• Careless mistakes in written work, such as: reversal of numbers; mixing up lines of the work or copying information incorrectly; confusing similar numbers or transposing numbers e.g., 18 for 81, 21 for 12, even when the concept is understood
• Trouble following sequential procedures and directions with multiple steps
• Recall from memory is slow or not available. Learners may count on their fingers or they may have difficulty recalling multiplication table facts, other than 2x, 5x, and 10x. If they are asked to answer 7x2 they may start at 2x2 and count up to 7x2
• Difficulty counting backwards and counting from a different starting point: i.e. counting backwards from 30 by 2 or 3's, or what number is 5 places from 18, or finding it difficult to count by 10's starting at 14
• Difficulty understanding place value, especially when there is 0 in the number, i.e. 20,040. As well, they may take longer understanding the patterns of multiplying by 10, 100, 1000, etc.
• Difficulty copying numbers and working with numbers in columns - they may show a preference for doing several small sums rather than adding up the whole column - they may lose track of the addition and keep re-starting
• Trouble with left, right orientation - they will continually mix them up without realizing it or say go left when they mean go right⁴⁹

Helpful tips to use when assessing literacy skills

• Practitioners should give several spelling dictations to find consistency of patterns to the errors. They need to determine if the errors are a result of processing problems or a lack of knowledge of spelling rules.⁵⁰
• Practitioners may want to use: 1) informal auditory discrimination tests to determine if learners hear likenesses and differences in sounds; or 2) visual discrimination tests to determine if learners see likenesses and differences in symbols, words and letters.
• Practitioners can provide a list of synonyms or selected words to help assess learners' vocabularies. Word comprehension and usage are difficult for adults with learning disabilities. Learners' vocabularies may be limited because they have not read widely.⁵¹
• Practitioners should compare learners' reading comprehension by giving them opportunities to read orally, silently and to listen to a reading passage. If differences occur between their levels of reading comprehension, then most likely a learning disability is present.