SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDER

Specific learning disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders that are

typically diagnosed in early school-aged children. refers to delayed
development, in language, speech, mathematical, or motor skills, and it is not
necessarily due to any demonstrable physical or neurological defect.
The diagnosis of learning disorders is restricted to those cases in which there is
clear impairment in school performance or (if the person is not a student) in
daily living activities. Significantly more boys than girls are diagnosed as
learning disabled, but estimates of the extent of this gender discrepancy have
varied widely from study to study. They do not have obvious, crippling
emotional problems, nor do they seem to be lacking in motivation,
cooperativeness, or eagerness to please their teachers and parents—at least
not at the outset of their formal education. Nevertheless, they fail, often
abysmally and usually with a stubborn, puzzling persistence.
But there is also a brighter side to this picture. High levels of general talent and
of motivation to overcome the obstacle of a learning disorder sometimes
produce a life of extraordinary achievement. Prominent figures like Leonardo
Da Vinci, Napoleon, Saint Teresa, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill Such
examples remind us that the “bad luck” and personal adversity of having a
learning disorder need not be uniformly limiting; quite the contrary.
Types
1. Dyslexia: is a language processing disorder that impacts reading, writing,
and comprehension.
2. Dysgraphia: Those with dysgraphia have trouble converting their
thoughts into writing or drawing. Poor handwriting is a hallmark of
dysgraphia but is far from the only symptom.
3. Dyscalculia: Dyscalculia encompasses learning disabilities related to
mathematical calculations. Individuals with dyscalculia struggle with
math concepts, numbers, and reasoning.
4. Auditory processing disorder: In auditory processing disorder (APD),
patients have difficulty processing sounds. Individuals with APD may
confuse the order of sounds or be unable to filter different sounds, like a
teacher’s voice versus background noise.
5. Language processing disorder: language processing disorder arises when
an individual has specific challenges in processing spoken language,
 impacting both receptive and expressive language. E.g.: difficulty
understanding jokes.
6. Nonverbal learning deficits: NVLD sufferers struggle with understanding
body language, facial expressions and tone of voice, or the nonverbal
aspects of communication.
7. Visual motor deficits: individuals with visual perceptual/visual motor
deficit exhibit poor hand-eye coordination, often lose their places when
reading, and have difficulty with pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, and
other fine motor activities.
Causes
These disabilities are thought to result from some sort of immaturity,
deficiency, or dysregulation limited to those brain functions that supposedly
mediate, for normal children, the cognitive skills that learning disorder children
cannot efficiently acquire. Specifically, portions of the left hemisphere, where
language function is normally mediated, for unknown reasons appear to
remain relatively underdeveloped in many dyslexic individuals. Cerebrum deals
with cognitive abilities.
Some investigators believe that the various forms of learning disorder, or the
vulnerability to develop them, may be genetically transmitted.
Treatments
Although there’s no cure for a specific learning disorder, certain methods that
can be followed for SLD treatment and improving the reading, writing, and
mathematical skills of a child.
Specific therapies such as speech therapy and occupational therapy can
improve children's speaking and motor skills with writing problems.
Complimentary or alternative treatment such as music therapy can help a child
with a specific learning disorder, says psychologists
The Speech language therapists will interact with a child by playing and
talking, using pictures, books, objects, or ongoing events to stimulate speech
production.
Occupational therapy (OT) is an allied health profession that involves the
therapeutic use of everyday activities, or occupations, to treat the physical,
mental, developmental, and emotional ailments that impact a patient's ability
to perform day-to-day tasks.
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (intellectual developmental In intellectual disability cannot
disorder) is characterized by deficits in general perform daily life activities. Also
mental abilities, such as reasoning, problem includes physical disabilities.
solving, planning, abstract-thinking, judgment,
academic learning, and learning from experience. For the diagnosis to apply,
these problems must begin before the age of 18.
Levels of intellectual disability
Mild Intellectual Disability: Individuals with mild intellectual disability
constitute by far the largest number of those diagnosed with intellectual
disability. Within the educational context, people in this group are considered
educable, and their intellectual levels as adults are comparable to those of
average 8- to 11-year-old children. The social adjustment of people with mild
intellectual disability often approximates that of adolescents, although they
tend to lack normal adolescents’ imagination, inventiveness, and judgment.
With early diagnosis, parental assistance, and special educational programs,
the great majority of borderline and individuals with mild intellectual
disability can adjust socially, master simple academic and occupational skills,
and become self-supporting citizens.
Moderate Intellectual Disability Individuals with moderate intellectual
disability are likely to fall in the educational category of trainable, which means
that they are presumed able to master certain routine skills such as cooking or
minor janitorial work if provided specialized instruction in these activities. In
adult life, individuals with moderate intellectual disability attain intellectual
levels similar to those of average 4- to 7-year-old children. They usually
appear clumsy and ungainly, and they suffer from bodily deformities and poor
motor coordination. (Catching objects, poor handwriting, using scissors etc)
Severe Intellectual Disability In individuals with severe intellectual disability,
motor (ability to move and touch) and speech development are severely
retarded and sensory defects and motor handicaps are common. They can
develop limited levels of personal hygiene and self-help skills, which
somewhat lessen their dependency, but they are always dependent on
others for care. However, many profit to some extent from training and can
perform simple occupational tasks under supervision.
Profound Intellectual Disability Most individuals with profound intellectual
disability are severely deficient in adaptive behaviour and unable to master
any but the simplest tasks. Useful speech, if it develops at all, is rudimentary.
Severe physical deformities, central nervous system pathology (tumors,
strokes,brain injury) and retarded growth are typical; convulsive seizures,
mutism, deafness, and other physical anomalies (physical features a,so seems
defected) are also common. Severe and profound cases of intellectual
disability can usually be readily diagnosed in infancy because of the presence
of obvious physical malformations, grossly delayed development (e.g., in taking
solid food), and other obvious symptoms of abnormality.

