Learning Disabilities

What is a learning disability?

A child with a learning disability cannot try harder, pay closer attention, or improve motivation on their own; they need help to learn how to do those things. A learning disability is caused by a problem in the nervous system that affects how information is received, processed or communicated. There are a variety of disorders that affect the way verbal and non-verbal information is acquired, understood, organized, remembered and expressed.

Types of learning disabilities

There are a variety of skills impacted by learning disabilities. They cover the gamut from language and reasoning to calculation and motor skills. Learning disorders cause havoc in a child’s life on a daily basis. If left untreated, the frustration and difficulties caused by the learning problems, both at home and in school, creates stress and hardship resulting in the child feeling bad about themselves.

Here is a list of the different types of learning disabilities frequently identified:

Language

• Reading Disorder
• Disorder of Written Expression

Calculation

• Mathematics Disorder

Problems with Motor Skills

• Developmental Coordination Disorder

Communication Disorders

• Expressive Language Disorder  
• Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder
• Phonological Disorder
• Stuttering

Skills impacted by learning disorders

Oral Language — listening, speaking, and understanding

Reading — decoding and comprehension

Written Language — spelling and written expression

Mathematics — computation and problem solving

Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

Some signs of learning disabilities present themselves in early childhood which is beneficial because the earlier a problem is recognized, the sooner an intervention can be made, allowing for a better prognosis. Often a developmental lag is not considered a symptom of a learning disability until the child is much older and attending school, which wastes precious treatment time. By noticing if your toddler or preschooler is not meeting normal developmental milestones you can get ahead of the game by having your child evaluated further. You know your child better than anyone else does, so if you think there is a problem, even though a professional tells you there isn't one, it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion. Parents have a sixth sense about these things, especially if this is not your first child.

When the learning disability is not diagnosed early-on, parents are often surprised to find out that their bright and imaginative child is struggling in school. They are shocked when their child receives a low score on a standardized test or a progress report comes home indicating their child is "underachieving" or "not working up to their full potential."

FREQUENT SIGNALS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES

Signs that appear in preschool

• Delay in understanding or using spoken language
• Difficulty understanding simple instructions
• Lengthy pause before naming objects and colors
• Limited awareness or interest in books
• Difficulty coloring or drawing
• Problems with motor coordination
• Short attention span (won't sit through one storybook)

Symptoms in school-age children

• Difficulty understanding and following instructions
• Trouble remembering what someone just told them
• Failing to master reading, spelling, writing, and/or math skills and therefore fails schoolwork
• Difficulty telling the difference between "right" and "left," problems identifying words or a tendency to reverse letters, numbers or words (e.g., confusing "b" with "d," 18 with 81, or "on" with "no.")
• Lacking motor coordination when walking, playing sports, holding a pencil or trying to tie a shoelace
• Frequently loses or misplaces homework, schoolbooks or other items
• Unable to understand the concept of time, confused by the difference between "yesterday," "today," and "tomorrow."

Neurological conditions that make learning difficult

Conditions affecting concentration

Anxiety, depression, stressful events, emotional trauma, and other conditions affecting concentration make learning more of a challenge. Difficulty in mastering certain academic skills can also stem purely from a neurological basis. Here is a list of neurological conditions that can affect your child’s ability to learn, if you would like more information about these conditions please see Helpguide’s article: Other conditions impacting ability to learn (PDF)

• Visual processing disorder
• Auditory processing disorder
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
• Pervasive Developmental Disorders (Autism and Asperger’s)
• Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Learning Disability Testing

Determining whether your child has a learning disability involves testing, history taking and observation by a trained specialist. Finding a reputable referral is important, start with your child's school; if for some reason they are unable to help you, ask your insurance company, doctor, friends and family.

Specialists trained to do psychological testing and result interpretation

• Clinical psychologist
• School psychologist
• Educational psychologist
• Developmental psychologist
• Neuropsychologist
• Psychometrist
• Occupational therapist (tests sensory disorders that can lead to learning problems)
• Speech and language therapist

Sometimes several professionals coordinate services as a team to obtain an accurate diagnosis, including input from your child's teachers. Recommendations can then be made for special education services or speech-language therapy within the public school system or a more appropriate school placement may be in a nonpublic school that specializes in treating learning disabilities.

For a list of nonpublic schools in your area go to the website for your state's Department of Education. For example, in California see: Nonpublic Schools Database .

Tips for students with learning disabilities

Here are a few common interventions and accommodations that can be used with children in their regular classrooms. Talk to your child's teacher about creative ways to make learning more fun.

