Learning disability

Learning disability (sometimes called a learning disorder or learning difficulty), is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive and process information. This disorder can make it problematic for a person to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone who isn't affected by a learning disability. Learning disability is not indicative of intelligence level. Rather, people with a learning disability have trouble performing specific types of skills or completing tasks if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways.

Types of learning disabilities

Types of learning disabilities are often grouped by school–area skill set or cognitive weakness. If your child is in school, it will probably be apparent if he or she is struggling with reading, writing, or math, and narrowing down the type will be easier.

Motor difficulties and learning disabilities

Motor difficulty refers to problems with movement and coordination whether it is with fine motor skills (cutting, writing) or gross motor skills (running, jumping). A motor disability is sometimes referred to as an “output” activity meaning that it relates to the output of information from the brain. In order to run, jump, write or cut something, the brain must be able to communicate with the necessary limbs to complete the action.

Signs that your child might have a motor coordination disability include problems with physical abilities that require hand–eye coordination, like holding a pencil or buttoning a shirt.

Math difficulties and learning disabilities

Learning disabilities in math vary greatly depending on the child’s other strengths and weaknesses. A child’s ability to do math will be affected differently by a language learning disability, or a visual disorder or a difficulty with sequencing, memory or organization. 

A child with a math–based learning disorder may struggle with memorization and organization of numbers, operation signs, and number “facts” (like 5+5=10 or 5x5=25). Children with math learning disorders might also have trouble with counting principles (such as counting by 2s or counting by 5s) or have difficulty telling time.

Language difficulties and learning disabilities

Language and communication learning disabilities involve the ability to understand or produce spoken language. Language is also considered an output activity because it requires organizing thoughts in the brain and calling upon the right words to verbally explain something or communicate with someone else.

  
Signs of a language–based learning disorder involve problems with verbal language skills, such as the ability to retell a story and the fluency of speech, as well as the ability to understand the meaning of words, parts of speech, directions, etc.

Reading difficulties and learning disabilities

There are two types of learning disabilities in reading. Basic reading problems occur when there is difficulty understanding the relationship between sounds, letters and words. Reading comprehension problems occur when there is an inability to grasp the meaning of words, phrases, and paragraphs.

 
Signs of reading difficulty include problems with:

-letter and word recognition
-understanding words and ideas
-reading speed and fluency
-general vocabulary skills
 
 

Writing difficulties and learning disabilities

Learning disabilities in writing can involve the physical act of writing or the mental activity of comprehending and synthesizing information. Basic writing disorder refers to physical difficulty forming words and letters. Expressive writing disability indicates a struggle to organize thoughts on paper.

Symptoms of a written language learning disability revolve around the act of writing and include. They include problems with:
 

-neatness and consistency of writing
-accurately copying letters and words
-spelling consistency
-writing organization and coherence
 
 

Auditory and visual processing: the importance of the ears and the eyes

The eyes and the ears are the primary means of delivering information to the brain, a process sometimes called “input.” If either the eyes or the ears aren’t working properly, learning can suffer and there is a greater likelihood of a learning disability or disorder.

Professionals may refer to the ability to hear well as “auditory processing skills” or “receptive language.” The ability to hear things correctly greatly impacts the ability to read, write and spell. An inability to distinguish subtle differences in sound, or hearing sounds at the wrong speed make it difficult to sound out words and understand the basic concepts of reading and writing. 

Problems in visual perception include missing subtle differences in shapes, reversing letters or numbers, skipping words, skipping lines, misperceiving depth or distance, or having problems with eye–hand coordination.  Professionals may refer to the work of the eyes as “visual processing.” Visual perception can affect gross and fine motor skills, reading comprehension, and math.

Language disorders or language impairments

Disorders that involve the processing of linguistic information. Problems that may be experienced can involve grammar (syntax and/or morphology), semantics (meaning), or other aspects of language. These problems may be receptive (involving impaired language comprehension), expressive (involving language production), or a combination of both. Examples include specific language impairment and aphasia, among others. Language disorders can affect both spoken and written language, and can also affect sign language; typically, all forms of language will be impaired.

Note that these are distinct from speech disorders, which involve difficulty with the act of speech production, but not with language

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual Disability: is a generalized disorder, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors with onset before the age of 18. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70. Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals' functional skills in their environment.

Signs

-Delays in oral language development
-Deficits in memory skills
-Difficulty learning social rules
-Difficulty with problem solving skills
-Delays in the development of adaptive behaviors such as self-help or self-care skills
-Lack of social inhibitors.
 
