There is a wide range of severity of different childhood disabilities. Many conditions may not be readily apparent and may take years to identify and diagnose. But that does not make those disabilities any less challenging for the children and parents who live with them every day. Furthermore, it does not diminish the benefits a child living with a disability can receive from a free and appropriate public education.
Many parents are overly eager to chalk up their children’s struggles to mere discipline problems. Some even blame themselves and their parenting methods. While this may be true in certain cases, there are many sad situations in which children go for years without serious learning disabilities being identified and addressed.
Some common disabilities that affect classroom performance include the following:
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When these conditions go undiagnosed, children can miss out on years of education and find themselves near-hopelessly behind their peers. When a child consistently fails to make significant progress in school despite clear effort on his or her part as well as from the parents, it may be time to consider testing for a learning disability.
The protections and rights afforded by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvements Act (IDEIA) are not limited to disabilities that are obvious or immediately recognized. The law applies equally to more nuanced conditions like learning disabilities. While it may be difficult for parents to discover that their child could have such a condition, appropriate assistance as early as possible can ultimately minimize the effect of a learning disability on the child’s education. An experienced New Jersey IDEIA lawyer can help you ensure that your child receives the services he or she needs to thrive and get the most out of school and life.