- Learning
Disabilities : For Parents
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- The term learning
disability describes a neurobiological disorder
in which a person's brain works or is structured
differently. These differences may interfere
with his or her ability to think and remember. A
variety of motor, social, memory, organizational
and attentional problems may also negatively
impact academic achievement. Learning
disabilities can affect a person's ability to
speak, listen, read, write, spell, reason,
recall, organize information, and/or do
mathematics.
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- According to the
National Institutes of Health, twenty percent of
the school population, or one in five Americans,
are learning disabled. Learning disabled
individuals comprise fifty percent of the
special education population in the United
States.
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- Though learning
disabilities are common, they are not well
understood. This is due, in some measure, to the
heterogeneity of the population. Individuals
with learning disabilities evidence different
characteristics and each individual is unique in
displaying only some of these characteristics.
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- What are the most
common learning disabilities?
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- Dyslexia—a
language-based disability in which a person has
trouble understanding words, sentences, or
paragraphs.
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- Dyscalculia—a
mathematical disability in which a person has a
difficult time solving arithmetic problems and
grasping math concepts.
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- Dysgraphia—a
writing disability in which a person finds it
hard to form letters or write within a defined
space.
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- Auditory and Visual
Processing Disabilities—sensory disabilities
in which a person has difficulty understanding
language despite normal hearing and vision.
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- What areas of
learning are affected by learning disabilities?
- Receptive language
problems (i.e. listening) can cause difficulties
within and outside the classroom and often
affect social interaction. Verbal dialogue
(conversation) or humor may be misunderstood.
Listening comprehension deficits are readily
observed in oral expressive language, reading
comprehension and written expression. Frequently
poor auditory perceptual skills are diagnosed in
these children and are the contributory factors
to receptive language disorders.
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- Expressive language
problems include word finding difficulties, lack
of specificity with vocabulary, and an inability
to organize thoughts. Individuals with oral
language disorders may mispronounce
multi-syllabic words, confuse word order
(syntax) in sentence structure, substitute
pronouns (e.g. "me want") or have difficulty
using language socially in context (pragmatics).
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- Written language
problems often affect individuals with reading
disorders, and may be displayed through
spelling, handwriting, and/or composition. In
middle or high school, written language often
becomes the more obvious disability.
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- Mathematics can be
another problem academic area for some students
with learning disabilities. Specifically, these
disabilities may involve deficits in
quantitative thinking, numerical reasoning,
temporal and spatial concepts and calculation.
Memory deficits often inhibit the memorization
of math facts.
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- What are some common
signs of learning disabilities?
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- Preschool
