Learning Disabilities
There are different types of learning difficulties during the children’s schooling period. And some of them may have their origin in specific learning disorders.
Currently, learning difficulties are a sensitive topic and it is very important to know about the subject, as it affects children’s learning in matters of everyday life.
What are learning disabilities?
Learning disabilities specifically refer to learning disabilities during childhood. These difficulties include dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysorthography and dyscalculia.
Each of these disorders is a type of learning disability, although none of these difficulties preclude the other. Therefore, a child can have multiple learning difficulties at the same time.
Learning difficulties: what are they?
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is perhaps the most widespread learning disability among children. It is characterized by difficulties in learning to read and, therefore, is reflected in speech. Children suffering from dyslexia do not fully understand what they read due to the difficulty in understanding what is written.
To treat cases of dyslexia, specific and individual learning techniques are needed, according to each child. These types of techniques are intended to help the child acquire the ability to interpret and understand the graphic symbols that are commonly used in both writing and reading.
Dysgraphia and dysorthography
Dysgraphia and dysorthography are related to the difficulty in learning to write. Dysorthography manifests itself mainly in the difficulty to spell the words with the correct spelling. Dysgraphia, however, has to do with the motor difficulty to write.
Dyscalculia or learning disorder of math skills
Another disorder among learning difficulties is dyscalculia. This type of difficulty in children occurs specifically in learning mathematics.
In other words, it refers to a permanent difficulty in learning and understanding numerical concepts, such as performing calculations. Between 3% and 6% of school-age children have dyscalculia.
Symptoms that may indicate the presence of learning difficulties
During the child’s learning period, it is necessary to pay attention to certain symptoms that may manifest. Among the most visible and common is the confusion of visually similar words as well as other short words.
On the other hand, when the child omits words, ignores punctuation and inverts the letters of words, these are also symptoms of possible learning difficulties.
And finally, perhaps one of the most striking symptoms of learning difficulties occurs when children read and lose track, not quite understanding what they are reading. The presence of any of these symptoms in a habitual way in the child may mean that he/she has some difficulty in the learning process.
Early diagnosis of learning difficulties
Learning difficulties, also known as learning disabilities, do not always manifest in the same way in all children. In some cases the symptoms will be more evident and in others less so. That is, observation will have to be sharpened.
The importance of an early diagnosis is essential so that the learning disability can start to be treated as soon as possible. It is essential that this diagnosis is made early, as the symptoms become more and more accentuated over time.
Along with the above, it is extremely important that both parents and teachers work together for each child’s learning. Early diagnosis of any type of learning disability offers more possibilities for the treatment to correct it to be more effective.
It is necessary to observe and supervise during the child’s learning process to see if there is any manifestation of an anomaly. The idea is to locate the presence of some type of learning problem, whether in writing, reading or speaking.
In summary, learning difficulties are more common than you think, especially at school age of children. Therefore, it is important that both the family and the school monitor each child’s attitudes and behavior in relation to each learning process.
In situations or symptoms where difficulties can be perceived, it is important to consult the corresponding experts. An early diagnosis of learning difficulties will help to significantly reduce their worsening over the years.
