3. Take This Test: Dyscalculia Symptom Test for Children
4. Take This Test: Full ADHD Symptoms Test for Children
5. Take This Test: Executive Dysfunction Symptom Test for Children
6. Learn How LDs Are Diagnosed