Learning disabilities leave an impact for a lifetime on an individual. Certain challenges that might have stemmed for the child during his school years, might arise during their adulthood as well.
Learning disabilities during adulthood might intervene with the affected individual’s personal and professional life.
Some of the struggles that might arise for adults with disabilities include difficulty in completing paperwork, keeping up with domestic chores, and assisting children in their schoolwork.
Some individuals grow up without a proper diagnosis of their learning disability which might make their day-to-day life difficult during their adulthood.
However, in the past few years, the recent developments that have occurred in the healthcare system globally have paved the way for numerous treatments. And now, it is convenient for adults with learning disabilities to seek appropriate treatment or options
In this article, we discuss the numerous ways and provide tips that you can use to manage your learning disability during your adult years.
Advocate For Yourself
As an adult with a learning disability, it is crucial to understand and advocate for your wants and needs.
Identifying the type of learning disability you might have will educate you about the types of resources you will need at your workplace or your home.
Advocating about what you need will not only help fulfill your basic needs, but will also ease your day-to-day tasks.
Ensure You Are In a Supportive Environment
A supportive environment plays one of the most crucial roles in keeping your health intact. Therefore, it is crucial to create a supportive learning environment with your college/university or your place of work.
You can download certain software or apps on your laptop, computer, or mobile devices that will help you succeed in your daily work tasks.
Certain apps are designed for the sole purpose of fulfilling the various needs of individuals with disabilities such as assisting in improving their social skills, improving emotional development, assisting to cope with daily tasks, and provide educational elements.
Numerous smartphone apps are also available for individuals with disabilities which can be downloaded on an iOS or an Android smartphone.
For instance, Be My Eyes helps connect visually impaired travelers by providing its users with a sighted volunteer through a direct video line that helps them negotiate unfamiliar surroundings.
Whereas Assistive Touch is an app for individuals with physical disabilities as it helps them in operating a smartphone. Assistive touch offers virtual back buttons, home buttons, volume control buttons, and screenshot buttons. The user would not even have to turn the device on or off.
Similar to the aforementioned applications, many such are available adults with disabilities that they can use for leading their lives more conveniently.
Take Advantage of the Technology Available To You
In the past few years, the world has seen rapid development in the different types of technological equipment which has proven to be extensively substantial and helpful for everyone, including individuals with disabilities.
You can customize the computer tools at your own pace and use them for reading any text aloud. You can also use a natural grammar fixer for providing structure to your writing, and help you articulate your thoughts.
Numerous smartphone apps are also available for individuals with learning disabilities which can be downloaded on an iOS or an Android smartphone.
For instance, My Health Guide captures information about the health of individuals with learning disabilities in a single place and is written in a format that is suitable according to their understanding, such as in the format of video, text, audio, or photo.
This app is particularly helpful for those who have a hard time keeping their physical health in check. My Health Guide app can also be used for keeping a food diary, and for sharing relevant information with the user’s health professionals so they can stay up-to-date.
This app comes with a 30-day free trial and the users have to pay $12 for an annual subscription.
Another app called LetMeTalk, is an app used for alternative and augmentative communication. It helps provide its users with a voice and is not only helpful for individuals with learning disabilities but is also very useful for those who can’t speak.
LetMeTalk allows its users to line up relevant images cohesively to be read in a full sentence. More than 9,000 images are available in LetMeTalk’s database and its users can also take new photos with the built-in camera or add existing images.
LetMeTalk can operate without an internet connection and is also available to be downloaded for free. Similar to the aforementioned applications, many such are available for adults with learning disabilities that they can use for leading their lives more conveniently.
Seek the Proper Treatment
While it is impossible to completely cure learning disabilities, it is possible to control or even reduce the symptoms through professional medical help. Health professionals often use occupational therapy or speech therapy for treating individuals with learning disabilities.
Organizations such as the Learning Disabilities Association of America work with adults who have learning disabilities and provide them with resources and programs they can use to become healthier individuals and lead their lives conveniently.
