SLD (Specific Learning Disorder)
SLD - A generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by
significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing,
reasoning, or mathematical abilities.
DSM 5 – (Criteria for diagnosis for SLD is 6 months of persistent symptoms.)
Specific Learning Disorder - difficulties in acquiring and applying the academic skills and at
least for 6 months, presence of at least one symptom as -
a. Slow, incorrect and effortful word reading
b. complexity in understanding the meaning of content
c. problems in written expression,
d. complexities with numbers and calculations
e. spelling difficulties.
Causes –
1. Hereditary - Studies emphasized that up to 70% of SLD are due to genetic and
hereditary factors
2. Deficits in central nervous system functions – Impairment in working memory and
deficits in central executive functions can cause SLDs
Neurological factors (complexities during prenatal and post-natal period and nervous
system impairment)
3. Teratogens - an agent that can disturb the development of the embryo or fetus
(alcohol, drugs, smoking, infected water, etc. – recollect last sem’s points)
4. Lack of stimulation from the environment – child has not been challenged from the
environment to develop - psychological stressors, malnutrition, poverty, poor
parenting, defective teaching/learning strategies etc.
Experiencing SLD -
Phonemes are the building blocks of language. Represented by letters of the alphabet, they
are the component sounds of spoken words.
Reading requires the ability to map the phonemes we hear to letters on a page, and vice
versa – does not happen properly in SLD – They can use the same word to talk about a
completely different meaning eg. Meaning ‘two’ but writing ‘too’. They might also replace a
letter (consonant or vowel) with another letter eg. Interchanging ‘a’ and ‘e’ or ‘b’ and ‘p’.
These patterns might repeat and the handwriting will be poor.
Examples of paragraphs in ppt
Reading Comprehension - I make an assumption that if I know the meaning of the words, I
can totally understand a paragraph that is made using those words – this is not necessarily
true – eg. In ppt (some complicated sentence using words we understand individually but
not the sentence).
Easy way to identify if a child has SLD -
If there are five children in a classroom who have difficulty in academic attainment…
Remove the following children:
1. Child with IDD
2. Child with primary emotional disturbance – like stress (these disturb educational
progress due to lack of motivation)
3. Child who does not have an opportunity to learn – coming from an environment with
poor stimulation or like a poor economic background or negligent parents.
4. Child with some modality deficit – hearing or visual impairment
The remaining child will be the child with SLD
ICD 11 – (DLD) – Developmental Learning Disorder
Should not be due to (A person with DLD should not have the following) –
1. Sensory/motor deficits
2. IDD
3. Low general intelligence
4. Poor teaching
5. Lack of adequate stimulation
6. Other external causes
Reading – Dyslexia- difficulty reading due to problems in identifying speech sounds and
learning how they relate to letters and words.
1. Oral language - Reading accuracy and Comprehension (difficulty in reading will lead
to difficulty in understanding)
2. Impaired sound discrimination – difficulty in differentiating between different sounds
3. Omission/addition –
eg. to instead of too
4. Distortion of words
5. Slow reading
6. Problem in properly
sequencing word
7. Starting with middle
or end of the
sentence
8. Problem in daily living
reading skills
Mathematics – Dyscalculia- affects a person's ability to understand number-based
information and math.
Child with dyscalculia will have problems with the following -
1. Linguistic skills
a. Understanding mathematical terminologies
b. Converting written problem in to mathematical symbols
2. Perceptual skills
a. Ability to recognize mathematical symbols
b. Order clusters of numbers
3. Mathematical skills - Difficulty in distinguishing between ‘+’ and ‘x’ and solving
mathematical problems
a. Addition
b. Subtraction
c. Division
d. Multiplication
e. sequencing of basic operation
4. Attentional skills
a. Copying figures correctly
b. Observing operational symbols correctly
Written & Expression - Dysgraphia- writing disabilities. – eg. in ppt
1. Poor spelling
2. Large number of errors in grammar
3. Poor hand writing
4. Punctuation in wrong places or missing
5. Poor paragraph organizing
Dyspraxia- poor motor coordination secondary to which they face difficulties in catching,
walking, running, writing, eating with cutlery, playing a piano, putting buttons, tying
shoelaces and so on
Information Processing –
For all learners, effective spelling requires that the individual can hear the sounds/see the
words (phonemic awareness) and then transfer those sounds to written text (alphabetic
knowledge). It all happens simultaneously with high speed.
1. Auditory processing disorder –
A condition that makes it hard for the
brain to process what the ear hears,
such as recognizing subtle differences
in the sounds that make up words.
Eg. samalander for Salamander OR
seventy for Seventeen
2. Visual processing disorder –
Brain-based issues that make it hard to
perceive or “make sense” of what the
eye sees.
Eg. confusing d and b, or p and q OR
Difficulty in copying from a book/
blackboard
3. Motor coordination problems –
Inappropriate coordination of
messages from brain to hand and finger
muscles
Eg. Strange ways of holding pen OR Illegible handwriting
Prognosis –
1. Children generally do not outgrow learning disabilities. – but they learn to cope.
2. Children with learning disabilities do improve, but except in the mildest cases, a
relative weakness in the affected skill will persist.
3. Children may even improve to roughly average levels, although this achievement
would still fall below the expectations for an otherwise bright individual.
4. Reviews of research on adult outcomes suggest that, as a group, individuals with
learning disabilities attain lower educational and occupational levels.
5. Outcomes are poorer in patients with more severe learning disabilities, lower IQ,
other neurological impairment, and lower socioeconomic status.
Treatment -
1. Remedial Approaches - Improving specific skills
2. Compensatory Approaches - Helps the individual to compensate, a particular deficit
rather than to change it directly. Done secondary to remedial approach.
3. Interventions for Secondary Socio-emotional problems - Children with SLD have
increased risk for problems with frustration, performance anxiety, negative peer
interactions, school avoidance, & low self-esteem.
Early start …. higher impact - (before 10 years of age)
increased risk for problems with frustration, performance anxiety, negative peer
interactions, school avoidance, and low self-esteem
Management – can think of these interventions
1. Educate parents – how to deal with this
2. Advocate with school – what relaxation can be provided by the school
3. Identify the core competence of the child – understand the special abilities of the
child and help the child grow
4. Helping them in getting exemptions – eg. Open schooling system
5. Address the emotional issues and other psychosocial issues
