Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities affect people’s ability to interpret and link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations manifest themselves in the form of difficulties with spoken and written language, attention, coordination, self-control, listening, thinking, speaking, reading, spelling and mathematical calculations.
The term learning disability includes conditions such as brain injury, perceptual handicaps, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and development aphasia. The term does not include children with developmental delays, emotional disturbance, problems that are the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities or problems resulting from environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage.
Facts
- One in ten Canadians have a learning disability.
- Thirty-five percent of students identified with learning disabilities drop out of high school.
- It is the most common long-term condition suffered by children 0 to 14 years of age.
- Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, General George Patton, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill and Alexander Graham Bell all achieved great success even though they had or have a learning disability (disabled-world.com).
- Almost 50% of adolescent suicides had previously been diagnosed as having learning disabilities.
(Learning Disabilities Association)
Causes
The specific causes of learning disabilities are unknown. They seem to be caused by difficulties with the nervous system. There is also a significant hereditary factor, in that learning disabilities run in families.
Symptoms
- Difficulties with understanding and following instructions
- Difficulties with short term memory
- Failing schoolwork because of problems with reading, writing and math skills
- Reversing letters or words
- Lacking coordination
- Difficulty understanding concepts such as time and direction (left/right)
Diagnosis
- The only person who can diagnose a learning disability is a doctor specializing in the area. You may have symptoms of a learning disability but not have one.
- It is difficult to distinguish between learning differences and learning disabilities.
- Everyone has learning differences, but when they are so severe that they affect day to day living and learning, a disability may be present.
- Early detection and treatment of learning disabilities is imperative.
Treatment
The most common treatment for learning disabilities is special education.
Where to go for help
If you or someone you know is struggling in school and learning disabilities may be the cause, it is important to talk to your parents, a teacher or a school counsellor right away. Early detection is the key to a successful future.
Links
Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities help guide
Learning styles test
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry