Learning Disorders

SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDERS

Difficulties learning and using academic skills, despite interventions. An individual’s skills are significantly below what would be expected for their age and intellectual abilities. The learning difficulties begin during school age, but may not be obvious until work demands are more than they are able to do.

SUBTYPES & SYMPTOMS

Impairment in Reading: Problems with accurate and fluent word reading and reading comprehension. Individuals with a reading impairment subtype often have inaccurate or slow and effortful reading, as well as difficulty understanding what the text means. This subtype was previously referred to as “dyslexia”
Impairment in Writing: Difficulties with spelling and grammar, as well as with writing clear and organized passages. This subtype was previously referred to as "dysgraphia"
Impairment in Math: Problems understanding information with numbers, learning basic math facts and calculations, as well as mathematical reasoning. Concepts of time and money are often difficult for someone with an impairment in mathematics to understand. This subtype was previously referred to as “dyscalculia”.

DEFINITION

SUBTYPES AND SYMPTOMS

Reading: Problems with accurate and fluent word reading and reading comprehension. Individuals with a reading impairment subtype often have inaccurate or slow and effortful reading, as well as difficulty understanding what the text means. This subtype is sometimes referred to as “dyslexia”
Writing: Difficulties with spelling and grammar, as well as with writing clear and organized passages.
Math: Problems understanding information with numbers, learning basic math facts and calculations, as well as mathematical reasoning. Concepts of time and money are often difficult for someone with an impairment in mathematics to understand. This subtype is sometimes referred to as “dyscalculia”.

CAUSES & RISK FACTORS

Learning disorders often run in families, and can be amplified if a child or adolescent has inadequate education, a co-occuring disorder, or an impoverished environment.

CO-OCCURING ISSUES

Individuals with learning disorders may have a diagnosis of another disorder or have additional difficulties as a result of the learning disorder.

Speech / Language disorder
Behavioural disorders such as ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or Conduct Disorder
Depression
Anxiety (particularly around school or social situations)
Self-esteem issues

Students with learning disorders are often very aware that they are not achieving the same academic success as their peers, which can result in embarrassment, low self worth, and anxiety. The drop-out rate is high for students with learning disorders, which makes it important to identify and treat at any age.

ASSESSMENT

Psychoeducational assessment is important to diagnose learning disorders, but also to pinpoint areas of thinking that are weak and should be the focus of intervention, or that are strong and can be used for teaching. Assessments examine a variety of academic areas to differentiate a reading from a math impairment, as well as test processes such as memory and thinking strategies.

TREATMENT

Interventions for individuals with learning disorders are based around using different methods of teaching. In some areas, the use of technology can help to compensate where skills are lacking. For example, programs that read text aloud, spell and grammar checking software, or calculators. Many post-secondary institutions offer assistance programs for students with diagnosed learning disorders. Treatment should also take co-occurring issues into account as individuals with a learning disorder may benefit from individual therapy, specific language therapy or behavioural planning.

SOURCES

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC
Pennington, B. (2009). Diagnosing learning disorders: A neuropsychological framework (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.