Visual problems

• For problems with reading - try enlarged print for books, papers, worksheets or other materials which makes tasks more manageable
• Improving tracking and focus - using colored construction paper, cut a window out of a rectangle to create a frame that is placed on top of the worksheet, it helps keep the relevant numbers, words, or sentences, in clear focus while blocking out much of the peripheral material which can be distracting. As the child's tracking improves, the prompt can be reduced. For example, after a period of time, you can replace the "window" with a ruler which still provides additional structure. This can be reduced further by having the child point to the word they are reading with their finger or pencil
• For problems with writing - adding more structure to the lined paper they write on can be helpful. For example, lines can be made darker and more distinct; paper with raised lines provides kinesthetic feedback; worksheets can be simplified and less material can be placed on each worksheet; using paper which is divided into large and distinct sections can help to improve penmanship when doing math problems

Auditory problems

• When giving verbal instructions - try to supplement with written materials or other visual cues
• Simplify verbal directions - give two commands instead of three, slow the rate of speech, and minimize distractions
• Help build auditory processing skills - rhyming games build phonics awareness and improve discrimination skills between similar and different sounds; sorting games involving verbal commands help to improve memory

Help for learning disabilities is coming from brain science

The ability of the brain to change

Using a telephone analogy, the source of a learning disability is in the brain where faulty wiring disrupts normal lines of communication making it difficult to process information easily. Obviously, it's much more complex than that but if a phone company had service down in a certain area of the city they might fix the problem by re-wiring the connections to bring service back on-line. Similarly, through learning, our brain has the ability to change its structure, and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, a term called neuroplasticity. Neuro is for "neuron," the nerve cells in our brains and nervous systems, and plastic means changeable or modifiable.

Norman Doidge, M.D., author of a book entitled, The Brain that Changes Itself, states the brain is like a muscle that grows when you stimulate it under the right conditions. When you are motivated to learn new things, the experience can physically change the structure of the brain. This means that learning disabilities can be treated whenever the diagnosis is made, and since motivation is a key aspect in neuroplasticity, age can be an advantage when the intervention occurs. Dr. Doidge supports this premise by providing examples of success stories.

Science has made great strides in understanding the inner workings of the brain, and while these programs don't work for everyone, the success stories provide hope that further research holds the key for the creation of additional innovative treatments for learning disabilities.

Tipping the scales toward success

Primary learning style:

For years educators have been aware of the advantages of introducing children to enriched learning environments that reinforce a child's primary learning style whether they are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner.

• A visual learner often thinks in pictures and can more easily comprehend a lesson if provided with visual aides. They understand the teacher's intended communications by paying close attention to the teacher's facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures and body language. For example, if a visual learner is only presented with verbal information they will absorb and retain less information than if the verbal instructions were combined with visual materials.
• An auditory learner interprets the underlying meaning of speech through tone, pitch and voice speed.
• Kinesthetic learners absorb information more easily by physically interacting with their environment through movement, drawing or taking notes.

Knowing what your child's primary learning style is and using it to maximize their ability to understand information, can help your child reach their optimal potential.

DETERIMING YOUR CHILD’S PRIMARY LEARNING STYLE
VISUAL learners see the world in images or pictures	AUDITORY learners are good listeners	KINESTHETIC learners process information through their bodies and touch
Excels in the traditional classroom because most material is presented and tested visually	Do well in lecture based learning environments and are active in classroom discussions	Have trouble sitting still in class. They must touch, explore and create in order to learn. They are unable to process or retain material just by seeing or listening
They need to see to learn	Distracted by noise, conversation or music	Memory is linked to movement
They love to draw, write and are good organizers	Enjoy reading, looking at pictures, watching people and thrive with interaction and verbal repetition	Thrive in sports, drama, dance
Tools: books, videos, computers, posters	Tools: talk, discussion, debate	Tools: skits, note taking, art

Related links

Comprehensive sites on learning disabilities

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - Facts for Families provides concise and up-to-date information on issues that affect children, teenagers, and their families. Access is available to 93 different subjects. Document #16 is an overview of Learning Disability facts. (aacap.org)

National Center for Learning Disabilities - Discusses what a learning disability is, how parents and school personnel can work together, and the social and emotional challenges of learning disorders. (ncld.org)

LD Basics - A wealth of information describing the full spectrum of learning disabilities and how to spot them, plus advice for parents on responding and getting help. (ldonline.org)

The Warning Signs of Learning Disabilities - Gives an extensive list of learning disability categories. (ldam.org)

LD Evaluation Process -Guides parents step by step through the maze of meetings, tests, and forms that comprise the process of having a child evaluated for a learning disability. (SchwabLearning.org)

Specific learning disabilities

Recognizing Dyslexia - Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities to be aware of. (Dyslexia-Teacher.com)

Dyscalculia: Learning Disabilities in Mathematics - Discusses symptoms, diagnosis, effects, and treatment for the learning disability dyscalculia. (National Center for Learning Disabilities)

Dysgraphia - Provides a description of the writing problems that are characteristic of the learning disability dysgraphia, with a wealth of solutions. (West Virginia University)

Nonverbal Learning Disorders - Excellent overview of this often-neglected learning disability, which often goes unidentified until adolescence. (LD Online) 

Other problems that affect learning

Auditory Processing Disorder in Children - Clear, detailed description of this learning disability where the child's ears work properly, but the brain has trouble interpreting what the ears hear. (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Understanding Sensory Integration - Provides an overview of the learning disability sensory integration dysfunction, which heightens and confuses the sensory information a child takes in. (LD OnLine)

Early acquisition of ASL, an innovative approach to treating ADHD (PDF) - authored by Deborah A. Cutter, Psy.D., MFT, Clinical Director of Creative Behavioral Consultants and Susan M. Zneimer, Ph.D., FACMG , Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

How your child learns – Provides an overview in how to determine your child’s primary learning style. (Parentsource.com)

Deborah Cutter, Psy.D., Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Suzanne Barston and Tina de Benedictis, Ph.D., contributed to this article  Last modified on: 04/01/08.