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Children and Learning Disabilities
What Parents Need to Know
By Jill L. Ferguson
Learning disability. The two words may bring back memories of fellow
students being taken out of your classroom and sent to a special room
for a few hours a day or a week. Those words have become a negative
label, a stigmatism, for many people. But what is a learning disability
and why do some people have them and others don’t? And what does it mean
if you or your child is diagnosed with a learning disability?
Learning disabilities have been legally described in educational by-laws
and under the Americans with Disabilities Act as “a significant gap
between a person’s intelligence and the skills a person has achieved at
each age.” The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) define a
learning disability or LD as “a disorder that affects people’s ability
to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from
different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many
ways—as specific difficulties with spoken and written language,
coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to
schoolwork and can impede learning to read or write, or to do math.”
The following list is symptoms of a possible learning disability. This
list is comprised of warning signs; it is not a checklist. Your child
may have a learning disability if he has poor estimation of space, poor
coordination, a tendency to lurch forward, a problem understanding what
is said, over-sensitivity to noise, difficulty following simple
directions, delayed speech and language, sounds and words out of
sequence (i.e. aminals and pasghetti), a poor vocabulary, a loss of
emotional control, an under- or over-reaction to touch, difficulty using
his hands to manipulate buttons, toys, etc., difficulty focusing,
problems distinguishing shapes and colors, difficulty remembering what
he sees, difficulty remembering the order or sequence of things,
disorganized movements, and difficulty keeping up with his things. Other
warning signs include double jointed sitting, not enjoying being read
to, indiscriminate or over-reactions, laughter one moment and crying the
next, difficulty with or avoidance of blocks and puzzles, clumsiness
(i.e. knocking over glasses of milk or juice), and untied shoes and
shirt hanging out. If your child has more than one of these symptoms,
consult your physician and your child’s school. Your child may have a
problem separate from a learning disability and only a doctor will be
able to properly diagnose the cause of the symptoms.
According to the NIMH, no one knows for sure what causes learning
disabilities. Some possible causes are genetic factors, parental
alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, problems during pregnancy or
delivery, toxins in the child’s environment, and chemotherapy or
radiation exposure at a young age. New scientific evidence seems to show
that learning disabilities do not stem from a single area of the brain;
the difficulties arise when information from the various levels of the
brain needs to come together. Studies from the NIMH have found, “New
research indicates that there may be variations in the brain structure
called the planum temporale, a language-related area found in both sides
of the brain.” For example, in a person with dyslexia, the two
structures are equal in size. In a person without dyslexia, the left
planum temporale is noticeably larger.
LD’s can be divided into three broad categories: developmental speech
and language disorders, academic skills disorders, and other—anything
not covered by the first two. Development speech and language disorders
include development articulation disorder, or the trouble controlling
the rate of speech; developmental expressive language disorder; and
developmental receptive language disorder, where the brain seems to be
set to a different frequency and perception is poor. Developmental
receptive language disorder often goes hand-in-hand with a developmental
language expressive disorder. Academic skills disorders include
developmental reading disorders, developmental writing disorders and
developmental arithmetic disorders. The other learning disabilities
category encompasses motor skills disorders and anything else.
Obviously, the types of learning disabilities are varied and affect
people in different ways. The NIMH says, “LD is a broad term that covers
a pool of possible causes, symptoms, treatments and outcomes.” The most
common learning disabilities include attention deficit and attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD), dyslexia and hyperlexia. Other,
rare forms of learning disabilities include dyscalculia (a math
disability caused by an organic condition of the brain in which a person
has a difficult time solving math problems and grasping math concepts),
dysgraphia (a writing disability where letters are hard to form and hard
to write in a defined space which is caused by brain damage) and
dyspraxia (the impairment of the ability to perform coordinated
movements).
Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity are
probably the most well known learning disabilities because of all the
press and controversy the diagnoses and its medications have received in
the last decade. This disability used to be referred to as “minimal
brain dysfunction” and affects three to five percent of school-age
children or approximately 800,000 children in the United States. The
characteristics that a child with ADD exhibits are inattentiveness,
talking excessively, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, or any combination
of the three. A child with ADD may daydream excessively, not seem to
listen or follow directions, and may hand in careless looking work,
according to Dr. Mel Levine, founder of All Kinds of Minds Institute and
professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical
School in Chapel Hill. NIMH literature points out that “a diagnosis of
ADD should be made only if the child shows such behaviors substantially
more than other children of the same age.” People with all levels of
intelligence have been diagnosed with ADD. The causes of the attention
problems are usually related to an inability to understand with is said
or what is going on, an inability to focus or concentrate for long
periods of time, and strong feelings or emotions that are affecting
concentration.
