learning disability

a disorder found in children of normal intelligence who have difficulties in learning specific skills

The term learning disability is used to refer to socio-biological conditions that affect a persons communicative capacities and potential to learn. The term includes conditions such as perceptual disability, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, autism, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Someone with a learning disability does not necessarily have low or high intelligence (trait)intelligence, it just means this individual is working far below their ability due to a processing disorder, such as auditory processing or visual processing. Learning disabilities are usually identified by School_psychologistschool psychologists through testing of intelligence, academics and processes of learning.

Official definitions - The term “learning disability” was apparently first used and defined by Kirk (1962, cited in Streissguth, Bookstein, Sampson, & Barr, 1993, p.144). The term referred to a discrepancy between a child’s apparent capacity to learn and his or her level of achievement. A review of the LD classifications for 49 of 50 states revealed that 28 of the states included IQ/Achievement discrepancy criteria in their LD guidelines (Ibid., citing Frankenberger & Harper, 1987). However, the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities (NJCLD)(1981; 1985) preferred a slightly different definition"Learning Disability" is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to Central Nervous System Dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g. sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance) or environmental influences (e.g. cultural differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors) it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences.'' The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (United States) defines a learning disability this way. . .a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. . . .Learning disabilities include such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.''

Contrast with other conditions - People with an IQ lower than 70 are usually characterised as having mentally retardedmental retardation (MR), Mentally deficientmental deficiency, or cognitive impairment and are not included under most definitions of learning disabilities, because their learning difficulties are related directly to their low intelligence. In contrast, learning disabled individuals have the potential to learn as much as other people of average intelligence, but something is preventing them from reaching that potential.In the UK, learning disability is often confusingly used as a synonym of mental retardation, due to the social stigma attached to the latter term. However, this is not internationally recognised, and the correct term for people with an IQ below 70 remains mental retardation.Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often studied in connection with learning disabilities, but it is not actually included in the standard definitions of learning disabilities. It is true that a person with ADHD struggles with learning, but he can often learn adequately once he or she is successfully treated for the ADHD. A person can have ADHD but not be learning disabled or be learning disabled without having ADHD.

Types of learning disabilities - Learning disabilities involve many areas of perception, which include:

Visual or Auditory Discrimination

*perceiving differences in either sights or sounds

Visual or Auditory Closure

*filling in missing parts of sights or sounds

Visual or Auditory Figure-ground Discrimination

*focusing on an object and disregarding its background

Visual or Auditory Memory, either short-term or long-term

Visual or Auditory Sequencing

*putting what is seen or heard in the right order

Auditory Association and Comprehension

*relating what is heard to other things, including definitions of words and meanings of sentences

Spatial Perception

*laterality (above vs. below, between, inside vs. outside) and one's position in space

Temporal Perception

*processing time intervals in the range of milliseconds, critical to the development of speech processing

Nonverbal Learning Disability

*Processing nonverbal cues in social interactionsVarious terms are used to describe particular learning disabilities. A person can have one of them or more than one of them.Some of them are as follows:

Speech and language disorders

*difficulty producing speech sounds (articulation disorder)

*difficulty putting ideas into spoken form (expressive disorder)

*difficulty perceiving or understanding what other people say (receptive disorder)

Dyslexia--the general term for a disability in the area of reading.

*difficulty in phonetic mapping, where sufferers have difficulty with matching various orthographic representations to specific sounds

*difficulty with spatial orientation, which is stereotyped in the confusion of the letters and , as well as other pairs. In its most severe form,

and , all distinguished primarily by orientation in handwriting, look identical to the dyslexic

*difficulty with sequential ordering, such that a person can see a combination of letters but not perceive them in the correct order

Dysgraphia--the general term for a disability in the area of physical writing. It is usually linked to problems with visual-motor integration or fine motor skills.

Dyscalculia--the general term for a disability in the area of math.An accepted way of referring to these people as "special" is due to their special circumstances.In modern times it is generally regarded as unacceptable to deride or make fun of someone for such a disability.

Possible causes - Various theories have been posited for the cause or causes of learning disabilities. They are thought to involve the brain in some fashion. The most common causes are thought to be:

defects or errors in brain structure

drug abuse

poor nutrition

passed on in parents genes

lack of parental involvement during early development stages in the infant

lack of communication between various parts of the brain

incorrect quantities of various neurotransmitters, or problems in the brain's use of these transmitters

* common neurotransmitter problems include insufficient dopamine, improper serotonin regulation, and excessive ''dopamine reuptake'' where emitting neurons reabsorb too much dopamine after releasing them to communicate with other neurons (also implicated in Clinical depressiondepression).

Treatment - Learning disabilities may be treated with a variety of methods but are usually considered to be lifelong disorders. Some (adjustments, equipment and assistants) are designed to accommodate or help compensate for the disabilities while others (Special Education) are intended to make improvements in the weak areas. Treatments include:

Classroom adjustments:

*special seating assignments

*alternative or modified assignments

*modified testing procedures

Special equipment:

*electronic spellers and dictionaries

*word processors

*talking calculators

*books on tape

Classroom assistants:

*note-takers

*readers

*proofreaders

Special Education:

*prescribed hours in a special class

*placement in a special class

*enrollment in a special school for learning disabled students

See also -

Special education

External links -

TeachingLD.org - TeachingLD

ldonline.org - LD Online

mental-health-matters.com - Mental Health Matters: Learning Disorders

schwablearning.org - Schwab Learning

nild.net - National Institute for Learning Disabilities

ldresources.com - LD Resources

sparktop.org - LD of children, age 8 - 12 (requires Flash)Category:Childhood psychiatric !disordersCategory:DisabilityCa tegory:Special? education!*de:Lernbehinderungja:学 習障害zh: 3416;習障礙s imple:Learning? difficulties

LD OnLine
Interactive guide to learning disabilities for parents, teachers, and children. Articles, research, chat rooms, forums, newsletter, audio clips, calendar, store, ask the expert, resources, Kid Zone, personal essays, and a good search feature.
http://www.ldonline.org/

Learning Disabilities Association of America
A national organization of parents, professionals and individuals with learning disabilities. Promoting advocacy, education, and research into the causes of learning disabilities to improve the quality of life.
http://www.ldanatl.org/

LD Resources
This site contains a variety of resources for the learning disabilities community, including articles and links to other resources and references.
http://www.ldresources.com/

Curry School of Education
School information, news, admissions, and departments.
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/

British Institute for Learning Disabilities
Committed to improving the lives of all persons with a Learning Disability.
http://www.bild.org.uk/