What is a learning disability?
Learning Disability is a disorder that affects people’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many ways—as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and can impede learning to read or write, or to do math.
Learning disabilities fall within the class of neurological issues called developmental disabilities, in that they are chronic, they limit success in one or more major life areas and they cannot be reversed by medication. The good news about learning disabilities is that while they’re permanent, they’re also treatable. The sooner a child’s learning disability is discovered, the more effectively parents and professionals can intervene to maximize his or her learning potential. But even adults who have gone undiagnosed can compensate for learning deficits.
What are the types of learning disabilities?
Students with academic-skills disorders are often years behind their classmates in developing reading, writing or arithmetic skills. The diagnoses in this category include:
- Reading disorder (Dyslexia)
- Disorder of written expression (Dysgraphia)
- Mathematics disorder (Dyscalculia)
- Learning disorder not otherwise specified
What are the signs and symptoms of a learning disability?
Parents often are surprised to find out that a child they think of as bright and imaginative is struggling in school. They may be surprised by an unexpectedly low score on a standardized test, or a teacher might report that the child is “underachieving” or “not working up to his potential.” Not all such problems are the result of learning disabilities, as you’ll see below, but there are certain tipoffs that a child might be experiencing a cognitive roadblock.
Moreover, some signs of learning disability present themselves in early childhood. By taking notice of how a toddler or preschooler is approaching certain developmental milestones, one can form an idea of whether one should have the child tested for possible disabilities.
Some of the signs that a preschool child has a learning disability are:
- delay or difficulty in understanding or using spoken language
- difficulty understanding simple instructions
- slowness in naming objects and colors
- limited awareness of or interest in print (in books and other sources)
- difficulty coloring, copying, and drawing
- problems with physical coordination
- short attention span (can’t sit still long enough to be read a story)
Once the child starts school, signs of learning disabilities can become more apparent more readily. Parents and teachers may note the following problems in elementary and secondary students:
Grades KG-5:
- Has difficulty pronouncing words, reversing letters or transposing syllables
- Has difficulty carrying out a sequence of directions
- Doesn't hear fine differences in words; e.g., writes "pin" for "pen"
- Has problems stating thoughts in an organized way or describing math problems in words
- Confuses the order of letters in words or numbers in a math problem
- Doesn't recognize words previously learned
- Spells a word several different ways; doesn't recognize the correct version
Grades 6 to adulthood:
- Has difficulty remembering something just read
- Has difficulty concentrating when reading or writing
- Is unable to tell important information from unimportant details
- Spells poorly; misspelling is not phonetic
- Has great difficulty with the mechanics of writing
- Has problems taking notes or copying math problems accurately
- Has difficulty organizing and completing written projects
How do learning disabilities affect people’s lives?
The psychological effects of learning disabilities vary from person to person, but for learning-disabled people they can include:
- frustration
- low self-esteem
- stress
- depression
At school, teachers may experience:
- frustration
- anger
- feelings of inadequacy
At home, parents may live with
- stress and even burnout
- frustration
- guilt
Assessment
To assess learning disability, the assessment of intelligence and assessment of academic achievement is done by a psychologist or a trained professional.
Treatment
The most common treatment for learning disabilities is special education. Trained psychologists may perform a diagnostic educational evaluation assessing a child's academic and intellectual potential in addition to his or her level of academic performance. Once the evaluation is complete, the basic approach is to teach learning skills by building on the child's abilities and strengths, while correcting and compensating for disabilities and weaknesses.