Learning Disabilities or Disorders - An Introduction

Learning disabilities or disorders affect the brain’s ability to receive, process, analyze or store information for future use. All these problems make it difficult for an individual to learn or store information.

Learning Disabilities and Disorders

Learning disabilities or disorders are basically neurological in nature. They result from the differences in the way an individual’s mind works. They may also be the disorders found in normal people who experience problems in learning some specific set of skills due to some underlying reasons. The problems are difficulty in writing, reading, spelling or organizing information.

In most of the cases, these disabilities occur in children. However, if they are not noticed on time and given attention, they may progress with age and affect them in adult life too. Fortunately, these problems do not last forever, with timely help and care; an individual can overcome these learning disorders.

Learning disabilities are a common occurrence in people all over the world. You may not be aware of it but, Albert Einstein was unable to read till the age of 9, Walter Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had problems reading all their lives. However, these disabilities did not affect their journey to success. Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab are some of the celebrities who facing learning disorders at young ages and defeated them.

If your child or any loved one is suffering from any learning disability or disorder, don’t worry! With a little care and attention… they can be cured.

Important Facts About Learning Disorders

• 15% of all US population is suffering from learning disorder of one type or another, according to the National Institutes of Health
• Among all the learning disabilities, difficulty in basic reading and language skills affects almost 80% of students
• These learning disabilities often run in the family which are inherited by children
• This should be kept in mind that learning disabilities are not to be confused with other disorders such as mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness and other behavioral disorders
• These disabilities are also not to be taken in the same way as lack of educational opportunities or attendance problems

Attention disorders such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or ADD may also occur at the same time with learning disabilities but they are not same and should be treated accordingly.

Impacts of Learning Disabilities/ Disorders

Learning disorders can have a profound impact on individuals suffering as well as their families. They can cause complexes or problems in a child when s/he is treated differently from his/her fellows and incorporate a sense of being different from them.

It has also been observed that in some cases, people suffering from learning disabilities were smarter than their peers but had difficulty in only one area of their life. Learning about such abilities and disorders can help in overcoming them and helping such people.

Some of the Common Learning Disabilities are

• Dyslexia – It is a language disability in which a person has problem understanding written words. It is also a reading disability or reading disorder.
• Dyscalculia – A mathematical disability in which a persons may have problems solving mathematical problems and grasping mathematical concepts
• Dysgraphia – A writing disability in which makes it difficult for a person to form letters or write within a defined space
• Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – Sensory disabilities in which cause difficulty in understanding language despite normal hearing and vision
• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – A neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain. It causes problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.

ADHD is not a learning disorder, yet it can interfere in one’s ability to learn properly and succeed. It entails lack of attention and hyperactivity which cause hindrances in learning and understanding.

Parents and teachers can help such people by encouraging their strengths, knowing their weaknesses and teaching them, keeping in mind their learning disabilities.