These are diagnosed when the individual’s achievement in reading (reading disorder), mathematics (mathematics disorder) or written expression (disorder of written expression) is substantially below that expected for age, schooling and level of intelligence. The learning problems significantly interfere with academic achievement. Demoralisation, low self-esteem, deficits in social skills, higher school drop-out rates are associated with learning disorders. They can also interfere with higher level skills such as organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short term memory and attention. It is important to realize that learning disabilities can affect an individual’s life beyond academics and can impact relationships with family, friends and in the workplace. There may also be associated with conduct disorders, ADHD, and communication disorders
COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER
There is impairment in the ability to express oneself through language in the form of limited amount of speech and vocabulary and difficulty in acquiring new words, shortening of sentences and omission of critical parts of sentences. It may be acquired or developmental. It is most commonly associated with articulation problems.
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER
There is difficulty in understanding words and sentences. The difficulty is far below the age-appropriate level. The child appears to be deaf though he responds to non-language sounds. Overall prognosis is less favorable than that for expressive language disorder.
PHONOLOGICAL DISORDER
It is also called developmental articulation disorder. There is defective articulation which is disproportionate to the appropriate age levels. The most common speech sounds that are misarticulated are r, sh, th, f, z, l and ch which are normally acquired later in the developmental sequence. The child may omit (by for blue), substitute (wabbit for rabbit), or distort (lisping of words).
STUTTERING
The essential feature is a disturbance in the normal fluency and tune patterning of speech that is inappropriate for the individual’s age.
PHONOLOGICAL DISORDER
Also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, this is a condition that adversely affects how sound that travels unimpeded through the ear is processed or interpreted by the brain. Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. They can also find it difficult to tell where sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of sounds, or to block out competing background noises.
Has difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks but may have no trouble interpreting or recalling non-verbal environmental sounds, music, etc.
May process thoughts and ideas slowly and have difficulty explaining them
Misspells and mispronounces similar-sounding words or omits syllables; confuses similar-sounding words (celery/salary; belt/built; three/free; jab/job; bash/batch)
May be confused by figurative language (metaphor, similes) or misunderstand puns and jokes; interprets words too literally
Often is distracted by background sounds/noises
Finds it difficult to stay focused on or remember a verbal presentation or lecture
May misinterpret or have difficulty remembering oral directions; difficulty following directions in a series.
Has difficulty comprehending complex sentence structure or rapid speech
“Ignores” people, especially if engrossed
Says “What?” a lot, even when has heard much of what was said
LEARNING DISABILITIES IN READING (DYSLEXIA)
There are two types of learning disabilities in reading. Basic reading problems occur when there is difficulty understanding the relationship between sounds, letters and words. Reading comprehension problems occur when there is an inability to grasp the meaning of words, phrases, and paragraphs.
Signs of reading difficulty include problems with:
- letter and word recognition
- understanding words and ideas
- reading speed and fluency
- general vocabulary skills
- Reads slowly and painfully
- Experiences decoding errors, especially with the order of letters
- Shows wide disparity between listening comprehension and reading comprehension of some text
- Has trouble with spelling
- May have difficulty with handwriting
- Exhibits difficulty recalling known words
- Has difficulty with written language
- May experience difficulty with math computations
- Decoding real words is better than nonsense words
- Substitutes one small sight word for another: a, I, he, the, there, was