In order to help a child with ADD, one must first realize how the
disability is affecting her academic performance and then make
adjustments accordingly. Dr. Levine states, “Simply saying that a
student has ADD or ADHD does not help us know the cause of that
particular student’s attention problems when s/he is reading, writing or
doing a math problem.” Some suggested behavioral management techniques
for children with ADD are an organized and predictable environment,
having clearly defined behavioral expectations in advance, and having
immediate consequences for actions. The goal in working with or raising
a child with an attention disorder is to decrease undesirable behaviors
and to increasing positive behaviors through a system of rewarding and
ignoring, according to an article in the booklet,
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder—Policies/Information Regarding
Diagnosis/Interventions and Services, published in 1996 by the Learning
Disabilities Association.
Another common LD is dyslexia a term derived from the Greek “dys”
meaning “poor” and “lexis” meaning language. Dyslexia is characterized
by problems in expressive or receptive oral or written language.
According to the web site of the International Dyslexia Association,
“Dyslexia is not a disease; it has no cure. Dyslexia describes a
different kind of mind, often gifted and productive, that learns
differently.” People with dyslexia often show special talents in areas
that require visual, spatial and motor integration, but they have
problems with language processing—the ability to translate thoughts into
words and words into thought. The characteristics of dyslexia include a
lack of awareness of sounds in words, sound order, rhymes, or sequence
of syllables; a difficulty decoding words or with single word
identification; a difficulty encoding words or with spelling; poor
sequencing of numbers or letters in words; problems with reading
comprehension; delayed spoken language; imprecise or incomplete
interpretation of language that is heard; confusion about directions in
space or time; confusion about right- or left-handedness; similar
problems among relatives; difficulty with handwriting; difficulty with
math. These characteristics are a result from differences in the
structure and function of the brain, i.e. the planum temporale.
According to the NIMH, approximately 15-percent of the population is
dyslexic and about 2.4 million U.S. school children have this learning
disability. Children with dyslexia need special programs to learn to
read, write and spell. The International Dyslexia Association suggests,
“Individuals with dyslexia require a structured language program. Direct
instruction in the code of written language (the letter-sound system) is
critical. The code must be taught bit by bit, in a sequential,
cumulative way.” Dyslexics also need multi-sensory learning techniques
to master language. This learning should encompass seeing, hearing,
touching, writing and speaking at the same time.
A third kind of learning disability may seem not at all like a
disability at all when its most noticeable symptom appears. Hyperlexia
is often characterized or diagnosed by the precocious ability to read
words well above the child’s age level. This possibly good thing usually
accompanies other, not so positive behaviors. Other symptoms of
hyperlexia include an intense fascination with letter and/or numbers;
significant difficulty in understanding verbal language; abnormal social
skills; learning expressive language in a peculiar way; rarely
initiating conversation; an intense need to keep routines; auditory,
olfactory and/or tactile sensitivity; self-stimulatory behavior;
specific, unusual fears; normal development until 18 to 24 months old
and then regression; strong auditory and visual memory; difficulty
answering who, what, when, where and why questions; difficulty with
abstract concepts; selective listening. Hyperlexia has characteristics
similar to autism so hearing, neurological, psychiatric and blood
chemistry tests as well as genetic evaluations may need to be performed
to rule out other kinds of disorders, according to the American
Hyperlexia Association.
If your child is diagnosed with hyperlexia, the first thing to do is
find a speech and language pathologist who has worked with other
hyperlexic children. (The AHA can help you find a pathologist near you.)
In addition to the intensive speech therapy, you will need to teach your
child appropriate social skills. The AHA recommends doing this by having
your child interact with socially-appropriate behaving children on a
regular basis.
The aforementioned learning disabilities and any others are frustrating
for the children who have them. A child with a learning disability may
stop trying to learn, have trouble making friends, may act belligerent
or withdrawn, may get into fights, may play with younger children who
make them feel more comfortable, may not be able to interpret tone of
voice or facial expressions, and may act out inappropriately. As a
parent, you may experience denial, guilt, blame, frustration, anger and
despair. But there is hope.
