Learning Disorders: Causes, Characteristics, and Epidemiology

LEARNING DISORDERS

DEFINITION A disorder in one or more of basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia (reading), and developmental aphasia (speaking).

Learning Disability does not include learning problems that result from Visual, hearing, or motor disabilities Mental retardation Emotional disturbance Environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Characterized by academic underachievement in reading, written expression, or mathematics in comparison with overall intellectual ability find it difficult to keep up with their peers in certain academic subjects, whereas they excel in others. Significant difference between student s scores on test of general intelligence (e.g. IQ test ) and scores obtained on achievement test.

Behavioral Characteristics Poor grades Physical complaints (headaches, back aches, hand cramps, etc.) School absences: getting removed from class or sometimes suspended from school Complain about assignments or the school itself Easily frustrated with assignments Gets provoked easily Gets depressed-

CAUSES Heredity- tends to run in families Illness or injury during pregnancy and delivery- use of drugs, alcohol during pregnancy, RH incompatibility (blood group), premature or prolonged labor or lack of oxygen or low weight at birth. Incidents after birth: Head injuries, nutritional deprivation, poisonous substances, (e.g., lead), and child abuses

EPIDEMIOLOGY 5% of children suffer from some form of learning disability. Dyslexia most common-80-85%. Twice as common in males as in females 25% of Learning disabilities have associated Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder- (ADHD) 35% of children with learning disabilities drop out of high school.

TYPES OF LEARNING DISORDERS Dyslexia - A language and reading disability Dyscalculia - Problems with arithmetic and math concepts Dysgraphia - A writing disorder resulting in illegibility Dyspraxia - (Sensory Integration Disorder) Problems with motor coordination

Central Auditory Processing Disorder - Difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks Non-Verbal Learning Disorders - Trouble with nonverbal cues, e.g., body language; poor coordination, clumsy Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit - Reverses letters; cannot copy accurately; Language Disorders (Aphasia/Dysphasia) - Trouble understanding spoken language; poor reading comprehension

READING DISORDERS Reading achievement below expected level for child's age, education & intelligence, with impairment interfering significantly with academic success or daily activities involving reading Developmental alexia-developmental deficit in recognition of printed symbols Dyslexia replaced by broader term learning disorder

CLINICAL FEATURES Usually identified by 7 year (second grade) Characterized by omissions, additions and distortions of words. Have difficulty in distinguishing between printed letter characters and sizes, especially those that differ only in spatial orientation and length of line. Child's reading speed is slow, often with minimal comprehension.

May start a word either in middle or at end of printed or written sentence Have age appropriate ability to copy from written or printed text, but nearly all spell poorly. Problems pronouncing multisyllabic words (e.g. aminals for animals and sblanation for explanation ) Many false starts, hesitations, and nonspecific terms. Dislike and avoid reading and writing.

MATHEMATICS DISORDERS Dyscalculia, congenital arithmetic disorder, acalculia, and developmental arithmetic disorder Have difficulty learning and remembering numerals, cannot remember basic facts about numbers, are slow and inaccurate in computation.

Poor achievement in four groups of skills: Linguistic skills (those related to understanding mathematical terms and converting written problems into mathematical symbols) Perceptual skills (ability to recognize and understand symbols and order clusters of numbers) Mathematical skills (basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and following sequencing of basic operations) Attentional skills (copying figures correctly and observing operational symbols correctly).

EPIDEIOMOLOGY Affect 1 percent of school-age children, More common in females Co-morbid with reading disorder and disorder of written expression. Early theory-neurological deficit in right cerebral hemisphere Currently cause is thought multifactorial- maturational, cognitive, emotional, educational, and socioeconomic factors

CLINICAL FEATURES Detected during 2nd and 3rd grades Difficulty in learning number names, remembering signs for addition and subtraction, learning multiplication tables, translating word problems into computations, doing calculations at expected pace. Has significant problems with concepts, such as counting and adding even one-digit numbers, compared with classmates of same age.

DISORDER OF WRITTEN EXPRESSION Dysgraphia, spelling disorder, spelling dyslexia Characterized by writing skills that are significantly below expected level for child's age and intellectual capacity. poor spelling, errors in grammar and punctuation, and poor handwriting. Spelling errors and phonetic errors (Eg- fone for phone, or beleeve for believe) Poor performance on composing written text, including handwriting and impaired ability to spell and to place words sequentially in coherent sentences

CLINICAL FEATURES serious grammatical mistakes, using incorrect tenses, forgetting words in sentences, and placing words in wrong order. Punctuation may be incorrect with poor ability to remember which words begin with capital letters Letters are not legible, inverted letters, and mixtures of capital and lowercase letters in given word. Poor organization of written stories, which lack critical elements such as where, when, and who or clear expression of plot.

LEARNING DISORDER NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED Disorders in learning that do not meet criteria for any specific learning disorder. Might include problems in all three areas (reading, mathematics, written expression) That together significantly interfere with academic achievement performance scores measuring each individual skill is not substantially below to the given person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

Mixed disorder of scholastic skills Ill-defined, inadequately conceptualized (but necessary) residual category of disorders Both arithmetical and reading or spelling skills are significantly impaired, But disorder not solely explicable in terms of general mental retardation or inadequate schooling. Used for disorders meeting criteria for specific disorder of arithmetical skills and either specific reading disorder or specific spelling disorder.

Management Direct instruction One on one instruction and help Break learning into small steps Supply regular quality feedback Use diagrams, graphics, and picture to help them understand the content/topic

Model instructional practices you want students to follow. Provide prompts of strategies for them to use. Engage students in process type questions. For example: How is the strategy working? Where else might you apply it? focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning which requires specific, directed, individualized, intensive remedial instruction for students who are struggling.