A Deeper Insight On Learning Disabilities - Lallitha Balachandrarajan

 A Deeper Insight on Learning Disabilities

-Lallitha Balachandrarajan-

There is this nice saying that is perfectly suitable for all the teachers, when it comes to treating children with equality and equity, which says "not all five fingers in your hand look identical, each of them are unique and has different characteristics". As a pre-school teacher, in the past 10 years, I have come across many children, and I would proudly say that I learnt that the above saying is so very true. As a teacher, all of us are responsible in taking care of children, empathize them and also understand the emotions that goes through their head and mind, in order to deliver what they want. But there was this period of time when I had to come across children with Learning Disabilities. It was hard for me to coop up with such students, but I never gave up at any cost, and put up with them to bring them up as much as I could. This is me, putting forward all my knowledge on Learning Disabilities to all of you'll.

Dr Samuel Alexander Kirk, an American Psychologist puts forward about learning disabilities in the following manner;

"To describe individuals of a least average intelligence who seem capable of school success, but who have unexplained difficulty in acquiring basic academic skills".

As it seems, learning is done with ease for some children, for some, it seems as is something is standing in their way of learning. 

Learning disabilities (LD) are found in people at all levels of intellectual ability, slow, average, bright and brilliant.

Many gifted people with LD may have a low self esteem as they may experience learning with ease in one thing and learning with difficulty in another.

Although, with good instruction and hard work, most people who have
LD will learn and overcome it up to a certain extent, some will give up as they cannot take it emotionally.

We have recognized a few terms that describes learning abilities to its best, such as, Developmental Learning Disorder, Neuropsychological Dysfunction, Perceptual Handicap, Specific Language Disability.

Psychologists also have come across many kinds of LD's and there are many classifications to describe them, as follows;

• Disorders of spoken language
• Reading
• Written Language
• Math calculation and problem solving
• Nonverbal activities

Some people can have Several learning disabilities, but the most common LD is difficulty in learning to Read. Almost 80% of people having LD has the above difficulty.

Difficulty in reading and Language related skills are known as Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is having difficulty with language and not a problem with intelligence. The main problem in Dyslexia is phonological: turning print into sounds (turning written code into linguistic code).

Other problems, such as with spelling, understanding language they hear or expressing themselves clearly in speaking or in writing are common signs despite motivation and education.

Causes of Dyslexia

1. It has been well established that Dyslexics have a different brain structure. Until recently, Dyslexia was a hidden disability without physical proof which made it hard to recognize or even diagnose. But now with an MRI scanning (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), it has been proven that dyslexics show differences in the structure of the brain.

Usually, a non impaired reader activates the reading system on the left side of the brain. Where as the dyslexic reader activates the right side of the brain and the front of the left side.

   2.  Genetic factors

Dyslexia runs in families

• Having a dyslexic parent or sibling increases the probability that you may be one.
• Between 1/4 and 1/2 of children born to dyslexic parents will be dyslexic
• If one child is dyslexic, half of his sisters or brothers are likely to be so.
• In cases where a child is identified as dyslexic, if the parents are evaluated, 1/3 or 1/2 of the parents will be dyslexic too.

However, Dyslexia can not be put down to being entirely genetic, but it can be carried down as a genetic trait(distinguishing quality). This means, though the characteristics may be familiar, it may not necessarily be passed down from generation to generation through genetic action.

Eg - If Dyslexic, not both identical twins will be so (only 65-70% of them will be), and in 30-35% one identical twin is dyslexic and not the other.

There is no single dominant dyslexia gene but many genes involved. Dyslexia depends on an interaction between the child's genetic make up and his/her environment. Therefore, the amount and quality of stimulation given to a child (being read to, playing word games, how well he is taught in school etc.) will most definitely determine how good a reader a child becomes.

Most of us would be wondering as to what can be done in this regard. Whatever the cause may be, accurate identification is very important. When diagnosing, the following clues should be taken into consideration along with many other characteristics mentioned in the latter part of this article.

• Severity
• Clarity
• Persistence

Dyslexia can be identified even when a child is still in the nursery. However, we must remember that all/most children under 5 years do not make such mistakes. The fact is that a normal child would get over these where as a dyslexic will continue to have them.
Parents, Teachers and early educators are the people who could recognize and get early help for children.

The next unavoidable question that arises within our subconscious mind is that, how do we help these kids?

1. A carefully planned out teaching methods (guided repeated oral reading) in very small groups or one-one where the child's oral reading is focused, opportunity is given to the child to practice by rereading the words aloud, and an ongoing feedback is given as the child reads.
2. Primarily, the help from parents is very important along with professional help.

In order to support a dyslexic we should make him/her know that others appreciate him/her even though he has a problem, motivate and encourage him/her saying that they would be successful, no matter what, even though the process is going to be slow, Boosting up his/her self-confidence as a dyslexic child most often feel stupid, lazy and incompetent.

Lets look in to the early signs of Dyslexia in terms of certain topics, in children under 5 years.

Movement, Balance and Hand Control

• Difficulties with dressing independently
• Late in learning to fasten buttons or tie shoelaces
• Problems putting the correct shoe on each foot
• Excessive tripping, bumping into things and falling over
• Difficulty in catching, throwing and kicking the ball
• Problems with hopping and skipping

Speech and Language

• Slow learning to speak clearly
• Consistently calling colors by the wrong names
• Jumbling phrases regularly
• Difficulties with sequences (alphabets, months and numbers)
• Confusion with words indicating direction (up, down, no, on)
• Reverse Letters (b and d, p and q)
• Unusual spelling (nos for know, doos for does)
• Struggling to clap the beat of a simple rhyme
• A Lisp (a speech defect in which s is pronounced like 'th' in thick and z is pronounced like 'th' in this)

Memory and Sequencing Skills

• Problems remembering sequences or color beads
• Poor recall of familiar rhymes
• Difficulty remembering the names of everyday objects
• Confusion distinguishing between left and right
• Mixing up the basic time sequence of a typical day
• Difficulty selecting the odd one out

General Development

• Often appear to be inattentive
• Have some problems following instructions
• Seem bright and alert when talking
• Enjoy creative activities
• At times, appear to "search" for the right word
• Uninterested in pre reading activities.

We as teachers should always look at things from the child's perspective. If the child can't learn through the way we teach, then the change shouldn't be brought from the child's side, rather from the teacher. The teacher should know to get along with a better idea to put forward the same concept in an interesting yet easy manner so that even the one's who have LD could grasp it.

Remember its just "Disability and not INABILITY"

Together we all can make a change in a child's life. So let's not make it difficult for these children, lets make an effort to encourage and motivate kids to learn and live better. :)