Learning Disabilities (LD)

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• QWhat is developmental reading disorder (dyslexia)?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  This type of disorder, also known as dyslexia, is quite widespread. In fact, reading disabilities affect 2 to 8 percent of elementary school children.
  A person can have problems in any of the tasks involved in reading. However, scientists found that a significant number of people with dyslexia share an inability to distinguish or separate the sounds in spoken words. Other children with dyslexia may have trouble with rhyming games, such as rhyming "cat" with "bat." Yet scientists have found these skills fundamental to learning to read. Fortunately, remedial reading specialists have developed techniques that can help many children with dyslexia acquire these skills.
  However, there is more to reading than recognizing words. If the brain is unable to form images or relate new ideas to those stored in memory, the reader can't understand or remember the new concepts. So other types of reading disabilities can appear in the upper grades when the focus of reading shifts from word identification to comprehension.
• QWhat are academic skills disorders?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Students with academic skills disorders are often years behind their classmates in school. The diagnoses in this category include:

  • Developmental reading disorder
  • Developmental writing disorder
  • Developmental arithmetic disorder
• QWhat is developmental articulation disorder?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Children with this disorder may have trouble controlling their rate of speech. Or they may lag behind playmates in learning to make speech sounds. Developmental articulation disorders are common. They appear in at least 10 percent of children younger than age 8. Fortunately, articulation disorders can often be outgrown or successfully treated with speech therapy.
• QWhat are developmental speech and language disorders?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Speech and language problems are often the earliest indicators of a learning disability. People with developmental speech and language disorders have difficulty producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say. Depending on the problem, the specific diagnosis may be:

  • Developmental articulation disorder
  • Developmental expressive language disorder
  • Developmental receptive language disorder

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• QWhat is developmental writing disorder?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Writing involves several brain areas and functions. The brain networks for vocabulary, grammar, hand movement, and memory must all be in good working order. So a developmental writing disorder may result from problems in any of these areas. A child with a writing disability, particularly an expressive language disorder, might be unable to compose complete, grammatical sentences.
• QHow are learning disabilities treated?

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  A American Academy of Ophthalmology's EyeSmart answered

  A child with a learning disability needs to practice academic skills and learn helpful strategies with the aid of a trained specialist, just as an athlete should practice under a coach’s guidance.
  Several recent reviews of behavioral vision therapy literature have confirmed that to date, no scientific evidence has shown that visual training, or muscle, perceptual and hand-eye coordination exercises can improve a child’s learning disability.
  If you or your child’s teachers suspect a learning disability, you should contact the child’s school, and if necessary, the local or state director of special education. Public law requires schools to evaluate any child who is thought to have a learning disability.
  The evaluation is handled by educators and typically involves educational, psychological or neuropsychological testing. Other evaluations may be conducted by a learning disabilities specialist, a speech/language pathologist, an audiologist or a school nurse.
  A thorough medical eye examination can discover a visual defect that may afect reading.
  It is important that parents and teachers participate in this process and are involved when decisions about the child’s educational needs are being made.
  Remedial training should be done by a qualified education teacher, reading specialist and in special education classes when appropriate.
  A child with learning disabilities needs understanding and emotional support, as well as opportunities to experience success in other activities. Allowing a child to release tensions and frustrations through sports or artistic activities can be helpful.
• QWhat is developmental arithmetic disorder?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Arithmetic involves recognizing numbers and symbols, memorizing facts such as the multiplication table, aligning numbers, and understanding abstract concepts like place value and fractions. Any of these may be difficult for children with developmental arithmetic disorders. Problems with numbers or basic concepts are likely to show up early. Disabilities that appear in the later grades are more often tied to problems in reasoning.
• QWhat causes learning disabilities?

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  A Portsmouth Regional Hospital answered

  The causes of learning disabilities are not well understood. Genetic defects may be one cause, and problems during pregnancy such as toxemia or drug use may be another contributing factor. Premature birth, low birth weight, lead exposure, and jaundice after delivery may also be causes of learning disabilities in children.

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• QWhat happens to people who have learning disabilities?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  Although different from person to person, the difficulties of learning disabilities make up the common daily experiences of many learning disabled children, adolescents, and adults. A person with a learning disability may experience a cycle of academic failure and lowered self-esteem. Having these handicaps--or living with someone who has them--can bring overwhelming frustration. But the prospects are hopeful. It is important to remember that a person with a learning disability can learn. The disability usually only affects certain limited areas of a child's development. In fact, rarely are learning disabilities severe enough to impair a person's potential to live a happy, normal life.
• QWhat is a learning disability?

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  A American Academy of Ophthalmology's EyeSmart answered

  A learning disability is a disorder in understanding or using spoken or written language. Individuals with learning disabilities have average or even above-average intelligence, but experience problems with:

  • Reading;
  • Writing;
  • Listening;
  • Speaking;
  • Concentration;
  • Doing mathematical calculations.

  About 7 to 15 percent of all school-aged children have been diagnosed with a learning disability.
  Dyslexia is a type of learning disability that involves difficulty with reading.
  The term learning disabled does not apply to children who have learning problems caused by vision or hearing problems, intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbances, or who have environmental, economic or cultural disadvantages.