LEARNING DISABILITIES

Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities

(Literature Review)

Introduction

Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. It is thought to be a neurological or processing disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store, and respond to information. It can cause a person to have difficulty learning and using certain skills despite having at least average intelligence. The skills most often affected are reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math.

Learning disabilities (LD) is a well-established term that refers to a broad class of learning disorders typically manifested as a performance difficulty in one or more academic skill areas traditionally taught and assessed in schools. This performance difficulty generally involves the acquisition, rehearsal, retention, retrieval, and recall of symbolic information. Unlike the term itself, the definition of LD is not well established or straightforward. Like many historically significant educational constructs, LD means different things to different people, especially researchers and stakeholders from different educational and psychological disciplines and theoretical perspectives. The current legal definition of LD is established in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997):

How common are learning disabilities?

As many as one in five people in the United States has a learning disability. About 5% of the total population of all school-age children receive special education or related services because of a learning disability. The percentage of children classified as learning disabled has increased substantially—from less than 30% of all children receiving special education services in 1997-1998 to a little more than 50% today.

About three times as many boys as girls are classified as learning disabled. The gender difference has been given several explanations, such as greater biological vulnerability for boys and because boys are more likely to be referred as a result of their disruptive, hyperactive behavior. Social class is associated with learning disability because the risk for exposure to harmful toxins, such as lead and tobacco, at early stages of development is greater in low-income communities.

The most common learning disability is reading disability, especially phonological skills, which involve understanding how sounds and letters match up to make words. Dyslexia is a severe impairment in the ability to read and spell.

One of the most talked about learning disabilities is attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). About one third of people with a learning disability also have ADHD. It is characterized by extreme hyperactivity and distractibility, which makes it difficult for them to concentrate, stay focused, or manage their attention to specific tasks. Treatment has typically been in the form of either mild stimulants such as Ritalin or behavior modification techniques.

Consequences of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities affect every person differently. Most learning disabilities are lifelong. Compared to people without a learning disability, those with a learning disability are more likely to show poor academic performance, high dropout rates, and poor employment.

Children with a learning disability who are taught in the regular classroom without extensive support rarely achieve the level of competence of even children who are low achieving and do not have ...