Casual factors of Intellectual Disability

Biological causes of ID include
1. Genetic: genes that runs in families
2. Chromosomal: two types of chromosomal causes are Down syndrome and fragile X
syndrome.
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes mild to serious physical and
developmental problems. People with Down syndrome are born with an
extra chromosome. Chromosomes are bundles of genes, and your body relies on having
just the right number of them. With Down syndrome, this extra chromosome leads to a
range of issues that affect you both mentally and physically.
Normally individual has 23 pairs of chromosome sums up to 46 chromosomes but with
downs syndrome number 21 has 3 pairs which leads to down syndrome

Common signs and symptoms of Down Syndrome

Down syndrome causes physical, cognitive (thinking) and behavioural symptoms.
Physical signs of Down syndrome can include:
 Short, stocky physical size, with a short neck.
 Poor muscle tone.
 Flattened facial features, especially the bridge of the nose.
 Small ears.
 Almond-shaped eyes that slant upward.
 Small hands and feet.
 Single deep crease across the center of the palm of the hand.
Common learning and behavioral symptoms of Down syndrome include:
 Delays in speech and language development.
 Attention problems.
 Sleep difficulties.
 Stubbornness and tantrums.
 Delays in cognition.
 Delayed toilet training

Treatments

 Primary care providers to monitor growth, development, medical concerns and

provide vaccinations.
 Medical specialists depending on the needs of the person (for example, cardiologist,
endocrinologist, geneticist, hearing and eye specialists).
 Speech therapists to help them communicate.
 Physical therapists to help strengthen their muscles and improve motor skills.
 Occupational therapists to help refine their motor skills and make daily tasks easier.
 Behavioral therapists to help manage emotional challenges that can come with
Down syndrome

Fragile X syndrome
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an inherited genetic disease passed down from parents to
children that causes intellectual and developmental disabilities. It’s also known as Martin-
Bell syndrome

People with FXS may show a combination of the following symptoms as children and throughout life:
 Developmental delays, such as taking longer than normal to sit, walk, or talk compared with
other children of the same age
 Stuttering
 Intellectual and learning disabilities, like having trouble learning new skills
 General or social anxiety
 Autism
 Impulsiveness
 Attention difficulties
 Social issues, like not making eye contact with other people, disliking being touched, and
trouble understanding body language
 Hyperactivity
 Seizures
 Depression
 Difficulty sleeping
Some people with FXS have physical abnormalities. These may include:
 A large forehead or ears, with a prominent jaw
 An elongated face
 Protruding ears, forehead, and chin
 Loose or flexible joints
 Flat feet

CAUSES
FXS is caused by a defect in the FMR1 gene located on the X chromosome. The X chromosome is one
of two types of sex chromosomes. The other is the Y chromosome. Women have two X
chromosomes while men have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome.

The defect, or mutation, on the FMR1 gene prevents the gene from properly making a protein called
the fragile X mental retardation 1 protein. This protein plays a role in the functioning of the nervous
system. The exact function of the protein is not fully understood. A lack or shortage of this protein
causes the symptoms characteristic of FXS.

Infections and Toxic Agents

Intellectual disability may be associated with a wide range of conditions due to infection such as
viral encephalitis or genital herpes (Kaski, 2000). If a pregnant woman is infected with syphilis or
HIV-1 or if she gets German measles, her child may suffer brain damage.
A number of toxic agents such as carbon monoxide and lead may cause brain damage during fetal
development or after birth (Kaski, 2000). In rare instances, immunological agents such as
antitetanus serum or typhoid vaccine may lead to brain damage. Similarly, if taken by a pregnant
woman, certain drugs, including an excess of alcohol (West et al., 1998), may lead to congenital
malformations. And an overdose of drugs administered to an infant may result in toxicity and cause
brain damage.

