Learning Disabilities in Children Are Sometimes Difficult

Learning disabilities in children are sometimes difficult to identify. Children can go years without proper diagnosis. If they are never diagnosed, they can go well into adulthood without knowing anything was wrong, impacting their academic performance and career choices. Therefore it is important to understand what some of these learning disabilities are in order to identify it sooner and assist children once identified, by properly instructing the disabled child to achieve positive results in an academic situation. The learning disabilities researched are: developmental dyslexia, impaired reading comprehension; and mathematical learning disability or dyscalculia.

In a study by Baird, Slonis, Simonoff, & Dworzynski (2011), the authors discovered both the relationship of reading impairment and language impairment (former and present) and whether kids with language impairment, who also possess some degree of reading impairment, demonstrate a disparity impairment in NWR from other spoken recollection measures associated with youngsters with language impairment who do not possess any degree of reading impairment. Their results revealed a strong connection with language and reading impairment, so much so that most kids who had language impairments showed some degree of reading impairment and vice versa. The areas of the brain controlling language, specifically in regards to speaking and reading appear to be connected in regards to impairment probability. Meaning, if one of these two areas are affected, then the other might be as well. Their results explain:

In those children whose language problems persist beyond the age of 51/2 years, approximately 50% of children with language impairment have reading problems. In studies of reading impairment where language competence has been measured, approximately 50% of children have been found to have some language difficulties (Baird, Slonis, Simonoff, & Dworzynski, 2011, pp. 711-716).

This connection can very well help school staff and doctors identify children with difficulties faster and perhaps understand the reasons behind these impairments more thoroughly. The article elaborated on a convenience sample of siblings. One pair of siblings had language impairment while the other pair did not. The siblings were tested on a group level of analysis that included: verbal memory, NWR, WRAML verbal memory index, and digit span. The results showed all areas were compromised in all children with present and former language impairment in comparison to the unimpaired siblings. "Impairment in reading decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension correlates with the severity of language impairment" (Baird, Slonis, Simonoff, & Dworzynski, 2011, pp. 711-716).

Another learning disability people often have trouble dealing with is developmental dyslexia. Research shows what happens to a child when they experience this kind of disorder. As Galaburda explains: "The defining symptom of developmental dyslexia is a severe and specific difficulty in reading acquisition that is unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and educational circumstances" (Galaburda, 2006, pp. 1213-1217). What this means is, at the reasoning level, there is prevalent settlement that a big majority of dyslexic children suffer from what is frequently labelled a "phonological deficit." This term refers to a discrepancy in some characteristics of the psychological illustration and dispensation of speech sounds. The deficit may appear in reduced phonological cognizance, reduced verbal short-term recollection, and sluggish lexical recovery. "Other behavioral symptoms are sometimes associated with dyslexia, including various types of auditory (prominently rapid auditory processing), visual and motor deficits" (Galaburda, 2006, pp. 1213-1217).

Another article states how dyslexia may be connected to other disorders as well as the lack of clarity in the disorder itself in relation to origins and understanding. As Ramus et al. (2013), state, developmental dyslexia could have a relationship between language impairment, as earlier mentioned. "An on-going debate surrounds the relationship between specific language impairment and developmental dyslexia, in particular with respect to their phonological abilities" (Ramus, 2013, pp. 630). If there is a connection between language impairment and dyslexia, perhaps an area of the brain affecting language processing may be damaged or abnormal in children who exhibit dyslexia. Evidence in the article suggests there is a connection between the two disorders and the link could lead to further analysis of dyslexia and its role in language impairment. "We conclude that a multiple-component model of language abilities best explains the relationship between specific language impairment and dyslexia and the different profiles of impairment that are observed" (Ramus, 2013, pp. 630). The last learning disability research is developmental dyscalculia.

"Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is a learning disorder affecting the ability to acquire school-level arithmetic skills, affecting approximately 3-6% of individuals" (Price, 2013, pp. 1-5). Much like dyslexia, DD affects children roughly similarly but with numbers instead of words. Due to the lack of specific information on this kind of disorder, advancement in understanding the source causes of DD remains elusive. And although mathematical skills are needed for many careers and proper understanding of the outside world, DD is vastly understudied compared to its counterpart, dyslexia. Additionally children who have dyslexia can also develop DD. "It should be noted that DD often co-occurs (is comorbid) with other learning difficulties such as Developmental Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)" (Price, 2013, pp. 1-5). Making the connection between these disorders, understanding where the origin causes lie, and determining how to remedy ignorance of these disabilities may help in reducing poor performance in children with learning disabilities.