17 Living with Learning Disabilities
Christine Colville; Kylee Mahedy; Ryan Mitchell; and Anthony Gutierrez
Living with Learning Disabilities
This chapter will discuss a broad spectrum of situations that come up with learning disabilities. A learning disability involves the brain’s process and how it causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and may be caused by several different factors. We will also be discussing ways of treatment for kids and adults that have been diagnosed with a learning disability.
Types of Learning Disabilities
- Dyslexia, also known as reading disorder, is characterized by troubles reading despite average intelligence. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, “sounding out” words in one’s head, pronouncing words when reading aloud, and understanding what one reads. Dyslexia can be inherited through family genetics or developed later in life through a brain injury, stroke, or dementia. Dysgraphia is similar to dyslexia but specifically applies to the ability to write and spell.
- Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is an umbrella term for various disorders that affect how the brain processes auditory information. Those with APD usually have a typical structure and function of the outer, middle, and inner ear (peripheral hearing). However, they cannot process the information they hear in the same way as others do, which leads to difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially the sounds composing speech.
- Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) is a disorder characterized by visual-spatial, motor, and social skills difficulties. NVLD may include problems drawing, writing, telling time using analog clocks, performing arithmetic, and using social skills. Tasks that require motor coordination, such as tying shoes, may also be impaired. NVLD is another umbrella term for a range of disorders that typically affect only one or two of these skill sets.
- Autism is a condition related to brain development that affects how a person perceives and socializes with others. Autism is held on a spectrum, meaning that if you have Autism, there is a broad category that falls into, and no two cases are the same, therefore why it is called the Autism Spectrum. Autism can cause problems in a typical day to day social interaction and communication for people who fall on the spectrum. Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis also includes several different conditions that used to be diagnosed separately, such as autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, and Asperger syndrome. These conditions are examples that can be are under the category of autism spectrum disorders.
What is the outcome of putting a label on a child?
Diagnosis is necessary for a child that might have a learning disability. This topic can be controversial because labeling can harm a child through their whole life and their parents. When it comes to labeling a child, you do not think the worst when you