When someone uses the term “learning disability”, they are referencing a wide range of issues that affect someone’s mental, social, and physical development. Dyslexia falls under the category of learning disabilities, as does Sensory/Auditory Processing Disorders and dysphasia. Children with a mild or moderate learning disability may be comfortable in social settings and may need little to no adjustments in their academic program. Children with severe learning disabilities may require special learning tools, techniques, and assistance in order to succeed to their greatest potential. All parents should be aware of the vast types of cognitive disabilities, so they can spot possible signs of a learning disability in their child or so they can help their child understand classmates with a learning disability.
Put simply, a learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. This term may be used to describe conditions such as perceptual disabilities, complications from brain injuries, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. However, learner disabilities is not used to describe learning problems that have resulted from intellectual disability, emotional or environmental disturbance, or economic disadvantage.
2.4 million students are diagnosed with specific learning disabilities and receive services under IDEA. They represent 41% of all students receiving special education services. 75-80% of special education students have identified their learning disability to be related to deficits in language and reading skills. Outside of the school system, 60% of adults with severe literacy problems have undetected, undiagnosed, or untreated learning disabilities.
Common Types of Learning Disabilities in Children
Dysphasia/Aphasia: Both dysphasia and aphasia are an impairment of language. They often co-exist.
Auditory Processing Disorder(APD): Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, following directions, and distinguishing between similar sounds.
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD; also known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction: A condition that exists when multisensory integration is not adequately processed in order to provide appropriate responses to the demands of the environment.
Dyscalculia: A condition that makes it hard to make sense of numbers and math concepts.
Dysgraphia: A condition that causes trouble with written expression. This may include struggles with holding a pencil, organizing letters on a line, spelling, or putting thoughts on paper.
Dyslexia: Dyslexia is primarily associated with trouble reading. Some doctors, specialists and educators may refer to it as a “reading disorder” or a “reading disability.” But it can also affect writing, spelling and even speaking.
Dyspraxia: A condition that makes it hard to plan and coordinate physical movement. Children with dyspraxia tend to struggle with balance and posture. Dyspraxia goes by many names: developmental coordination disorder, motor learning difficulty, motor planning difficulty and apraxia of speech.
Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVD or NVLD: A disorder which is usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills.
Perceptual Disabilities
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, defines perceptual disabilities as a specific learning disorder. Perceptual disabilities are distinguished by the sensory area affected.
Visual perceptual disabilities: May involve organization, position, distance, and hand-eye coordination, as well as things like focusing on what’s significant among a group of visual stimuli and reading social cues, such as facial expressions.
Auditory perceptual disabilities: The sensation of touch and the sense of touch may be dulled or unusually sensitive
Smell and taste perceptual disabilities: Sensitivity to smell and taste and an inability to make distinctions
Proprioceptive perceptual disabilities: Issues kinesthetic sense and body awareness; problem in this area may cause a child to be clumsy
Vestibular perceptual disabilities: Issues with the body’s balance and equilibrium system causes by an imbalance in the inner ear
Is it a disorder or developmental delay?
Most disabilities occur before a child is born but some can occur after birth due to infection, injury, or other factors. Causes of developmental delay are harder to pinpoint. Developmental delay is a possible early sign of learning disabilities. However, being a slow learner doesn’t mean the child has a learning disability. Also, learning disability doesn’t mean the child is mentally retarded. Children with learning disabilities are as smarter than their peers and often have higher IQ than their peers but learn differently.
Minimal Brain Dysfunction
Minimal brain dysfunction is a neurodevelopment disorder which can be found in nearly 20% of all school children. It is a mild impairment of brain functions that affects perception, behavior, and academic ability. It is characterized by dyslexia, difficulty writing, or hyperactivity.
Learning Disability Risk Factors
Family history of learning disabilities
Injuries and long-term illnesses affecting neurological development
Parental substance abuse
Poor prenatal medical care and nutrition
Prenatal injury or delivery complications
Exposure to environmental toxins such as lead or toxic mold
Abuse and neglect
Signs/Symptoms of Learning Disabilities(Age: Preschool)
Problems pronouncing words
Trouble finding the right word
Difficulty rhyming
Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, or days of the week
Difficulty following directions or learning routines
Difficulty controlling crayons, pencils, or scissors
Difficulty coloring with the lines
Trouble with buttons, zippers, snaps, learning to tie shoes
Signs/Symptoms of Learning Disabilities(Age: 5-9)
Trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds
Unable to blend sounds to make words
Confuses basic words when reading
Consistently misspells words and makes frequent reading errors
Trouble learning basic math concepts
Difficulty telling time and remembering sequences
Slow to learn new skills
Signs/Symptoms of Learning Disabilities(Age: 10-13)
Difficult with reading comprehension or math skills
Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
Spells the same word differently in a single document
Poor organizational skills
Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
Poor handwriting
ADD/ADHD
ADD/ADHD is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Although ADD/ADHD is not considered a learning disability, it has significant impact on children’s learning and development. Learn more about ADD/ADHD from the top experts: http://bit.ly/2anenLP
Autism
Autism is serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others. Some children with learning and attention issues have similar symptoms as children with autism spectrum disorder. Learn more about autism from the top experts: http://bit.ly/2a7n3Vv
Helping Children with Learning Disabilities
Learning that your child has a learning disability can seem insurmountable. Try to keep things in perspective. Everyone faces obstacles. It’s your role as a parent to teach your child how to deal with whatever obstacles they have without becoming discouraged or overwhelmed. Your main task is to continue to give your child lots of emotional and moral support.
Become an expert about your child’s learning disability by hitting the books and the internet to find lots of research. Of course, reach out to experts(teachers, therapists, doctors) while you conduct your own research, but take charge in finding the tools that your child needs in order to learn.
With all of your new information at your disposal, be an advocate for your child. You will have to speak up every now and then to get special help for your child, especially in the classroom.
Your most important task as a parent of a child with learning disabilities is to remember that your child will follow your lead. If you treat their disability as a challenge that can be overcome, your child will view their disability in the same way. Approach their learning challenges with optimism, hard work, and a sense of humor. Your child will model your positive approach and you can work together on finding what works for your child.