Learning Disability

Learning Disability — A specific learning disability results from problems in one more of the central nervous system processes involved in perceiving, understanding and/or using concepts through verbal (spoken or written) language or nonverbal means. It manifests itself with a deficit in one or more of the following areas: attention, reasoning, processing, memory, communication, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social competence and emotional maturity.

It affects:

INPUT

• How information is taken in.
• Perception (How it is perceived)
• Auditorily (How well information is heard)
• Visually (How well information is seen)
• Tactually (How well information is input by touch)

INTEGRATION

• How new information is taken in, understood and linked to old information.
• Concept formation.
• How multiple ideas are combined.

OUTPUT

• How information that has been learned and assimpilated is shown to others.
• Written expression
• Organization of thoughts and understanding of Logical Progression.
• Oral expression (A speech or explanation of what has been learned)
• Organization of thoughts and understanding of Logical Progression.
• Demonstration (A project demonstrating what they have learned)
• Organization of thoughts and understanding of Logical Progression.

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Attention Deficit (Difficulty Focusing) — Attention Deficit Disorder is a biologically based condition causing a persistent pattern of difficulties resulting in one or more of the following behaviors:

• inattention
• hyperactivity
• impulsivity

Inattention: difficulty attending or focusing on a specific task. People with Attention Deficit Disorder may become distracted within a matter of minutes. Inattentive behavior may also cause difficulties with staying organized (e.g. losing things), keeping track of time, completing tasks and making careless errors.
Hyperactivity: difficulty inhibiting behavior. These people are in constant motion. They may engage in excessive fiddling, leg swinging and squirming in their chair.
Impulsivity: difficulty controlling impulses. These people do not stop and think before they act. They say and do whatever comes into their mind without thinking about the consequences. They might say something inappropriate and regret it later, blurt out a response to question before a person is done speaking to them or have difficulty waiting for their turn in line.

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Dyscalculia — Difficulty performing math calculations. A learning disability which affects math.

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Dysgraphia — Difficulty expressing thoughts in writing. It is used to refer to extremely poor handwriting.

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Dyslexia — Dyslexia is a learning disability that involves reading. Other similar terms include Dysgraphia (writing disability) and Dyscalculia (math disability). Dyslexia is probably the most common LD term which the general public hears. The word "dyslexia" simply means difficulty understanding written words.
The following are some common signs of Dyslexia:

• trouble expressing verbal language
• poor reading comprehension
• poor spelling
• difficulty reading — trouble identifying individual words
• trouble expressing thoughts in written form
• difficulty listening to or following directions — may hear words incorrectly
• confusion about directions in space and time, (e.g. left from right, up from down, months of the year)
• letter reversals (e.g. writing b for d or vice versa), trouble sequencing letters, (e.g. "left" for "felt").
• may see words as upside down, blurred or distorted
• difficulty with handwriting
• difficulty with mathematics — using mathematical symbols,
• sequencing steps to solve a mathematical problem