Learning difficulty or disability refers to poor
school performance that is not attributable to
intellectual ability, physical disability, emotional disturbance,
severe economic hardship or mental retardation. The prevalence of
learning disabilities is relatively high with about 5 to 10
percent of school children being affected. While some learning
disability subtypes run in families, suggesting the presence of a
genetic component, the exact causes are unknown.
Our approach to helping children with learning difficulties is accurate recognition of their problem areas and evaluation of the extent of difficulties. We believe in prevention, that the earlier learning difficulties are recognised the more parents and teachers can help children to reach their full potential.
Characteristics of Learning Difficulties
Learning disability can result from disruption
to any stages of the learning process. Specific learning disability
is a disorder in one or more of the learning processes associated
with language use (written or spoken) that affects listening,
reading, writing, speaking and spelling skills, or mathematical
abilities.
Learning disabilities are also
often associated with hyperactivity, impairments in perceptual-motor
coordination, disorders of attention (ADHD), impulsivity, disorders
of memory and language problems.
Specific
learning disabilities are Dyslexia or problems with
reading, Discalculia or problems with mathematical
calculations and Dysgraphia or problems with writing.
The Learning
Process
Learning happens in
stages. In order to learn new information children
must encode new information,
they must be able to integrate it with existing knowledge,
they must store it and finally, in order to use it, they
must be able to retrieve it. All these stages
are susceptible to difficulties that can influence the learning
process.
Encoding
Encoding is the first stage of
learning. This is when children attend
to information and analyse what they see or hear (or
smell or touch or taste). Attention at this stage can shift very
quickly and lack of interest or motivation can greatly
influence what children may or may not learn. Understandably,
children with attentional difficulties, such as ADHD, have difficulty learning new information
simply because they find it hard to pay
attention.
Integration
Integration is part of
the first learning stage. This is when children pay attention
to presented information and hold this information in their
short term or working memory. It can be as simple as seeing a
picture of a possum for the first time and hearing the word
"possum" from a parent or teacher. Let's assume the child might already knows what a cat
is. To this child the possum may look similar because it is similar in size and shape to the cat and it is also furry. Despite these similarities, after hearing the word "possum" and looking at the picture the child is about to learn that it is a different
animal.
Storage
Storage is the second stage
of learning. This is when children really evaluate new information
and categorise it for storage. Rehearsal and repetition can aid the
process of storage and improve learning. Staying with our earlier
example, a child may repeat the word "possum" to him/herself
while still looking at the picture of the possum. This way he/she is
creating mental space and filling it with this new
information.
Retrieval
Retrieval is the proof of learning. This is
when children begin to use the information they learned. They must
be able to search their memory storage and make an accurate
decision about what is the exact information they were "looking
for". In the case of the possum example, seeing the picture of the
possum a day or two later, a child may still be tempted to say that
it is a cat, but if learning has taken place he/she will search for
the word that fits best with picture. In our example, the child should remember that it is a possum.
Diagnostic
Assessment of Learning Disability
The primary
diagnostic criteria of a specific learning disability is a
severe discrepancy between ability and achievement in one or more
academic skill area of oral expression, listening
comprehension, written expression, reading comprehension ,
mathematical calculation or mathematical reasoning. Therefore
the diagnostic process involves the assessment and comparison of
intellectual and academic achievement abilities.
The comparison of
intellectual and achievement abilities serves a dual purpose.
First, a severe discrepancy between ability and
achievement is necessary for the diagnosis of learning disability.
Second, tests of intellectual ability often evaluate mental
processes that are important in learning, such as working memory and
processing speed. If learning disability is detected, it is possible
to further investigate whether one or more areas of cognitive
functioning represent relative weaknesses for a child and related to
the learning difficulty.
What We
Offer
At CPAC
we offer reliable
diagnoses of learning difficulties and disabilities. When possible, we
try to identify psychosocial areas in children's lives
that may be responsible for
their learning difficulties and will make specific recommendations to overcome
such difficulties. Upon request we will liaise with teachers and schools and we
will help to design a suitable program
for your child to reach
his/her potential.
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