Communication disorders, learning disabilities, and giftedness are three broad categories of educational needs teachers might be called upon to address. The definitions, characteristics, and causes of each is discussed. Each can be manifest in a number of ways. It is not uncommon for a child to have a dual diagnoses, meaning that more than one disorder or disability is found. Students with a disorder, learning disability and/or giftedness often require Individualized Education Plans to help meet their goals.
Communications Disorders
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines a learning disability as:
"a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia" (MedicineNet, 2008).
Children with learning disabilities have trouble learning and using certain skills. Most often affected are reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math. People can have difficulties in one or more than one area. It is estimated that nearly three million children between the ages of six and twenty-one have some form of a learning disability (MedicineNet, 2008). Researchers continue to work on finding the causes of learning disabilities. For a long time, it was believed they were rooted in biological factors. These are divided into four broad categories: brain injury, errors in brain development, neuro-chemical imbalances, and heredity. While it is now known that problems in brain development can cause learning disabilities, research also indicates that a child's environment is very important. Addressing the learning disability in the home environment as well as a child's learning program in school can significantly improve the functioning of the learning disabled (What causes learning…, n.d.)
Communications disorders are among the most common disabilities in the United States (Castrogiovanni, 2008). An individual with a communication disorder has a deficit in the ability to exchange information with others; this may occur in language, speech, hearing, or a combination of these. Language difficulties may be manifested in one or more ways, including spoken language, reading or writing difficulties. Speech includes areas such as articulation and phonology, which are the ability to speak clearly and be intelligible, fluency (i.e., stuttering), and voice. Hearing impairments include deafness and hearing loss, and may be associated with speech and language problems (Council for Exceptional Children, 2011).
There can be a number of causes of communication disorders. Language-based learning disabilities, for example, result from a difference in brain structure present at birth, a difficulty which may be genetically based. Other communication disorders arise from oral-motor difficulties. In children, the most common conditions affecting communication include language-based learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy, mental disabilities, cleft lip or palate, and autism spectrum disorders (Council for Exceptional Children, 2011).
Children with communication disorders can display one or more of a number of characteristics, including difficulty with the following: expressing ideas, learning new vocabulary, following directions, understanding questions, comprehending and remembering something that has just been said, comprehending reading material. These language-based difficulties may also include difficulty correlating letters to sounds, spelling, and even elarning the alphabet. Speech difficulties may result from a motor problem, or they could be due to poor learning. Voice problems may be manifest by a hoarse, harsh or breathy voice (Council for Exceptional Children, 2011). Many communication problems, but not all, can be improved by therapy. Children can be taught strategies to overcome their disabilities. Some children, however, may never communicate naturally and must be taught to do so through electronic means.
A dual diagnosis is made when a child is found to have more than one learning disability. These can be manifest in any combination of the learning disabilities and/or communication disorders discussed so far in this paper.
The National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted individuals as those who
"…demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports)" (National Association for, n.d.).
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