What Is A Learning Disability?
Nowadays, the terms ‘learning disorders’ or ‘learning difficulty’ is becoming quite popular among parents. ‘What is a learning disability?’ If you are a worried parent and looking for an answer to this question, then this article may help you in finding some of your answers.
For any parent, their kid’s first day at school is always one of the most cherished moments of the lifetime. Parents have lots of expectation for their kids’ future hence puts lots of effort towards their kids learning in school as well as towards social learnings. However, dreams of some of the parents get a setback, when they find that their kids are much slower as compare to other kids of their class. Their kids’ face difficulty in both reading and writing. They even face problems in solving math’s problems. If your kid also faces similar issues, then you need to consult professional as there are chances that your kid might be suffering from learning disability.
However, you should understand that not all the kids facing learning issues have a learning disability. Their learning issues must be simple learning problems which occurred as a result of late maturity. Hence, it is very important to understand What is a learning disability? What are the early signs of learning disability? etc.
- 1 What is a Learning Disability?
- 2 Cause of Learning Disability
- 3 Genetic
- 4 Effected Central Nervous System
- 5 Oxygen Shortage During Birth
- 6 Illness
- 7 Environmental Toxins
- 8 At what age learning disorders can be diagnosed?
- 9 What Are the Early Warning Signs of Learning Disability?
- 10 Step by Step Checklist to Diagnose Learning Disabilities
- 11 Talk to Your Child’s Teacher
- 12 Ask for An Assessment
- 13 How to Help A Kid with A Learning Difficulty?
What is a Learning Disability?
Learning Disability is a kind of neurological disorder in which an individual faces difficulty in various fields of learning like difficulty in reading, writing, spellings, and mathematics. This disorder occurs at a very early stage of life. However, its signs and symptoms are recognized once the child starts attending school. Learning disability is a lifelong condition. It cannot be fixed. In this condition, an individual linking ability of what he sees and hear are affected.
An individual may have single or multiple learning disabilities. Kids having overlapping disabilities needs more attention and care.
Learning disabilities are also known as learning disorders, hidden disabilities, specific learning difficulties, specific learning disabilities, and dyslexia.
Cause of Learning Disability
As you have learned about ‘What is a learning disability?’ let us discuss what can cause learning disorders?
It can be caused due to various reasons:
Researchers have linked its association with a particular gene. Hence, it can be inherited. Learning disability disturbs the processing system of the brain. In this condition, a kid faces problem in correlating information produced by various parts of the brain.
Effected Central Nervous System
A newborn baby may have a learning disability if anything has affected the child’s Central nervous system during pregnancy itself. This may occur if the mother has met with some accident or suffered any major illness during pregnancy.
Oxygen Shortage During Birth
Inability to get sufficient oxygen at the time of birth can be another reason for having learning difficulties.
A child may have a learning disability if he suffered from any kind of illness, or had an accident or seizure during early childhood.
Many toxins and environmental impurities can make a child suffer with learning disability.
At what age learning disorders can be diagnosed?
This disorder has a direct effect on the kid’s learning abilities. Hence, it is generally diagnosed during the first two years of school. Your kid would be around 7-8 years old at that time.
What Are the Early Warning Signs of Learning Disability?
- Find reading difficult and face lots of issues while reading.
- Poor spelling and might have difficulty in spelling similar words
- Difficulty in recognizing syllables and sounds in words
- Messy handwriting
- Lack the confidence regarding school work.
- Difficulty in solving maths problems which might be easier as compared to kids of similar age group.
- Kids with this disorder generally lag behind in academics as compare to kids of their age group. In case your child shows either one or many signs from the above-mentioned list, then he/she may have a learning disability.
Step by Step Checklist to Diagnose Learning Disabilities
Talk to Your Child’s Teacher
The very first person who may help you in diagnosing the learning disability is your kid’s teacher. It is always better to consult the teacher and request regular feedback on your child’s progress. You can even discuss your kid’s test results with the teacher. This would help you in finding if your kid makes any specific pattern of mistakes. A teacher who has a good understanding of what is a learning disability would be in a better position to help your kid in school.
Ask for An Assessment
You may even ask for a professional assessment of your kid from the school. The school may organize for either a psychologist or a speech therapist for your kid. In case this facility is not provided by the school you may approach the specialist by yourself.
How to Help A Kid with A Learning Difficulty?
If your kid has a learning disability, then the one thing that you should never do is hiding the reality from your kid. Kids, having this disorder, generally lack confidence and have low self-esteem. Telling your kid about the reason behind their problems would help them realize that it’s a medical condition. Make them understand what a learning disability is and how they can overcome this problem.
Some of the ways through which you can help your kid are:
Be a role model:Kids always take their parents as their role model. They like to follow their parent’s footsteps. Be a role model for your kid and teach them to be positive in life, to not to give up and keep trying till you succeed, teach them the importance of hard work and to never to lose hope.
Always encourage your kid in anything new he tries.
Celebrate your kid’s achievements.
Talk to your kids and try to work out new ways through which he/she can overcome their disabilities.
Spend time with your kids and make them realize how important they are for you.
Give responsibilities to your kid. This will help them in building self-esteem.
Let your kid make his or her decision. It is good to provide support to them but avoid being an overprotective parent
If possible, try to arrange for extra support like tuitions, arranging an extra time during examinations or to buy a software that may help your kid in learning.
If your child has a learning disability, it’s better to take professional help. With love, care and some extra support your kid could find ways to overcome his/her disabilities.