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Learning disabilities occur in many forms. They may include difficulties in the areas of visual, auditory, motor control, communication, and processing. The federal government defined learning disabilities in Public Law 94-142, named "The Education of All Handicapped Children Act." According to this act, the official definition of a learning disability is: "… a disorder in one of more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps, or mental retardation, of emotional disturbance or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage."
Certain symptoms trigger suspicion of learning disabilities. These include immature speech, the inability to transfer words from oral to written form, and difficulty remembering names for persons, places, or things. Certain social behaviors can also prove symptomatic: a difference in performance from day to day, restlessness, short attention span, impulsiveness or inappropriate responses. Some motor skills can be affected by learning disabilities making the person experience difficulty in tasks that require fine motor coordination, multiple directions, or conceptualization. Other symptoms relate to mental processing. These can include the inability to put thoughts into words, reversals of letters both auditory and visually, and the discernment of right from left.
Categorizations for learning disabilities often focus on four areas of assessment: academic learning disability, language learning disability, perceptual motor disability, and social perceptual disability. Each of these will be discussed individually.
Academic learning disability affects children in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. When a child is tested, there is usually a significant discrepancy in the performance score in one specific category. The good news is that there are other areas of strengths that can be used to compensate in the weak subject. For example, the child who has difficulty in language but is strong in math might benefit from a teacher who will teach grammar using equations such as S + AV = DO (meaning subjects paired with actions verbs take direct objects) or S + LV = PN (meaning subjects paired with linking verbs can be followed by predicate nominatives.) The student can transfer the language information using a mathematical approach with which he or she is more familiar.
Language learning disability can affect speech, reading, or writing. Persons may have ideas but fail to put them into words. They may hear people saying words but not interpret or process the meanings of the phrases. Some individuals may be able to express themselves orally but cannot seem to write the ideas using sentences and paragraphs. Reading and writing exercises can help people with language learning disability learn to compensate. Traditional methods of outlining may be modified to incorporate a broader spectrum of thought. Tape recorders can be used to record ideas orally before trying to write. Art forms of expression can often elicit language responses from persons struggling to find the "right" words.
Perceptual motor disability refers to a person's inability to move quickly or to maneuver certain tasks with ease. Individuals with perceptual motor disability may have difficulty holding a pencil. Their handwriting may be hard to read. They may even be clumsy. Compensation skills can be learned such as printing instead of writing in cursive. They may find success through the use of a computer. Physical therapy or an individualized sport is sometimes suggested to build coordination.
Social perceptual disorder has to do with understanding feelings and properly reacting to those feelings. Individuals with social perceptual disorder often do not "read" visual clues such as body language. They may be too loud or ask unacceptable questions. Sometimes people with social perceptual disorder respond with inappropriate physical actions such as touching, kissing, or hugging strangers. They may also become agitated and even violent. Behavioral management programs are offered as interventions. Counseling from professionals trained in this field is available not only for the person with the social perceptual disorder but also for his or her family.
Many individuals with learning disabilities lead normal lives. Famous people who have dealt with possible learning disabilities include Nelson Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Woodrow Wilson, Albert Einstein, and Greg Louganis. The key is the determination to succeed by using compensation skills to overcome the obstacles presented by the learning disabilities.
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