Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making).

Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:

oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding);
reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension);
written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and
mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving).

Learning disabilities may also involve difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, social interaction and perspective taking.

Learning disabilities are lifelong. The way in which they are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual’s strengths and needs. Learning disabilities are suggested by unexpected academic under-achievement or achievement which is maintained only by unusually high levels of effort and support.

Learning disabilities are due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner which affects one or more processes related to learning. These disorders are not due primarily to hearing and/or vision problems, socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, lack of motivation or ineffective teaching, although these factors may further complicate the challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities may co-exist with various conditions including attentional, behavioural and emotional disorders, sensory impairments or other medical conditions.

For success, individuals with learning disabilities require early identification and timely specialized assessments and interventions involving home, school, community and workplace settings. The interventions need to be appropriate for each individual’s learning disability subtype and, at a minimum, include the provision of:

specific skill instruction;
accommodations;
compensatory strategies; and
self-advocacy skills.

A learning disability is not:

a health problem
a physical disability
a visual or hearing problem
a behavioural problem
a mental or emotional problem
low intelligence
autism
a cognitive disability

What are some of the common characteristics of LD?

The following is a list of common characteristics of an LD student. Conditions must be persistent over a long period of time. Presence of these conditions does not necessarily mean a person is learning disabled.

Reading Skills

Poor decoding skills
Poor reading fluency
Slow reading rate
Lack of self-monitoring reading skills
Poor comprehension and/or retention
Difficulty identifying important ideas in context
Extreme difficulty building ideas and images
Difficulty integrating new ideas to existing knowledge
Weak vocabulary skills
Extreme difficulty understanding words or grammar
Difficulty recognizing high frequency words
Oral comprehension is noticeably stronger than reading comprehension
Extreme difficulty focusing attention on the printed marks
Difficulty controlling eye movements across the page
Wavy or shimmering pages not attributable to poor vision

Spelling Skills

Phonological awareness is noticeably stronger than spelling ability
Frequent spelling errors of high frequency words
Extreme difficulty with homonyms and/or regular spelling patterns
No understanding of the relationship of phonics to written language
No understanding of common spelling rules
Inadequate understanding of phonics even with instruction

Written Expression Skills

Poor writing fluency
Unable to compose complete, grammatical sentences
Difficulty organizing written information
Poor handwriting
Extremely poor alignment
Inability to take notes or copy information from a book or the board
Oral expression is noticeably stronger than written expression
Extremely weak proofreading skills

Oral Language Skills

Inability to hear small differences between sounds, not attributable to a hearing loss, particularly vowel sounds
Difficulty articulating thoughts or ideas orally
Difficulty pronouncing words
Inability to blend sounds together to form words
Difficulty listening and responding to a series of directions
Disorganized recall of facts or details

Mathematical Skills

Poor mathematical fluency
Difficulty memorizing multiplication tables
Difficulty identifying multiples and/or factors
Poor basic calculation skills

Difficulty understanding word or application problems
Poor understanding of mathematical concepts
Difficulty sorting out irrelevant information
Lower visual perceptual and visual-spatial ability
Inability to transfer basic mathematical concepts to solve problems with unpredictable information
Inability to use basic facts within more complex calculations

Memory Skills

Extremely weak ability to store and retrieve information efficiently
Extremely weak ability to hold information for immediate use

Reasoning Skills

Extremely weak ability to solve problems, particularly when information or procedure is unfamiliar
Extreme difficulty recognizing, transforming, or using specific information to reach general conclusions

Types of learning disabilities

Academic skills

People with academic learning disabilities can have problems with:

Reading (phonics, recognizing words or understanding printed text)
Writing (spelling, creating sentences, grammar, using punctuation, expressing thoughts in writing)
Math (reasoning, functions like adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing)

Organization and Focus

These ‘executive functions’ allow us to plan, think ahead and pay attention. Problems in these areas can have a big impact on how we learn and manage our day to day lives. Learning disabilities in these areas can make it challenging for some students to organize their time, finish homework, and remembering when tests and assignments are coming up. Some students may often lose schoolwork, books, clothes or lunch bags.

What causes learning disabilities?

Most learning disabilities are present at birth, and result from the way a child’s brain develops. It is also possible for a child to develop a learning disability after a brain injury or other problems that effect the brain (like epilepsy). Learning disabilities are not caused by poor parenting, poverty or a child’s lack of motivation (although these things can definitely affect learning). There is no ‘cure’ for a learning disability, and children don’t outgrow them. But with support, children and youth can learn to manage LDs effectively in their daily lives.

How common are learning disabilities?

According to Statistics Canada, (2006), about 3.2% of Canadian children have a learning disability. That’s about 1 out of every 31 children in Canada, about 1 student in every classroom.

Impact of learning disabilities

Learning disabilities can have major impacts on a child’s life, because so much of a child’s life at home, school and with peers depends on learning. But the greatest impact is at school. Children and youth with difficulties reading and writing will need support in subjects like history, geography, science and language arts.

A learning disability may be even more obvious when teachers use methods that make learning even more challenging for the child or teen. For example:

Teaching by talking or lecturing, without using visual aids (like diagrams or written text) can make learning difficult for students who are ‘visual’ learners.
Classrooms where there is an emphasis on writing will be difficult for students with writing disabilities.

Technology that emphasizes the sharing of ideas has made a big difference for some students. Software is now available to:

‘Read’ text aloud. This allows the student to focus on the meaning of the information, rather than struggling with recognizing or sounding out words.
Convert speech into writing. Again, this allows students to focus on what they want to say, rather than struggling with how to spell it and put it into a sentence that makes sense to others.

Conditions that often occur along with learning disabilities (Comorbid Conditions)

People with learning disabilities may also have problems with:

Attention. Many people with learning disabilities also have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), making it difficult for them to focus and pay attention.
Mood, anxiety and behaviour. Learning disabilities can make school and learning more challenging. They may also affect social relationships. These stresses can affect moods, and cause anxiety and behaviour problems. It’s a 2 way street, though. Problems with mood, anxiety and behaviour also affect learning.
Listening and speaking (which may be part of a Communication Disorder).
Coordinating large or small muscle movements. This can mean difficulties walking, running, throwing a ball or playing sports. It can also mean trouble with hand writing, drawing or other hand movements.

The right environment can improve the potential for learning for students with LDs. The impact of a learning disability also depends on the student, and how much the mode of learning they struggle with is used in their life. Accessing resources within the school system can benefit the student and make learning somewhat easier. Acceptance of learning disabilities is growing and the need for different methods of learning is growing. Not everyone can learn the same way and accommodations need to be made to ensure every student’s needs are being met.

REFERENCES

http://www.ementalhealth.ca/Saskatchewan/Learning-Disabilities/index.php?m=article&ID=16737

https://www.ldas.org/about-us/definition-of-learning-disabilities/

http://www.msjc.edu/learningskillsprogram/pages/learning-disabilities-characteristics.aspx