A learning disorder is a developmental disorder that causes children to be unable to keep up with their peers in school and other learning. There are several types of learning disorder, all of which require appropriate therapy.
What is a learning disorder?
Experts define a learning disorder as a child developmental disorder that relates to school skills. Affected individuals, with otherwise normal intelligence, have difficulty keeping up with other children in school and kindergarten. The learning disorder may relate to reading, writing or arithmetic, for example. It does not always have to be a reduction in the corresponding skills, but can also mean, for example, in the case of hyperlexia, the significantly premature acquisition of reading skills. Under certain circumstances, a learning disorder may indicate a disorder such as Asperger’s syndrome. Affected children should therefore be examined and appropriately treated. Often, through such a therapy, a significant improvement in learning ability and thus also a social integration into school and later everyday work is possible.
Causes
The causes of a learning disorder can be varied. As already mentioned at the beginning, it can be a disease such as autism or Asperger syndrome, which leads to such a developmental disorder or abnormality. Often, however, no direct disease or disability can be detected in the affected children. In these cases, there are usually several factors that lead to the learning disorder. On the one hand, the social environment of the affected child can result in a change in learning ability, for example if excessive pressure is exerted on expectations and the child is unable to learn properly due to fear of failure. The school itself, or other classmates and the teacher, can also promote a learning disorder, for example if the child does not feel comfortable or is afraid to go to school. Ultimately, the child itself may also be predisposed to a learning disorder due to biological or even psychological factors.
Typical and common learning disorders
- Dyslexia (reading and spelling disability, LRS).
- Dyscalculia
- Dyscalculia (Acalculia)
Symptoms, complaints and signs
A learning disorder manifests itself with symptoms at the latest in school, but often earlier. Thus, it is characteristic that the affected children have great problems with learning new content. This can refer to learning in general or means partial areas. If the learning disorder affects all areas, the children are not able to learn the required content sufficiently quickly. They sometimes appear unfocused and forgetful. Normal teaching does not lead to success with them. They cannot create a learning environment for themselves and also give up learning on their own due to increased failure. Many learning disorders, on the other hand, relate to sub-areas of school education. For example, dyslexia or dyscalculia can be mentioned here. In these forms of learning disorder, only the learning of one discipline is disturbed. All other content is absorbed normally and learned normally. Another learning disability with significance is hyperlexia. Here, children have a high affinity for numbers and letters. They learn the symbols and their functions at a very fast pace. However, the meaning of the same often does not open up to them to a sufficient degree. They learn writing and arithmetic, but not necessarily how to interpret them correctly. On the whole, children with learning disabilities do not, on average, show diminished intelligence.
Diagnosis and course
A learning disability is usually noticed when the affected children have conspicuous difficulties in keeping up at school compared to their peers. If the teacher notices such a weakness, he or she should contact the parents so that they take note and, if necessary, visit a psychologist. The psychologist can use simple tests to find out whether the child has a learning disorder and, if so, what it is. The causes should also be researched. If learning disorders are left untreated, they lead to social isolation and dwindling self-confidence among those affected. Under certain circumstances, they may skip school in order not to expose themselves to the pressure. An entry into a normal working life is subsequently made more difficult due to poor school grades.This creates a vicious cycle that cannot be broken on its own.
Complications
A learning disorder can occur in isolation or be accompanied by other learning disorders. For example, dyscalculia and dyslexia occur together more often than average. In addition, they may be accompanied by other mental and behavioral disorders. Children with ADHD are more likely to have a learning disorder that affects reading, writing, or math than peers without ADHD. Learning disabilities often result in complications for everyday school life and learning overall, although a specific learning disorder such as dyslexia does not have to be associated with decreased intelligence. Children who have difficulty reading often struggle to acquire knowledge in other school subjects, to do research, or to read readings. They often need more time to do this than their schoolmates. Without appropriate compensation, these children may therefore be at a disadvantage when it comes to grades. Even with appropriate compensation such as extra time on tests and exams, however, complications can arise. For other children and parents, it is sometimes incomprehensible why a dyslexic child receives more time for assignments. This can result in resentment and envy, which can affect the child’s social relationships at school. Furthermore, children with a learning disorder may develop anxiety or dejection, which can develop into an anxiety disorder or depression. Aggressive or oppositional behavior is also possible. These complications require additional consideration in treatment.
When should you see a doctor?
