- Learning disabilities (LD) is a term that denotes a group of disorders. Learning disabilities in a child manifest as difficulties in the acquisition and use of abilities such as reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic or of social skills. These difficulties arise from in adequate development of some areas of the brain.
- This disorder can make it problematic for a person to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone who isn't affected by a learning disability. Learning disability is not indicative of intelligence level. Rather, people with a learning disability have trouble performing specific types of skills or completing tasks if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways.
- About 10 percent of young children suffer from dyslexia or learning disability. That is, in a school of 1000 children, at least 100 could be dyslexic.
- If the child gets poor marks, it is because he suffers from a learning problem.
- Famous dyslexics include Edison, Einstein, Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill.
- Diagnosing learning disabilities early in childhood is of great consequence for the parent, the teacher and above all the affected child who then receives special remedial coaching.
A review of the literature in medicine, education and psychology reveal the following list of term which are used by various groups and individuals to describe children with learning disabilities
- Organic brain damage
- Organic brain disease
- Organic brain dysfunction
- Minimal brain damage
- Cerebral dysfunction
- Minimal brain injury
- Hyperkinetic behavior syndrome
- Learning impotence
- Perceptual handicapped
- Neurologically handicapped
- Learning impaired
- Performance disability
- Problem learners
- Psycho neurological disorders
- Reading disability
- Remedial education case
- Special learning disorders
- Under achiever
- Word blindness
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulty in learning to read in spite of average or above average intelligence and regular exposure to reading instruction. Often children with dyslexia also have difficulties in areas of speed of processing, short term memory, organization, sequencing, and spoken language and motor skills.
Signs of Reading Disabilities (Dyslexia)
- Omission of letters, syllables, words or word endings (sed for said)
- Addition of sounds, or words in sentences (ischool/school)
- Substitution of words/letters ( home/house, ise cream/cream)
- Etc
Dyscalculia
A mathematical disability in which a person has difficulty in solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts. Dyscalculia can also be characterized by having difficulties both with reading and with math. Children with dyscalculia often require a long time to carry out even simple arithmetic tasks.
Signs of problems in mathematics (Dyscalculia)
- Difficulty in pointing to small/big, more/less, tall/short when asked
- Difficulty to show that parts put together make whole
- Difficulty to demonstrate that adding more objects results in increase in quantity, taking away results in decreasing
- Etc
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space. These children usually will have extremely poor handwriting. Children with dysgraphia often have sequencing problems. What usually appears to be a perceptual problem (reversing letters/numbers, writing words backwards, writing letters out of order, and very sloppy handwriting) is often directly related to sequential/rational information processing difficulty.
Signs of writing disabilities (Dysgraphia)
- Slow in writing
- Improper posture
- Illegible, shabby handwriting
- Etc
Sensory Processing Disorders
It is a sensory disability wherein a person has difficulty in understanding language despite normal hearing and vision due to deficiency in the processes of recognizing and interpreting information taken in through the senses. The two most common areas of processing difficulty associated with learning disabilities are visual and auditory perception (understanding what they see and hear).
Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
CAPD is a condition in which one has difficulty processing or interpreting information heard when in a noisy environment. Typically, individuals with CAPD have normal hearing when taking a traditional pure tone and speech-hearing test but are unable to interpret or process speech when in an environment which is not quiet. Environments such as a classroom and public gatherings can be disturbing because of this processing difficulty. Children with CAPD often perform below their potential in school and are often classified as "underachievers" by their teachers and parents. A psychological evaluation will most typically reveal that the child's aptitude is superior to or better than the child's actual performance or achievement in school. Some children with CAPD exhibit lower-than-normal activity levels (hypoactivity). These children do not act up in the classroom; in fact, they appear to be lazy, not active, or not social. Often parents report that these children are very tired after school. They are probably spending a lot of energy just trying to receive information heard in a meaningful manner.
