Anxiety, depression, stressful events, emotional trauma, and other conditions affecting concentration make learning more of a challenge. Difficulty in mastering certain academic skills can also stem purely from a neurological basis. Here is a list of neurological conditions that can affect your child’s ability to learn, if you would like more information about these conditions please see Helpguide’s article: Other conditions impacting ability to learn (PDF)
Determining whether your child has a learning disability involves testing, history taking and observation by a trained specialist. Finding a reputable referral is important, start with your child's school; if for some reason they are unable to help you, ask your insurance company, doctor, friends and family.
Sometimes several professionals coordinate services as a team to obtain an accurate diagnosis, including input from your child's teachers. Recommendations can then be made for special education services or speech-language therapy within the public school system or a more appropriate school placement may be in a nonpublic school that specializes in treating learning disabilities.
For a list of nonpublic schools in your area go to the website for your state's Department of Education. For example, in California see: Nonpublic Schools Database .
Here are a few common interventions and accommodations that can be used with children in their regular classrooms. Talk to your child's teacher about creative ways to make learning more fun.
American Sign Language as a treatment for ADHD
Brain science provides hope for new treatments for learning disabilities. See Helpguide’s article:
Read: Why American Sign Language may be an innovative treatment for ADHD (PDF)
Help for learning disabilities is coming from brain science
The ability of the brain to change
Using a telephone analogy, the source of a learning disability is in the brain where faulty wiring disrupts normal lines of communication making it difficult to process information easily. Obviously, it's much more complex than that but if a phone company had service down in a certain area of the city they might fix the problem by re-wiring the connections to bring service back on-line. Similarly, through learning, our brain has the ability to change its structure, and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, a term called neuroplasticity. Neuro is for "neuron," the nerve cells in our brains and nervous systems, and plastic means changeable or modifiable.
Norman Doidge, M.D., author of a book entitled, The Brain that Changes Itself, states the brain is like a muscle that grows when you stimulate it under the right conditions. When you are motivated to learn new things, the experience can physically change the structure of the brain. This means that learning disabilities can be treated whenever the diagnosis is made, and since motivation is a key aspect in neuroplasticity, age can be an advantage when the intervention occurs. Dr. Doidge supports this premise by providing examples of success stories.
Science has made great strides in understanding the inner workings of the brain, and while these programs don't work for everyone, the success stories provide hope that further research holds the key for the creation of additional innovative treatments for learning disabilities.
A woman who had severe learning disabilities was able to overcome them as an adult after she designed brain exercises that retrained and normalized her brain processes. She also designed brain exercises for children. One intervention involved tracing complex lines to stimulate neurons in a child's weakened pre-motor area of the brain. She stated that these children's skills in speaking, writing and reading improved after this treatment.
Dr. Doidge also presents information about software programs such as Fast ForWord that may improve vocabulary, comprehension, speech, reading and writing in children who have auditory processing problems. These programs which look like computer games are designed to help increase the speed of the firing of the auditory cortex neurons in the brain.
Tipping the scales toward success
Primary learning style:
For years educators have been aware of the advantages of introducing children to enriched learning environments that reinforce a child's primary learning style whether they are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner.
- A visual learner often thinks in pictures and can more easily comprehend a lesson if provided with visual aides. They understand the teacher's intended communications by paying close attention to the teacher's facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures and body language. For example, if a visual learner is only presented with verbal information they will absorb and retain less information than if the verbal instructions were combined with visual materials.
- An auditory learner interprets the underlying meaning of speech through tone, pitch and voice speed.
- Kinesthetic learners absorb information more easily by physically interacting with their environment through movement, drawing or taking notes.
Knowing what your child's primary learning style is and using it to maximize their ability to understand information, can help your child reach their optimal potential.
| DETERIMING YOUR CHILD’S PRIMARY LEARNING STYLE |
| VISUAL learners see the world in images or pictures |
AUDITORY learners are good listeners |
KINESTHETIC learners process information through their bodies and touch |
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Excels in the traditional classroom because most material is presented and tested visually
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Do well in lecture based learning environments and are active in classroom discussions
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Have trouble sitting still in class. They must touch, explore and create in order to learn. They are unable to process or retain material just by seeing or listening
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They need to see to learn
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Distracted by noise, conversation or music
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Memory is linked to movement
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They love to draw, write and are good organizers
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Enjoy reading, looking at pictures, watching people and thrive with interaction and verbal repetition
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Thrive in sports, drama, dance
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Tools: books, videos, computers, posters
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Tools: talk, discussion, debate
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Tools: skits, note taking, art
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Related links
Comprehensive sites on learning disabilities
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - Facts for Families provides concise and up-to-date information on issues that affect children, teenagers, and their families. Access is available to 93 different subjects. Document #16 is an overview of Learning Disability facts. (aacap.org)
National Center for Learning Disabilities - Discusses what a learning disability is, how parents and school personnel can work together, and the social and emotional challenges of learning disorders. (ncld.org)
LD Basics - A wealth of information describing the full spectrum of learning disabilities and how to spot them, plus advice for parents on responding and getting help. (ldonline.org)
The Warning Signs of Learning Disabilities - Gives an extensive list of learning disability categories. (ldam.org)
LD Evaluation Process -Guides parents step by step through the maze of meetings, tests, and forms that comprise the process of having a child evaluated for a learning disability. (SchwabLearning.org)
Specific learning disabilities
Recognizing Dyslexia - Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities to be aware of. (Dyslexia-Teacher.com)
Dyscalculia: Learning Disabilities in Mathematics - Discusses symptoms, diagnosis, effects, and treatment for the learning disability dyscalculia. (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
Dysgraphia - Provides a description of the writing problems that are characteristic of the learning disability dysgraphia, with a wealth of solutions. (West Virginia University)
Nonverbal Learning Disorders - Excellent overview of this often-neglected learning disability, which often goes unidentified until adolescence. (LD Online)
Other problems that affect learning
Auditory Processing Disorder in Children - Clear, detailed description of this learning disability where the child's ears work properly, but the brain has trouble interpreting what the ears hear. (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Understanding Sensory Integration - Provides an overview of the learning disability sensory integration dysfunction, which heightens and confuses the sensory information a child takes in. (LD OnLine)
Early acquisition of ASL, an innovative approach to treating ADHD (PDF) - authored by Deborah A. Cutter, Psy.D., MFT, Clinical Director of Creative Behavioral Consultants and Susan M. Zneimer, Ph.D., FACMG, Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
How your child learns – Provides an overview in how to determine your child’s primary learning style. (Parentsource.com)
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