An Exploration of Learning Disabilities
The designation Learning Disabilities encompasses a number of neurologically-based problems involving processing information. These not only include difficulties with basic academic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics but also issues with higher functioning capabilities such as organization, managing time, engaging in abstract reasoning, remembering experiences and retaining factual information. While many of the challenges caused by these disabilities effect academic and work performance, they can also influence personal and social relationships as well.
Although parents may recognize a child’s learning disability once they begin school, or even before, they may not undergo a formal evaluation until they reach secondary school or even have entered the work force. Indeed, some individuals may never understand why certain areas of learning seem to be more difficult for them than others. A learning disability is not related to IQ and should not be confused with a learning problem due to a visual or hearing handicap, mental retardation or cultural, economic or environmental disadvantages. It’s caused by a difference in brain structure that changes how the individual processes information.
As a rule, people with a learning disability are of average or above average intelligence. Because of their disability, there is a significant gap between potential and actual achievement. Sometimes these disabilities are described as “hidden” because the person seems bright and aware and yet may seem to be unable to reach the same academic skills level as his or her peers.
A learning disability cannot be “cured” but with appropriate support and training, it can be improved, allowing people to reach a higher level of success in school and at work and in other areas of their lives. Below is a brief description of different types of learning disabilities that may exist on their own or in combination with others.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
In people with this condition, sound travels to the ear but may be misinterpreted when it reaches the brain. The result is nuanced differences in the way words sound are not recognized even though the words are heard. There may also be issues with identifying where sound is coming from, making sense of the order in which sounds are heard and being able to block out disruptive background noise.
Language Processing Disorder (LDP)
This is a specific form of APD in which the person has difficulty attaching meaning to certain sound groups that form words and sentences. All sounds coming through the brain are affected by APD, but only sounds involved with language are an issue with LPD.
Dyscalculia
This learning disability specifically impacts the ability to understand numbers and remember math facts. People with dyscalculia find it difficult to comprehend math symbols and may have trouble memorizing tables, organizing numbers, counting and telling time.
Dysgraphia
This disability affects written communications since it can result in illegible handwriting, poor spatial planning on paper and spelling. It can also make it difficult to compose and express ideas while physically writing them.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is often referred to as a Language-Based Learning Disability and may effect between 70% to 80% of those with reading problems. The severity of this disorder differs from person to person but it affects reading fluency, comprehension and recall, which, in turn, affects writing, spelling and sometimes speech.
Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities
With this disorder, there is a significant difference between a person’s higher verbal skills and fine motor, visual-spatial and social skills. Consequentially, there is a problem noticing body language, facial expressions and other non-verbal cues that are often as important as the spoken word.
Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit
Those who have this condition have difficulty understanding what they see or reproducing it in a drawing or copy. They have poor eye and hand coordination, hold writing instruments awkwardly, and miss subtle differences in the way letters are printed or shapes are produced.
Causes
What causes Learning Disabilities is still being explored and researched. They seem to be related to issues with brain structure and are usually present at birth. They may inherited genetically or may be due to damage incurred in vitro from substance abuse, exposure to toxins like lead in the water or paint, poor nutrition or other factors affecting the mother’s health during pregnancy.
Whether the result of genetics or the environment, the supposition is that learning disabilities are primarily caused by developmental abnormalities in the area of the brain that deals with language. In addition, research indicates that children who don’t receive sufficient affection, attention and stimulation consistently from birth until they are at least three years old are more likely to develop learning disabilities than those who do. Assuming they’ve had normal brain development in the womb, people can still develop a learning disability because of a traumatic brain injury or various diseases involving premature dementia.
Treatment
Depending on the particular learning disability, people can use various strategies to deal with and minimize the negative results of their handicap. Teachers and learning specialists start by developing programs that build on the disabled learner’s strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. As a rule, the earlier this intervention takes place, the more successful it will be. When children function to the best of their abilities as soon as possible, it goes a long way to preventing problems with self-esteem, depression and other negative emotions throughout their lives.
Special Education Services
Once in the education system, a learning disability will probably be recognized and the child’s parents will be told about various services the family may qualify for under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). In most states, this help can start when a child is 3 years old and extend through their school years or until they are 21. Details about the specific rules and guidelines of the IDEA are available from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.
One of the guiding principles of IDEA is that every child must be treated as an individual with their own Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed just for them. This written education plan includes a list of specific goals to be achieved within a set time period that are appropriate for that child, a detailed plan on how these goals will be achieved and a list of the specialists who will be working with the child.
Another core belief of the IDEA is that every child be allowed to learn in the least restrictive environment appropriate for its needs. The goal is to enable children to get the extra help they need but still allow them to have as normal a school experience as possible.
Techniques Used
Various methods have been developed to administer education under IDEA that are designed to allow children to make the most of their abilities and to compensate for their lacks. Below is a brief list of some of the more common techniques used by teachers and aides in special education:
- Multi-sensory experiences to teach abstract concepts including the use of music, graphics and video
- Offering mmediate feedback on performance
- Allowing extra time to finish tasks
- Recording directions and information for audible delivery of assignments and information so children can hear directions as well as see them written down
- Giving oral testing instead of written tests
- Providing the opportunity to create homework reports in video instead of in a written format.
- Presenting students with written notes, outlines and study guides that they can use without having to create them
- Ensuring a quiet environment with minimal distractions
- Alerting the child to any changes in routines or the environment to minimize anxiety
Neurofeedback
While many of the techniques mentioned above help people cope with their learning disabilities, none of these methods is able to reduce or eliminate the disability itself. Neurofeedback, by contrast,
actually improves the brain’s ability to function by training specific areas to learn and execute skills such as math, reading, and auditory and visual processing more effectively.
Neurofeedback deals with different areas of the brain that are all must work together during the learning process. These separate parts of the brain must communicate with each other at a very high speed. If one part of the brain operates at a different speed than another, the ability to connect is impaired and so is the facility to learn. Neurofeedback provides connectivity training to enhance the coordination of different brain sectors. By improving the brain’s “timing,” the power to learn is significantly increased as well.
Furthermore, these improvements are usually permanent ones. Since Neurofeedback is non-invasive, painless and has little or no side effects, it can be used by children as young as four years old, providing early intervention for the most productive result.
Please visit our page on neurofeedback to learn more about this therapy and use the search function on this site to find a clinician listed near you who uses it to help those with learning disabilities.