Children with developmental disabilities will show symptomatic behaviors long before these behaviors impact their formal education. The behavioral patterns listed below may indicate that a child should be assessed to determine whether special education services are appropriate.*
Remember that all children may exhibit one or more of these behaviors on their trip through childhood. This is normal and should not be troubling. However, as a parent, you may become aware of a persistent pattern of behavior(s). If you notice one or more continuing behaviors on this list, you should consider requesting an assessment, either privately or by your child’s school.
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infancy • Difficulty nursing, sucking or digesting • Resistance to
touching or body contact • Unusual
response to sounds • Difficulty
“tracking” movement with eyes • Delayed
creeping or crawling • Delayed
sitting, standing or walking • Delayed
language development school years • Very poor
handwriting • Difficulty
cutting with scissors or coloring inside lines • Unable to tie
shoelaces, button clothes or use hands for fine motor tasks • Trouble
matching shapes and sizes: squares, circles, triangles • Clumsiness
and awkwardness in throwing and catching balls • Difficulty
skipping, hopping or jumping • Trouble with
games and following group rules • Confused
sense of time or distance • Emotional
instability; explosions for no apparent reason • Tendency to
be extremely literal or humorless • Excessive
gullibility • Extremely
undeven performance in testing with some potential and some way below normal |
pre-school years • Inability to
follow directions • Impulsive and
uncontrolled behavior • Excessive
crying and undisturbed sleep • Poor sense of
rhythm; uneven walk • Fear of
swings and slides • Frequent
falls; tendency to bump into things • Purposeless
hyperactivity • Difficulty
discriminating between letters, words & numbers: “b” and “d”, “was” and
“saw”, 6 and 9 • Difficulty
understanding difference between up and down, in and out, left and right,
front and back • Good verbal
skills, but trouble with reading • Mechanical
reading – lacks comprehension • Difficulty
expressing ideas • Erratic
school work • Excessive
activity – purposeless, restless and undirected • Unusual
inactivity – daydreaming or inner distraction • Excessive
craving for sugar and candy • Poor eating
habits • Constantly
interruptions; persistent chatter • Perseveration
in speaking, questions or play • Tendency to
become upset more often when people are around than when alone • Language
problems: delayed talking, garbled speaking • Tendency to
be fearless, climbing counters or roofs with no concern |
* This
list was developed and copyrighted in 1975 by the Contra Costa West Chapter of
the California Association for Neurologically Handicapped Children which has
become the Learning Disabilities Association and, locally, the Orange County Learning
Disabilities Association.