Trauma (Physical Injury)

Physical injury at birth can result in intellectual disability (Kaski, 2000). Although the fetus is normally
well protected by its fluid-filled placenta during gestation, and although its skull resists delivery
stressors, accidents do happen during delivery and after birth. Difficulties in labour due to
malposition of the fetus or other complications may irreparably damage the infant’s brain. Bleeding
within the brain is probably the most common result of such birth trauma

Malnutrition and Other Biological Factors

It was long thought that dietary deficiencies in protein and other essential nutrients during early
development of the fetus could do irreversible physical and mental damage. However, it is currently
believed that this assumption of a direct causal link may have been oversimplified. Ricciuti (1993)
cited growing evidence that malnutrition may affect mental development more indirectly by altering
a child’s responsiveness, curiosity, and motivation to learn. According to this hypothesis, these losses
would then lead to a relative retardation of intellectual facility. The implication here is that at least
some malnutritionassociated intellectual deficit is a special case of psychosocial deprivation, which is
also involved in retardation outcomes, as described below

Treatments

Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition.

Although there is currently no cure, most people can learn to improve their functioning over time.
Receiving early, ongoing interventions can often improve functioning, thereby allowing someone to
thrive.

Treatment Facilities and Methods Parents of children with intellectual disability often find that
childrearing is a very difficult challenge (Glidden & Schoolcraft, 2007). For example, recent research
has shown that learning disability is associated with a higher incidence of mental health problems.

One decision that the parents of an intellectual disabled child must make is whether to place the
child in an institution (Gath, 2000). Most authorities agree that this should be considered as a last
resort, in light of the unfavourable outcomes normally experienced—particularly in regard to the
erosion of self-care skill (Lynch et al., 1997) Long-term institutional care is linked with behavioural
and emotional problems (Yang et al., 2007)
In general, children who are institutionalized fall into two groups:
(1) those who, in infancy and childhood, manifest severe intellectual disability and associated
physical impairment and who enter an institution at an early age; and
(2) those who have no physical impairments but show relatively mild intellectual disability and a
failure to adjust socially in adolescence, eventually being institutionalized chiefly because of
delinquency or other problem behaviour (see Stattin & Klackenberg-Larsson, 1993)
In these cases, social incompetence is the main factor in the decision. The families of patients in the
first group come from all socioeconomic levels, whereas a significantly higher percentage of the
families of those in the second group come from lower educational and occupational strata.

For the many teenagers with intellectual disability whose families are not in a position to help them
achieve a satisfactory adjustment, community-oriented residential care seems a particularly effective
alternative (Alexander et al., 1985). Unfortunately, many neighbourhoods resist the location of such
facilities within their confines and reject integration of residents into the local society (Short &
Johnston, 1997).

For individuals with intellectual disability who do not require institutionalization, educational and
training facilities have historically been woefully inadequate (less number to service provided for
their specific needs) This neglect is especially tragic in view of the ways that exist to help these
people. For example, classes for individuals with mild intellectual disability, which usually emphasize
reading and other basic school subjects, budgeting and money matters, and developing of
occupational skills, have succeeded in helping many people become independent, productive
community members. Classes for those with moderate and severe intellectual disability usually have
more limited objectives, but they emphasize the development of self-care and other skills—e.g.,
toilet habits (Wilder et al., 1997)—that enable individuals to function adequately and to be of
assistance in either a family (e.g., Heller et al., 1997) or an institutional setting

Today, there are approximately 129,000 people with intellectual disability and other related
conditions who receive intermediate care although many are not institutionalized, which just shows
there are other less harmful ways. A Public Law 94–142, passed by Congress in 1975 and since
modified several times (see Hayden, 1998). This statute, termed the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act, asserts the right of intellectually disabled people to be educated at public expense in
the least restrictive environment possible.

Supportive services include:

  early interventions that work to identify intellectual disability in infants and toddlers

 special education and academic support, such as individual education plans, which
are available in the U.S. under federal law for free to every child with intellectual
disability

 transition services that help people with intellectual disability transition to adulthood
after high school

 day programs

 vocational programs, such as job coaching or skill learning

 housing options

 case managers to help coordinate services and ensure that the individual receives
proper care

 psychological or psychiatric services

 speech and language pathology or audiology services

 therapeutic recreation

 rehabilitation counselling

 adapted equipment or assistive technology

Family members, caregivers, friends, co-workers, and community members can also provide
additional support to people with intellectual disability.

With proper support and treatment, most people with intellectual disability are capable of
achieving successful, production roles in their communities