Kids and Learning Disabilities CAN Learn

What is important to me, as a parent with two daughters, is that my children grow up healthy. Recently I read an article that talked about learning disabilities, and I found out that there are quite a few different types of disorders that can affect a child’s ability to learn. And, recent research estimates that almost one-half of all children of the ages six to 11 that are identified as having a learning disability also have ADHD.

The following categories of learning disorders have been identified:
-- Language and speech including articulation, difficulty understanding aspects of speech.
-- Academic skill disorders like dyslexia, writing/hand movement difficulties, vocabulary, memory, math disorders; and others not meeting the criteria of the other two categories.

Between 1997 and 2004, the proportion of children identified by a school official or health professional as having a learning disability varied only slightly, between 7 and 8 percent. The percentage of children who are identified as having a learning disability increases with age from 3 percent of three-to four-year-olds to 11 percent among 12- to 17-year olds percent, and in 2004 was 8 percent.

Boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having a learning disability, and kids living in families that receive welfare payments are much more likely than other children to be identified as having a learning disability. Non-Hispanic black children were more likely than Hispanic children to be identified as having a learning disability.

It isn’t clear what causes learning disorders but evidence indicates a diverse set of causes for difficulties in bringing together information from various parts of the brain. Possible causes include: genetic factors; maternal use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco during pregnancy; complications during pregnancy; and environmental toxins such as cadmium and lead.

As evidenced by some of the kids in our Children of the City program, we see this all the time. Another example is Xaverian High School in New York City, a school that specializes in serving young men with learning disabilities. In fact, about 10 percent of the enrollment includes students with learning difficulties, But, just as one example, 25 percent of the Class of 2005 went to Ivy League schools or the equivalent. This just proves that people that have learning disabilities can learn.

I truly enjoy the charities that I work with in order to support schools like this, which you can find more about on my RoccoBasile.org website. But every year the Joe DiMaggio Award Gala sponsored by Xaverian, raises money for students who otherwise would not get to go to college. In fact, four students recently received scholarships to major New York-Metropolitan area universities. In a very short period of time, the charity has evolved into the preeminent educational gala in the United States, raising more funds every year.

Without the proper help, a learning disability could be a condition that affects a person's education and employment, daily routines and family life in the future.


The source is the Child Trends DataBank.