Health and Medical History

Some adults may not associate learning problems with physical conditions or side effects related to taking medication. These questions will alert you to health conditions or problems that may affect the student's learning.

Health problems and physical disabilities are not necessarily signs of a learning disability. More likely, they are the reasons why the student had difficulty in learning. The same is true for medication that has affected learning. Vision and hearing problems, especially in early childhood, will also make learning difficult but do not necessarily indicate a learning disability.

Indicators of a POSSIBLE Learning Disability:
  • If the student reports that letters and words appear out of sequence or reversed, these could be signs of a learning disability and should be investigated further.
  • If the student appears to be able to hear but has difficulty discriminating similar sounding words or saying words correctly (this does not apply to an English-as-a-Second-Language student), these problems should also be investigated further as signs of a learning disability. These problems often occur more frequently when there is a history of ear infections.
  • If the student's hearing appears normal, but the student frequently misunderstands questions, there may be a learning disability - a language processing problem.
  • If the student frequently asks to have questions repeated, there could be learning disabilities related to attention and/or auditory processing.
Not Likely Indicators of a Learning Disability:
  • If the student frequently has problems in situations requiring listening skills, the possibility of a hearing problem should be ruled out by a hearing test with an audiologist.
  • If the student is taking any medication regularly, you should investigate the possible side effects of the medication and how it may impact on learning (fatigue, memory, attention...)
  • Students with ongoing problems with anxiety or depression may have difficulty coping with academic learning situations, especially the testing process.
  • If the student experiences eye strain when reading or copying notes from a distance, the possibility of vision difficulties should be further explored.

Employment

An adult's work history may indicate his interests, skill level, abilities, motivation, consistency of effort, planning and goal setting.