Signs Your Child May Be Neurodiverse

What are signs that my child may be neurodiverse?

Neurodiverse refers to someone whose brain processes information differently than one who is neurotypical. Neurodiversity can include a learning disability such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia; ADHD; autism; dyspraxia; and other diagnoses. If your child is neurodiverse, they may require specific supports and services to help them thrive academically. What are some signs that your child may be neurodivergent? Let’s take a look at different types of neurodiversity:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Individuals with ADHD often have difficulty with impulsivity, staying focused, and organizational skills. They might talk out of turn, lose their belongings, and struggle to pay attention for long stretches of time. They may also make careless mistakes, have poor time management skills, and neglect to self-check their work. If your child demonstrates these challenges, you may want to consider having them tested and try some of the strategies below:

To develop their time management skills, teach your child the Estimated Time (ET) verses Actual Time (AT) strategy. To do so, have them select a task, like a math worksheet they need to complete for school, and estimate how long they think it will take them to complete that task (and write down the ET). Then once they have completed the worksheet, they should note the AT, or actual time it took them to complete that task. Often, those with ADHD and poor time management skills will note a big discrepancy between the ET and AT when they start using this strategy, but the more they practice it, the more these times will merge, and their time management skills will improve.

For self-checking, your child may benefit from the COPS strategy for checking their writing, which stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and Spelling. At the bottom of their page, they should write these letters vertically with a check box to the left of each letter. After they have finished writing a paragraph or essay, they should self-check their writing for each of these elements one at a time, encouraging them to slow down and carefully self-check their work before turning it in.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is another type of neurodiversity. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects language skills, including reading, spelling, and writing. Those with dyslexia may struggle with learning individual letters and their corresponding sounds, decoding words, reading fluently, spelling accurately, and expressing their thoughts on paper when writing, amongst other related language challenges.

If your child is struggling with these skills, you may want to consider having them evaluated. However, Orton Gillingham tutoring can also help children with dyslexia tremendously. The Orton Gillingham method is a research-based, multi-sensory technique that helps students develop stronger reading and spelling skills. It follows a systematic approach, integrating previously taught sounds and concepts as new ones are introduced, and is highly effective in developing these core skills. Students also tend to enjoy the multi-sensory tools that are part of Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons, including colored sand, magnetic tiles, shaving cream, mini whiteboards, and other related manipulatives.

Learn more about Orton Gillingham tutoring at

What Is Orton-Gillingham Tutoring? Multi-Sensory, Structured Help | EBL Coaching

Autism

Autism is part of a spectrum, so the signs can vary. Children with autism often have challenges with social skills, engage in repetitive behaviors, and have sensory differences. They may also have trouble with executive functioning skills – including planning and organization – and reading comprehension, especially when it involves abstract or inferential thinking.

If your child shows any of these difficulties, you may want to have them tested. However, autism tutoring can also help them immensely. To build their reading comprehension skills, an autism tutor may teach them to identify three key elements when reading: the topic, which is one, two, or three words describing the passage; the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic; and the important details, or salient information describing the main idea. They will learn to highlight the topic of the passage in blue, the main idea in green, and the important details in yellow, helping to make them a more active reader. Their tutor can then ask them inference questions and have them write a short summary describing the passage in their own words.

Learn more about helping your child with autism at

Tips for Helping Your Child with Autism Improve School Performance | EBL Coaching

Many children are neurodiverse, and with that comes numerous strengths. However, getting through school can be a challenge for these children. If you notice any of these signs of neurodiversity in your child, you may want to consider having them testing and consider ADHD coaching, Orton Gillingham tutoring, or autism tutoring. This instruction can help them immensely!