Learning Disorders not Mental Retardation

Every child is born unique. So how do we judge their development? Child growth has a pattern and every newborn undergoes that. It's part of our evolution. Children learn to speak, walk, read, and write. If your child has had appropriate learning experiences and instruction, but is unable to keep up with peers, it's important to find out why.  

Learning disorders are difficult to define. Their classification takes a backseat in relation to their effect on a child’s ability to learn. A commonality between all the disorders of this category is the deviation in processing in one or more brain areas. 

Learning disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that births abnormalities at a cognitive level that have a biological origin.
Simply put, learning disorders are a category of disorders that affects one ability of learning and thinking which in turn affects the way in which their brain takes in, uses, stores and sends out information. 

What they are not, mental retardation and brain damage.  

What causes it

• Learning disorders have a strong genetic root. About 50% of these children have a parent, sibling or an extended family member who has the same difficulty. Approximately 10% – 12% children are estimated to have specific learning problems out of which 4.6% of school aged children are identified as severely disabled. LD is commonly seen more in boys than girls, the ratio being 4:1.
• Any brain damage or psychological illness can also be an ailing factor. 
• Certain prenatal factors like premature birth, very low birth weight, malnutrition, substance abuse, can also be susceptible causes. 

Let us not forget one thing, there is no absolute known cause. 

Types 

The common is, specific learning disorder. These can be further classified into 5 categories, 

1. Reading disorder or dyslexia

Anciently known as word blindness. A reading disability affects the child's reading process, which includes difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition, or both, word decoding, reading rate, prosody (oral reading with expression), and reading comprehension. 

Eg, word reversal, phonetic confusion, slow reading rate, substitution and mispronunciation etc. 

2. Disorder of written expression or dysgraphia

Students with dysgraphia have strong verbal skills but poor writing skills, random punctuations and spelling errors, illegible writing, unfinished words or letters, cramped or unusual grip, labored copying or writing or inconsistencies within the writing. The impairment is because of an error in the coding process and not due to any physical issue.   

Eg, inconsistent spaces between words and letters, mix or print and cursive letters, excessive erases etc.

3. Math disability or dyscalculia 

This involves difficulty in learning various math concepts like quantity, place, value and time, difficulty remembering math facts, organizing numbers and page organization.

Eg, number reversal, difficulty in arranging objects based on their size or shape, difficulty in copying numbers, difficulty in judgment etc. 

4. Non verbal learning disability 

Nonverbal learning disabilities often manifest in motor clumsiness, poor visual-spatial skills, problematic social relationships, difficulty with mathematics, and poor organizational skills. 

5. Disorders of speaking and listening

These are co-occurring disorders that include difficulty with memory, social skills and executive functions such as organizational skills and time management

Impact of learning disorders 

They outline underachievement of a child in different areas of academic life. The affected skills are noticeably below the expected outcome of that age and this impairment is affecting the child’s daily routine. Symptoms range differently in intensity and might become noticeable only when the demands on the affected skills exceed the individual’s capacity. 

• The child is intelligent but is unable to cope with academic expectations. 
• Miswrites ‘on’ for ‘no’, ‘was’ for ‘saw’, ‘14’ as ‘41’.
• Has very short attention span
• Is enthusiastic about finishing a task but it comes out all wrong. 
• Difficulty with remembering relative concepts like today, yesterday and tomorrow 
• Can remember the names of all the cartoon characters, but doesn’t but doesn't remember math tables 
• Unable to do the mathematical calculations on paper but will give you an answer verbally. 
• Omits, adds or skips words while reading.
• Mood swings 

Identification of LD

They are traditionally diagnosed using psychometric testing. These assessments are done by a trained clinical psychologist. They perform a battery of tests to reach the final diagnosis. 

Right to special services 

According to the PWD Act 1995, students with learning disorders are given special concessions during their exams. 

• They are given extra time
• They are provided with a writer 
• Checking is lenient 
• Concession during the stream selection 

These practices are adopted worldwide. 

Treatment

Learning disability can be managed efficiently. A multidisciplinary approach is chosen that includes a psychologist, special educator, occupational therapists, psychiatrist and a pediatrist. 

Specific intervention strategies are used to help the students to achieve success in the areas of reading, writing, and math depending on the severity of the disorder. 

If a learning disability is not detected early, diagnosed correctly and treated effectively it gives room to additional emotional difficulties. The child may experience sadness, frustration, disappointment which makes the caregivers feel incompetent and helpless. At transform happily, we aim to clear the ambiguity around the identification and diagnosis of LD by spreading awareness.

Let us transform you, happily!