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What is a Learning Disability?
The term learning disability refers to a variety of disorders that affect the acquisition, retention, understanding, organization or use of verbal and/or non-verbal information. These disorders result from impairments in one or more psychological processes related to learning, in combination with at least average abilities essential for thinking and reasoning. Other terms such as dyslexia and dyscalculia are used and refer to particular types of learning disability. Learning disabilities are specific, not global, impairments and as such are distinct from intellectual disabilities.
Learning disabilities range in severity and invariably interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following important skills:
- oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding)
- reading (e.g. decoding, comprehension)
- written language (e.g. spelling, written expression)
- mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving)
People with learning disabilities may also have difficulties with organizational skills, social perception and social interaction.
The impairments are generally life-long. However, their effects may be expressed differently over time depending on the match between the demands of the environment and the individual's characteristics. Some impairment may be noted during the pre-school years while others may not become evident until much later. During the school years, learning disabilities are suggested by unexpectedly low academic achievement or achievement that is sustainable only by extremely high levels of effort and support.
Learning disabilities are due to genetic or other congenital and/or acquired neuro-biological factors. They are not caused by factors such as cultural or language differences, inadequate or inappropriate instruction or socio-economic status or lack of motivation, although these and other factors may compound the impact of learning disabilities. Frequently, learning disabilities co-exist with other conditions including attentional, behavioral and emotional disorders, sensory impairments or other medical conditions. Learning disabilities can occur in severe, moderate or mild forms. People with learning disabilities have their own individual profiles of strengths and weaknesses; no two people are exactly the same and the impact on each individual is different
What is Nonverbal Learning Disability?
The nonverbal learning disability syndrome was first identified in the early 1970s. It is quite different from what we usually think of as a "learning disability." Children with this problem may have difficulty when first learning to read but then master the basics of reading quite well. They may even do well overall in school while in the elementary grades, but then begin to have more trouble in junior and senior high school, as subjects become more complicated or abstract. Often these children just seem to have more trouble getting along in life than others their age. While every child is different, common characteristics of nonverbal learning disability include the following:
Clumsiness or poor coordination
Difficulty with visual-spatial organizational tasks
Difficulty recognizing faces which should be familiar
Poor handwriting
Difficulty with math
A poor sense of direction
Trouble finishing homework assignments in the allotted time
Tendency to make inappropriate social comments
Difficulty relating in an age-appropriate manner to other children
Incessant talking
An aversion to anything novel
Difficulty seeing the "big picture."
Nonverbal learning disability involves three general categories of difficulty:
Motor - lack of coordination, balance problems, difficulty with writing or drawing
Visual-spatial and organizational skills - poor ability to visualize things, poor visual recall, faulty spatial perceptions and/or difficulties with spatial relations
Social - poor ability to comprehend nonverbal communication, or trouble "reading people"; difficulty adjusting to transitions and novel situations; poor social judgment and difficulties with age-appropriate social interaction.
Attention problems frequently co-exist with this syndrome.
What can be done to help these children?
- Academic assistance and accommodations in the classroom
- Social skills training to improve social interaction and self-esteem
- Occupational therapy to improve perceptual-motor skills
- Psychological support or counseling to address emotional issues
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