If a child is performing significantly worse than his or her classmates, the cause should be explored. A learning disorder is not the only possible explanation. However, if the child has not missed any classes and the deficits cannot be explained in any other way, a learning disorder must be considered. Parents can turn to various contacts with the suspicion of a learning disorder. Specialized counseling centers that are pedagogically or psychologically oriented are well suited. Furthermore, independent child and youth therapists are possible contacts, as are pediatricians. However, a pediatrician often only issues a referral, since learning disorders are not treated medically. The psychological and, if necessary, linguistic therapy is in the foreground. However, clarification by a pediatrician can be useful to rule out medical causes for the performance deficits. In addition, a pediatrician may prescribe speech therapy for dyslexia (reading difficulties), for example. If speech therapy is prescribed as a remedy, the statutory health insurance usually covers the costs.
Treatment and therapy
If a learning disorder has been diagnosed, it is particularly important to know the exact cause. For example, if there is an illness or a disability, it is possible that the affected child will not be able to display normal learning behavior and may need to attend a specially adapted school. If the learning disorder is due to social and similar factors, appropriate therapy can in many cases lead to normal learning behavior and thus also to a regular school and professional career. Here, the child’s self-confidence must be strengthened in particular, because only if he or she believes in his or her own abilities can he or she make progress. A slow and cautious approach by parents, teachers and therapists is therefore imperative. Special tutoring tailored to the child’s needs can help in mastering the subject matter and also ensure that the child develops a sense of fun in learning.
Outlook and prognosis
A learning disorder is one of the disorders that is normally noticed in the early developmental process of a person. If different measures are taken to promote learning during childhood, cognitive abilities often improve. However, this depends on the underlying disease present and cannot be generally determined. Numerous early intervention programs have been developed that can be used individually and are well researched. However, full recovery is very rarely achieved over a lifetime. Therefore, the prognosis depends on the present cause as well as the start of therapy.Furthermore, an improvement of the existing disorder can be achieved if self-help measures are used in addition to the application of medical therapies. The environment and thus the influence of relatives as well as people from the social environment can contribute significantly to a better prospect of success for the patient. If the learning disorder sets in after an accident or a disease of the brain in the course of life, the prognosis is usually worse. Improving memory performance at an advanced age can only be achieved under more difficult conditions. In addition, some diseases prevent the development of new memory content. Nevertheless, in most cases, in cooperation with a therapist, relief of existing symptoms can be achieved.
Prevention
A learning disorder cannot be directly prevented. Parents should basically give their child self-confidence and fun in learning and support it without pressure, even if problems occur. If the first signs of a learning disorder appear, the pediatrician should be consulted so that appropriate treatment can be started in time.
Follow-up
The measures and options for aftercare depend greatly on the type of learning disorder. First and foremost, this aims to provide individualized support in order to contain the condition and remedy it in the long term. Affected persons are therefore dependent on a comprehensive examination, which should take place at an early stage. Only by diagnosing the learning disorder at an early stage can further complaints or disturbances in the child’s development be prevented. Appropriate therapeutic approaches are important to improve the child’s learning ability. The more intensively these are applied, the better the prospects of improvement of the limitation. Parents can also perform therapeutic exercises with the child at home and thereby reduce the symptoms. Often, intensive therapy and care by the parents or other relatives is necessary. Intensive and loving conversations with the child are also very useful. Parents can also seek contact with other people affected by a learning disorder, as this often leads to an exchange of information. As a rule, this disease does not reduce the life expectancy of the child.
What you can do yourself
Self-help groups that deal with the issue of learning disorders are often aimed at the parents of affected children. Support groups can vary in focus: some focus on mutual emotional support or discuss general parenting issues, while others focus on targeted interventions to help children. In many cases, the learning disorder makes the child feel inferior and lacks confidence in his or her own performance. Some children suffer from bullying at school. Poor grades in school, which are a result of the learning disorder, are often falsely attributed to a lack of intelligence. A sense of achievement in everyday life can boost self-confidence again. Activities that the child enjoys and that he or she is confident in are a good way to do this. Sports, creative activities, music and other leisure activities are all suitable. Time out and phases without any pressure to perform are also important. Under no circumstances should the child be reduced to his or her learning disorder. Anxiety disorders and depression can easily thrive if the child feels he or she is failing. Here, too, self-help measures and changes in everyday life can have positive effects – however, a possible depression, anxiety disorder or other mental disorder should also be treated by a trained professional, for example, an educator or child and youth therapist.