 

Autism

A disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.

What Causes Autism?

-     Autism affects about 1 in every 150 kids, but no one knows what causes it. Some scientists think that some kids might be more likely to get autism because it or similar disorders run in their families. Knowing the exact cause of autism is hard because the human brain is very complicated.

-     The brain contains over 100 billion nerve cells called neurons (say: nur-ahns). Each neuron may have hundreds or thousands of connections that carry messages to other nerve cells in the brain and body. The connections and the chemical messengers they send (called neurotransmitters) let the neurons that help you see, feel, move, remember, and work together as they should.

-     For some reason, some of the cells and connections in the brain of a kid with autism — especially those that affect communication, emotions, and senses — don't develop properly or get damaged. Scientists are still trying to understand how and why this happens.

  Medical literature and special education sometimes use the term Asperger syndrome (Asperger `s) to refer to autism, and there are other clinical pictures involved with autism in some main characteristics, including:

1-  (Landau - Kleffner Syndrome).
2- (Williams Syndrome )  
3- (Moebius Syndrome)
4- (Rett Syndrome)
5- (Sotos Syndrome)
 

Physical Disability

Physical impairment refers to a broad range of disabilities which include orthopedic, neuromuscular, cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders. People with these disabilities often must rely upon assertive devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, canes, and artificial limbs to obtain mobility. The physical disability may either be congenital or a result of injury, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, amputation, heart disease, pulmonary disease or more.

Hearing disability

Hearing impairment or deafness refers to conditions in which individuals are fully or partially unable to detect or perceive at least some frequencies of sound which can typically be heard by members of their species.

 Causes
-Genetic
-Disease or illness
 

Visual Disability

vision loss (of a person) to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction, medication, or surgery. This functional loss of vision is typically defined to manifest with:

1.Best corrected visual acuity of less than 20/60, or significant central field defect,
2.Significant peripheral field defect including homonymous or heteronymous bilateral visual, field defect or generalized contraction or constriction of field.
3.Reduced peak contrast sensitivity with either of the above conditions.
 

In the United States, the terms "partially sighted," "low vision," "legally blind," and "totally blind" are used in the educational context to describe students with visual impairments. They are defined as follows:

1.Partially sighted indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person to receive special education in some cases;
2.Low vision generally refers to a severe visual impairment, not necessarily limited to distance vision. Low vision applies to all individuals with sight who are unable to read the newspaper at a normal viewing distance, even with the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses. They use a combination of vision and other senses to learn, although they may require adaptations in lighting or the size of print, and, sometimes, Braille;

1. Myopic - unable to see distant objects clearly, commonly called near-sighted or short-sighted
2. Hyperopic - unable to see close objects clearly, commonly called far-sighted or long-sighted
3. Legally blind indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye after best correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the better eye; and
4. Totally blind students learn via Braille or other non-visual media.
 

Visual impairment is the consequence of a functional loss of vision, rather than the eye disorder itself. Eye disorders which can lead to visual impairments can include retinal degeneration, albinism, cataracts, glaucoma, muscular problems that result in visual disturbances, corneal disorders, diabetic retinopathy, congenital disorders, and infection." Visual impairment can also be caused by brain and nerve disorders, in which case it is usually termed cortical visual impairment (CVI).

Low Incident Disabilities

 A severe disabling condition with an expected incidence rate of less than one percent of the total statewide enrollment.
Recognized Examples:

-  Hearing Impairments
-  Vision Impairments
-  Severe Orthopedic Impairments
-  Combination of these  Impairments
 

High Incident Disabilities

High Incident Disabilities refer to disabilities with high rates of common disabilities including:

Simple mental disabilities, learning difficulties, behavior disorders and communication disorders.

Students who suffer from these disabilities are representing about 6% of school students, and about 93% of students with disabilities. In general, meeting the needs of these students do not require highly specialized services comparing to other categories of disability. For this reason, it made the (Non-categorical Approach) in special education in acceptable level of success comparing with other groups.

Multiple disabilities

It means that a person has more than one disability, such as: mental retardation, handicapped, hearing disability or visual disability; which causes developmental, educational and unique problems.

Compared with other disabilities, multiple disabilities, is infrequent, where its spread percentage is about 0.001-0.002, and despite the fact that most people who suffer from multiple disabilities do not have institutions or schools in developing countries that accept them, increasing numbers of them receiving education in special classes in regular schools.