The Learning Disabilities Association says “early intervention with a
child who is behind in social, cognitive, fine motor, gross motor,
and/or language development can make a world of difference.” The
Association encourages to contact the school district and your primary
physician if you see any signs of what could be a learning disability in
your child. Many disabilities seem hidden and are hard to spot, so
getting professional testing and screening is important.
There is no cure for LD; they are life long. Diana Moore of the Schwab
Foundation for Learning says to be knowledge and sceptical of quick
fixes. Parents need to do all they can—offer love, support, attention
and understanding as their child acquires the skills necessary to adapt
to life’s challenges. Moore says, “Keep up one’s research to know your
child’s strengths, challenges and learning style and to be able to ask
hard questions of any remedial program or provider.” Parents need to
work with the school system and stay abreast of any school evaluations.
(If need be, take your child’s clinician with you when you talk to the
school. Doing this will ensure you are all following the same plan for
your son or daughter’s education.) By law, schools have to provide an
adequate learning environment for your child’s disabilities. For more
information on this contact the Pennsylvania Department of Education or
your school superintendent’s office or school psychologist. As Dr.
Levine writes on his organization’s web site, “While parent/teacher
collaboration can be extremely beneficial, the key to a successful
management plan includes helping each student understand his profile of
strengths, areas in need of improvement and affinities.”
Focusing on your child’s strengths can boost her self-esteem. You may
need to hire tutors to work with your child after school or on weekends.
Be sure when you select a tutor or learning specialist, you look at his
or her certification and experience. The learning experience should
always involve using all of the senses. According to the NIMH, “By using
the senses that are intact and bypassing the disabilities, many children
develop needed skills. These strengths offer alternative ways the child
can learn.”
Helping your child learn will help your child prepare for the future and
will help him live to be a productive adult. Encourage your child to
develop positive, supportive friendships. Explain to your child that
learning disabilities occur in people of all levels of intelligence
(even Albert Einstein is said to have had a learning disability). Get
counselling for your child so she can establish a more positive attitude
and greater self-control. Join a local or national support group so on
the trying days you won’t feel like you are all alone. Structure tasks
and your home environment in ways that will encourage your child to
succeed.
If your child is almost of college age, help him choose a college
wisely. By law, all publicly-funded colleges and universities must
remove the barriers to disabled students learning, by offering isolated
testing areas, tape recorded lectures and tape recorded papers. Also,
testing services are required to provide oral versions of the college
entrance exams if necessitated by the disability. And when your child is
ready to enter the job market, the Learning Disabilities Association
offers a videotape titled “The Employment Interview and Disclosure: Tips
for Job Seekers with Learning Disabilities” for $22.95 plus ten percent
for shipping and handling.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The All Kinds of Minds Institute is a non-profit
agency that helps families, educators and clinicians understand why
children are struggling in school and provides practical strategies to
help them become more successful learners. P.O. Box 3580, Chapel Hill,
NC 27515,
www.allkindsofminds.org
American Hyperlexia Association is a volunteer-based,
awareness organization that produces an award-winning web site and
newsletter for parents of children with hyperlexia. 195 W. Spangler,
Suite B, Elmhurst, IL 60126,
www.hyperlexia.org
Learning Disabilities Association is a national
non-profit organization dedicated to a world in which all individuals
with learning disabilities thrive and participate fully in society and a
world in which the causes of learning disabilities are understood and
addressed. The LDA offers videotapes about learning disabilities for
sale on their web site. 4156 Library Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15234-1349,
www.ldanatl.org
National Institute of Mental Health is the federal
agency that supports nationwide research on the brain, mental illnesses
and mental health. They have created online books on learning
disabilities which can be viewed at or printed from
www.nimh.nih.gov
Schwab Foundation for Learning is dedicated to raising
awareness about learning differences and providing parents and teachers
with the information, resources and support they need to improve the
lives of kids with learning differences. SFL is the first and only
organization to offer customized information and individual
responsiveness from professional resource consultants, librarians and
information specialists online or over the phone for anyone who has
concerns and questions about learning differences, according to their
web site. 1650 South Amphlett Boulevard, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94402,
www.schwablearning.org
Author, editor, public speaker, professor Jill L.
Ferguson has written more than 700 articles, many on topics of interest
to parents. Her novel, Sometimes Art Can't Save You, was published in
late October 2005 by In Your Face Ink. She chairs the general education
department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and she is
available to speak to schools and to community groups.
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