Learning Disabilities and Disorders

Perception of learning disabilities in Nigerian society
A common Nigerian’s predicament when it comes to a child having difficulties academically is that the child is lazy, not serious or not trying hard enough. Mental and psychological health are given very low regard in Nigeria due to many environmental factors like beliefs, cultures and traditions. Learning disorders are very common amongst children all over the country but the rate of ignorance in this field is sublime.
We tend to submit to our spines whenever our children face such challenges by relating it to spiritual and cultural beliefs. We do not believe in taking our children to professionals for diagnosis when it comes to learning disorders/disabilities. A dyslexic child will be forced to learn like any normal kid and if things go out of hand, the child might be beaten or punished. This ideology kills the child’s morale and he/she is tagged “dumb”. The main factor is that we don’t believe in learning disorders/disabilities, we make excuses and compare our children to their friends/mates. Our approach might be primitive but is not always futile.
Due to the foundation of this ideology, even some professionals are not up to date in this factor. The axiom that 12, million Nigerians have learning disabilities is indeed a serious learning crises and challenge to national sustainable development, hence the need for early intervention to ameliorate the challenge.

Solutions to these perceptions in our society
 Public awareness: people are not just ignorant of learning disabilities, some are totally oblivious about it. Public awareness is a key factor that will change the approach and perception of this topic in our society.
 Federal government is required to create a research centre for diagnose and intervention on learning problems among school age children and adolescents.
 Efforts should be made by school authorities to identify children with learning problems at the earlier period for appropriate intervention to mitigate the problem.
 Teachers should give special attention to children and adolescents who have learning disabilities in the classroom.
 School authorities should permit extra time to be given to learners with learning disability during tests and examinations due to the nature of their problems.

What are learning disabilities?

There is a common confliction in defining learning disabilities, learning difference and learning disorders. While learning disabilities (LDs) are a group of neurological or brain-based problems that affect one or more ways that a person takes in, stores or uses information, learning disorders are significant learning problems in an academic area, and learning difference has to do with the variation in ideological perception of processing information.
Learning disabilities come in different forms and vary from person to person. They relate to:
• Getting information into the brain (Input)
• Making sense of this information (Organization)
• Storing and retrieving information (Memory)
• Getting information back out (Output)

By definition, people with LDs have average to above average intelligence yet they have very specific impairments in one or more of the psychological processes related to learning. These processes may include:
• Language processing (understanding and expressing information using words)
• Visual-spatial processing (perceiving or organizing visual information)
• Visual-motor processing (carrying out hand-eye activities)
• Phonological processing (identifying and manipulating speech sounds)
• Processing speed (speed of taking in, using or pulling out information)
• Working memory (holding information in mind while also using the information)
• Executive functions (planning and organizing)
LDs are diagnosed most commonly as an outcome of a comprehensive psychological assessment. Using a number of standardized tests that have been given to thousands of people, psychologists will systematically look at how people think, problem-solve, remember, understand and express information.

LDs are a life-long condition that affects people differently depending on the situation.
LDs can affect academic functioning, daily life and social life. For example, LDs can interfere with sight reading, reading comprehension, math, and writing. They can also interfere with organization, managing time, following multi-step instructions or interpreting graphs, charts and maps. Some people with LDs have trouble interpreting facial expressions, understanding body language, understanding tones of voice or taking turns in conversations.

What Causes LDs?
A learning disability happens when a person’s brain development is affected, either before they’re born, during their birth or in early childhood.
This can be caused by things such as: the mother becoming ill in pregnancy problems during the birth that stop enough oxygen getting to the brain the unborn baby inheriting certain genes from its parents that make having a learning disability more likely – known as inherited learning disability illness, such as meningitis, or injury in early childhood. Sometimes there is no known cause for a learning disability. Some conditions are associated with having a learning disability because people with these conditions are more likely to have one. For example, everyone with Down’s syndrome has some kind of learning disability, and so do many people with cerebral palsy. People with autism may also have learning disabilities, and around 30% of people with epilepsy have a learning disability.
Learning disabilities are due to genetic, other congenital and/or acquired neuro-biological factors. They often run in families.

According to the Guardian (learning disability, Ian sample, science correspondent, Mon 20 Apr 2009), learning disability genes were found in boys in a survey of families known to have a history of mental impairment. All of the abnormal genes found in the study were on the X chromosome, which boys always inherit from their mothers. Girls inherit two copies of the X chromosome, one from each parent (making it an X-linked dominant inherited gene which cannot be transmitted from male (XY) to male (XY) but from father (XY) to daughter (XX) which makes it dominant in males and usually milder or variable in females).
Poor brain development causes learning disabilities in 2% to 3% of the population, but the problem is more prevalent in males. In women, a faulty gene on one X chromosome is counteracted by a healthy copy. The research, led by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, adds to 70 other genes on the X chromosome that have already been linked to abnormal brain development in boys.
“Although there is no obvious cure for these conditions, knowing more about the genes involved will lead to better screening and much more informed counselling,” said Patrick Tarpey, a geneticist and lead author on the study.

LDs are not caused by factors such as cultural or language differences, inadequate or inappropriate instruction, socio-economic status or lack of motivation, although any one of these and other factors may compound the impact of learning disabilities.
Frequently learning disabilities co-exist with other conditions, including attentional, behavioural and emotional disorders, sensory impairments or other medical conditions.

Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities
Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities: Preschool age
• Problems pronouncing words
• Trouble finding the right word
• Difficulty rhyming
• Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes, days of the week
• Difficulty following directions or learning routines
• Difficulty controlling crayons, pencils, and scissors, or colouring within the lines
• Trouble with buttons, zippers, snaps, learning to tie shoes

Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities: Ages 5-9
• Trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds
• Unable to blend sounds to make words
• Confuses basic words when reading
• Slow to learn new skills
• Consistently misspells words and makes frequent errors
• Trouble learning basic math concepts
• Difficulty telling time and remembering sequences
Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities: Ages 10-13
• Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills
• Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
• Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
• Poor handwriting
• Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, desk is messy and
• disorganized)
• Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
• Spells the same word differently in a single document

Profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD)
A profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD) is when a person has a severe learning disability and other disabilities that significantly affect their ability to communicate and be independent.
Someone with PMLD may have severe difficulties seeing, hearing, speaking and moving. They may have complex health and social care needs due to these or other conditions.
People with PMLD need a carer or carers to help them with most areas of everyday life, such as eating, washing and going to the toilet.
With support, many people can learn to communicate in different ways, be involved in decisions about themselves, do things they enjoy and achieve more independence.

Specific Learning disorders
The DSM-5 (Diagnostic & Stastical manual, 5th Ed.) defined learning disorders as a set of disorders that relate to having difficulty learning and developing certain skills for at least 6 months. They are three in number: dyslexia (difficulty with reading), dysgraphia (difficulty writing) and dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematics). People can have difficulty with just one of those facets but show symptoms that span all three. They are called specific learning disorders because they don’t stem from another condition like an intellectual disorder and aren’t due to any environmental cause (like not being taught to read or write). Learning disorders are normally accessed during school aged years when a child falls below what he or she is able to do at a certain age.

 Dyslexia: Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called reading disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language. People with dyslexia have normal intelligence and usually have normal vision. Most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialized education program. Emotional support also plays an important role. Though there’s no cure for dyslexia, early assessment and intervention result in the best outcome. Sometimes dyslexia goes undiagnosed for years and isn’t recognized until adulthood, but it’s never too late to seek help.
Treatment consists of therapy. Most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialised education programme.
Therapies
Individualized educational interventions
Tailoring education to an individual’s learning needs, such as by making changes to their learning environment.
Rehabilitation
Retraining the brain’s pathways to improve mental and physical functioning after an illness or injury. For example, after a blow to the head (concussion).
Occupational Therapy
Improves daily living and work skills of patients.
Counselling psychology
A branch of psychology that treats personal problems related to school, work, family and social life.

 Dyscalculia: 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 5×5=25). Children with math learning disorders might also have trouble with counting principles (such as counting by twos or counting by fives) or have difficulty telling time.
Treatment: Different types of professionals can help kids with dyscalculia in different ways. Some may work in a school setting, while others work privately. Here are some types of professionals who might work with your child: special education teachers, math tutors or educational therapists, child psychologists, and Paediatric neuropsychologists.
There are no medications for dyscalculia. And there aren’t specialized teaching programs like there are for dyslexia. But a teaching approach called multisensory instruction can make it easier for kids with dyscalculia to learn math. This approach uses various senses to help kids learn skills and understand concepts. It also helps to teach math concepts systematically, where one skill builds on the next. This can help kids with dyscalculia make stronger connections to what they’re learning.
 Dysgraphia: 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. This is a nervous system problem that affects the fine motor skills needed to write. It makes it hard for a child to do handwriting tasks and assignments. Health insurers and most doctors call this condition “an impairment in written expression.” Scientists aren’t sure why dysgraphia happens in children. In adults, it’s sometimes related to a brain injury. In kids, this learning disorder usually occurs along with other learning disabilities such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and dyslexia.
Treatment: There’s no cure for dysgraphia. Treatment varies from child to child and depends on whether he has any other learning disabilities or health conditions. Medication used to treat ADHD has helped with dysgraphia in some kids who have both conditions.
Other types of learning disabilities: Reading, writing, and math aren’t the only skills impacted by learning disorders. Other types of learning disabilities involve difficulties with motor skills (movement and coordination), understanding spoken language, distinguishing between sounds, and interpreting visual information.

Learning disabilities in motor skills (dyspraxia)
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.

Learning disabilities in language (aphasia/dysphasia)
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.

Auditory and visual processing problems: the importance of the ears and 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, earning can suffer.

Auditory processing 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.

Visual processing disorder – 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.

There is no known cure for learning disabilities but with change in our perception and proper counselling the issues of learning disabilities and disorders will be curbed.

References

1. HELPGUIDE.ORG,Trusted guide to mental, emotional & social health
2. WAM handbook of learning disabilities, by Integra® Staff
3. https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/dyscalculia/
4. www.understood.org
5. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151951.php
6. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/apr/20/learning-disability-gene-study
7. https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/sd-sld
8. International Journal of Education and Evaluation ISSN 2489-0073 Vol. 2 No.7 2016, Learning Problems of Children and Adolescents in Nigeria and Intervention Strategies Onukwufor, Jonathan N. (Ph.D.) Department of Educational Psychology Guidance and Counselling University of Port-Harcourt.
9. https://punchng.com/your-child-with-learning-disabilities-may-be-battling-dyslexia/
10. https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/dysgraphia-facts
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability