Understanding and Identifying Learning Disability

 10 year old Ankit was restless and fidgeting with his pen by the time he had finished writing a paragraph about his ‘feavoriet aneml: the bog'.

"Good job, Ankit." I said and handed him Brainvita to play while I tried to understand what he had written.

"You really love dogs, don't you? Let us read this book about dogs." I said as we read the book together so that Ankit did not have to struggle hard with the text. This was a classic case of a child with LD.

What is LD?

Before we try to understand what Learning Disability (LD) is, let us understand what LD is not.

A. Learning Disability is NOT a disease.

Hence, it cannot be cured. But don't panic. It can be overcome.

B. LD is NOT mental retardation.

On the contrary, a child diagnosed with LD has average to above average intelligence.

What is LD?

Humans learn just like computers. We take INPUT from outside which we PROCESS and store in our MEMORY. We later recall it when required and give OUTPUT.

But for some children, this seemingly easy process is not very smooth. They could have difficulty in dealing with what they see or hear (input). At times, there could be difficulty in organising or remembering the information being processed or there could be problems related to expressing what they know (output).

The reason why this kind of difficulty is called ‘Learning Disability' is because despite having normal intelligence, some children have difficulty in learning.

In technical terms:

• Learning Disabilities are neuro-psychological problems.

• A child with LD will show specific disability in reading, writing or mathematical skills in presence of normal intelligence.

• A child is said to have learning disability when his/her achievement level is low as compared to ability.

Causes of LD

Though the exact cause of LD is not known, it is assumed to be genetic. It runs in the family.

Other causes

• It could be caused due to trauma before birth.

• Low birth weight and delayed crying after birth are also probable causes of LD.

• Certain infections like meningitis, brain tumours can cause LD.

• Head trauma and epilepsy may also cause LD.

Types of Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities are of three types:

1. DYSLEXIA: Difficulty with language and words. Problems with reading and spellings.

2. DYSGRAPHIA: Difficulty in writing.

3. DYSCALCULIA: Difficulty with mathematical reasoning and calculations.

Identifying LD

1. Children with LD are good at oral work, but, their written performance is poor.

2. Difficulty in remembering sequences like days of the week, months of the year, even letters of the alphabet

3. Losing place in the page while reading

4. Difficulty in copying from the blackboard

5. Mirroring and inversions e.g. writing "b" for "d" and "u" for "n" (though this is fairly common among all children up to grade 2)

6. Skipping or adding words while reading

7. Guessing the words from the first letter instead of reading

8. Jumbled spellings

9. Inserting vowels in words unnecessarily

10. Reading words backwards e.g. "god" instead of "dog"

11. Jumbled sentences

12. Illegible handwriting due to difficulty in forming letters

13. Writing too large or too small

14. Writing too hard sometimes tearing the paper

15. Incomplete and untidy work

16. Inattentive and hyperactive

17. Mixing up mathematical symbols. Confusion between "=" and "-"; "+" and "x"

18. Difficulty with remembering tables

19. Cannot understand word problems

20. Reading numbers backwards e.g. 53 instead of 35

21. Confusion in space orientation. Cannot distinguish between left and right

Though LD is not diagnosed till reading and writing starts in school, there are some signs to watch out for in early childhood which suggest the presence of LD.

• Slight delays in gross motor development—
  • Difficulties in balancing
  • Falling often
  • Difficulties in throwing and catching
  • Walking into walls and doors

• Difficulty in fine motor skills. E.g. problems in buttoning clothes, tying laces etc.

• Difficulty in repeating songs and jingles.

• Restlessness and hyperactivity.

A positive attitude is what you need to help a child having LD. It can be remediated with love, support and guidance from a trained educator.

I had contributed this article to a parenting website few years ago. You can click the link below to read it from there.

http://blog.appystore.in/smart-parenting/understanding-and-identifying-learning-disability-in-kids/