It is always possible that a learning disability is a reason for your daughter's spelling difficulties. What you need to look for are behaviors that have persisted over a period of time to see if your child actually has symptoms of a possible learning disability.

At this age, the Learning Disabilities Association of America (www.ldanatl.org) suggests looking for the confusion of basic words ("run," "eat," "want") and consistent reading and spelling errors, including letter reversals ("b"/"d,") inversions ("m"/"w"), transpositions ("felt"/"left") and substitutions ("house"/"home"), as well as trouble connecting letters and sounds as possible signs of learning disabilities.

Here is a list of the basic words that fourth-graders need to know how to spell correctly. It was created by Steven Graham, Karen R. Harris and Connie Loynachan (2008). It is reprinted by permission of Reading Rockets. Asterisks after words indicate that children have difficulty spelling these words.

across

against

answer*

awhile*

between

board

bottom

breakfast

broken

build

building

built

captain*

carried

caught*

charge*

chicken

circus

cities

clothes*

company

couldn't*

country

discover

doctor*

doesn't

dollar

during

eighth*

else

enjoy

enough

everybody*

example

except

excuse

field*

fifth

finish

following

good-bye*

group

happened*

harden

haven't*

heavy

held

hospital*

idea

instead*

known

laugh

middle

minute

mountain

ninth

ocean

office

parent

peanut

pencil

picnic

police

pretty*

prize

quite*

radio

raise

really*

reason

remember*

return

Saturday*

scare

second

since

slowly

stories

student

sudden

suit

sure*

swimming*

though

threw*

tired

together*

tomorrow*

toward

tried*

trouble

truly*

turtle

until*

village

visit

wear

we'll

whole*

whose

women

wouldn't*

writing*

written

wrote

yell

young

** *