Do you know what condition my twins have?

Question

Hi, I have a friend who's twins have some disabilities, but the mother has never been able to find out or pin point what this condition is called. We know of one other person who seems to have the same condition after comparing their abilities/disabilities so we believe their is a certain name for this out there. Here are some descriptions of the problems they have that I could think of:

- Inability to understand abstract words

- Is not good with calculating things (math, money, etc.)

- Defecit in their fine motor skills (ie. can't cut with scissors right)

- Can write, but handwriting looks very poor

- Has almost no sense with money

- Processing skills are poor also

They are not completely learning disabled. Aside from their minor deficiencies (some a little more than minor), you would think the twins were normal. Does anyone have any information or clue as to what this could be? Any good information would be useful. Thanks!

Answer 1

It sounds as though they may have some kind of learning disability. The term "learning disability" is a misnomer. They should really be called "processing difficulties."  People with LD have the problems for their whole life, not just when they are in school. They usually have average or above average IQ, but have problems with processing information and/or expressing it.  They may need to be taught in a different way than most children so that they can learn effectively.  Many people with LD have grown up to become successful teachers, lawyers, businessmen/women, and writers.

I suggest that the twins see a pediatric neurologist who can evaluate them and find out what their disabilities are.

If you want more information, check out www.fcsn.org

Answer 2

some of these things sound neurological...some just sound like a lack of experience/exposure to the everyday world...it could be a slight form of autismor asberger's(sp?) syndrome...

Answer 3

Without knowing the ages of the children it is almost impossible to speculate on what condition they may or may not have. If your friend is really worried about her children she should take them to a paediatrician to be tested. From the few problems you have listed above it could be anything. Get professional advice.

Answer 4

i think the twins are affected by dyslexia,its a condition which requires special attention ie induvidual attention.please advice ur friend to take them to a special school.my mother is a special educator.on that basis iam familiar with these conditions.

Answer 5

The twins may be visual-spatial learners.

The following labels are associated with visual-spatial learners:

Inability to understand abstract words-dyslexia

Is not good with calculating things (math, money, etc.) dyscalculia

Deficit in their fine motor skills (ie. can't cut with scissors right) -dyspraxia

Can write, but handwriting looks very poor-may be dyspraxia

Has almost no sense with money-dysclaculia

Processing skills are poor also-dyslexia

Visit www.dyslexia.com and www.gifteddevelopment.com (click on the link to the visual spatial learner)

Read The Gift of Learning and or Gift of Dyslexia by Ron Davis.

It is not too late for them to find help.

Answer 6

Twins often are premature or have other birth complications which can affect them for a lifetime. It sounds to me that this may have contributed, since they both suffer from the same symptoms.

Because all areas of functioning are of equal severity (fine motor, abstract reasoning, math difficulties, judgement, and receptive language difficulties) my best estimate is that they suffer from mild cognitive impairment. They may have functioned just above the cut-off for special services at school because the problems weren't quite severe enough. I must say the diagnosis can be a bit difficult to tease out from other problems, and professionals don't like to tell parents that their child may have mild cognitive impairment.

If they had specific learning disabilities, their functioning chart would have had peaks and valleys, but theirs were flat. Therefore, they wouldn't be labelled as "learning disabled", as LD kids have normal cognition.

Answer 7

SOUNDS LIKE AUTISEM BUT WHO AM I TO SAY

Answer 8

my son has all of the learning disabilities you speak of. he was just diagnosed last november with pdd-nos high functining. we learned he is a visual learner, and learns very slow. but once he learns something he retains it, but it does take a lot of time and patience for him to learn something.  he also had spech delay, he did not talk until he was 4 years old. you did not mention any speech problems. but what you discribe sounds like sencory processing issues, which is a part of the autisum spectrum which includes the diagnoses of pdd-nos. remember this is a big umbrella so people with slite disabilities to people with severe disabilities, there are many different names for these diagnoses but all are under the autism spectrum  i hope this helps. good luck and god bless.  kit-kat.

Answer 9

It would be helpful to know age and if they are identical twins. Many of the things might be identified as motor skill problems, and require therapy. There are health organizations that would test the children especially twins that are both affected, find a pediatric hospital and get them tested