Learning Disabilities

For people who have a learning disability, it doesn't mean that they can't learn, and it's not uncommon either. Usually a learning disability happens due to the way we process information in our brains. It is why people learn differently, and that is why everyone first has to figure out how they learn best.

Parents, teachers and other learning specialists such as a school psychologist can help figure out what a child's learning problem is - and then come up with ideas for how to improve it.
Learning disabilities are not contagious, but they can be genetic, meaning that they can be passed down in families through the genes. There may even be some other family members who have had some learning troubles as well.

One common learning disability is known as "dyslexia," which is a learning disability that means a child has a lot of trouble reading and writing. Kids who have trouble with math may have a learning disability called "dyscalculia," while people who have trouble forming letters when they write may have what is know as "dysgraphia."

Other kids may have language disorders, meaning they have trouble understanding language and understanding what they read. It can be confusing, though. What qualifies as "trouble" enough to be diagnosed with a learning disability? Reading, doing math, and writing letters may be tough for lots of kids at first. But when those early troubles don't disappear, and there is little or no progress, it's possible the child has a learning disability.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is also sometimes misdiagnosed as a learning disability. Children with ADHD can learn in school without special assistance, even though they may be easily distracted. ADHD itself isn't a learning disability, researchers believe kids with ADHD may be more likely to have learning disabilities.

How do you know if your child has a learning disability? Maybe he or she read a chapter of one of their school books and then can't remember anything. Or in class, maybe everyone else seems to follow along easily, but your child gets stuck and doesn't know what page everyone else is on. here are some other questions to determine possible learning disorders:
Does your child struggle in school?
Do you think he or she should be doing better in school?
Is reading harder for your child than you think it should be?
Is your child's handwriting slow?
Does your child make spelling errors?
Are they having difficulty with math?
Is it hard for your child to stay organized? Do they lose things or forget them?

But even if you said "yes" to these questions, you won't know for sure until you have gone to a psychologist or learning specialist. They will give your child tests to determine any learning problems, and they should also be able to identify what your child's strengths are. Once a psychologist or learning specialist figures out what the learning problem is, you and your child can both work towards solving the problem.

-- Rocco Basile

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.