Learning Disorders There is a certain social stigma associated with learning disorders. Many children and adults who suffer from a form of learning disorder are also burdened with its emotional and psychological effects that accompany it. This paper endeavors to explore what learning disorders are, the demographics of the more susceptible members of society, the types of therapy applied in the treatment of learning disorders, as well as the prognosis for sufferers. It is only through greater awareness of this debilitating disability, can we as a society eventually remove the stigma of intellectual failing which is associated with learning disorders.

Learning Disorders are diagnosed when the person's writing skills, reading ability, or math competency, are significantly less than expected for age group level, education level, and IQ level (http://www.aacap.org/about/glossary/ld.htm).Scientists assert that learning disorders are a result of difficulties with the nervous system that influences receiving, analyzing or relating information (http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsFam/ld.htm).To be diagnosed with a learning disorder, the degree of reading, writing and/or math comprehension must have an adverse effect on the person's academic performance or in another area that needs math, reading, or writing skills (Miller, 2000). Diagnosis could also consider the achievement scores founded on individually issued, standardized examinations and whether the child's struggle to read, write and solve math problems hinders the child's daily activities and ability to relate what she is taught or trained (http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/about_learning.html).

Experts claim that 10 to 30% of children struggle with learning disorders. There is a preponderance of males in the population of learning disorder sufferers than females. However, this may be affected by boys, generally, being more disorderly in class. The disruption they cause alerts the teacher to investigate whether a learning disorder exists in the situation. Therefore that may explain the preponderance of males over females in the population of sufferers. Reading disorders can be genetically acquired. First-degree biological...

Reading disorders have a larger population of sufferers than the two other learning disorders. Sufferers struggle to identify and interpret words and letters, such as dyslexics who tend to see letters in different order. Usually, sufferers cannot even identify and interpret the phonetic structure behind the words (The Thompson Corporation, 2001). People suffering from mathematics disorders have difficulty identifying and calculating numbers accurately. They have problems applying numbers in normal situations. Interestingly, people with mathematics disorders usually battle a reading disorder and/or a disorder of written expression (The Thompson Corporation, 2001). Disorders of written expression usually exist in conjunction with reading disorders and/or mathematics disorders. Sufferers have problems with written work. Issues typically involve grammar, spelling, punctuation and putting their thoughts to paper (The Thompson Corporation, 2001). Roughly 1% of school-age children struggle with a Mathematics Disorder (http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/about_learning.html).
Learning disorders are treated with specialized educational methods (Miller, 2000). Once a learning disorder has been recognized in the sufferer, a tailored education plan (IEP) is formulated for the sufferer. IEPs center on psychoeducational examination results. Treatment can involve sufferers receiving special instructions within a regular class or they may be educated in a separate learning facility for a part of the day so as to address their difficulties without distraction (The Thompson Corporation, 2001).

The usual approach for treating reading disorders concentrates initially on phonics training, thereby assisting the child to develop ways to recognize the sounds of words. Upon mastery of that skill, treatment then evolves to the practice of understanding, retaining and studying. People with disorders of written expression are frequently urged to maintain a diary and…