Can we prevent learning disabilities?

It seems a number of factors may contribute to the growing prevalence of learning disabilities. The problem is we are still not able to pinpoint exactly what has caused an otherwise healthy child to have a learning disability.

A variety of areas have been explored including genetics, prenatal influences, labor and delivery problems, chemicals within the environment of the child, the home environment as well as nutritional profiles. We know healthy prenatal care, including good nutrition and a healthy mother work together to minimize the chance for learning disabilities. The use of drugs or alcohol can have potentially devastating effects on the brain development of the fetus, this can lead to learning disabilities in the child. Maternal smoking can also lead to lower birth weight babies who also may be at risk for impairments in brain development and functioning.

Lead paint has a relationship to the development of problems within children. We have known this since the 1960s and have worked to remove lead paints from homes and schools. Many other chemicals have an implication in the development of learning disabilities. The frustration for doctors and parents is we cannot yet determine with certainty what has caused most learning disabilities-why did this particular child develop a learning disability while another child in the same circumstance did not?

Most parents ask the prevention question after the learning disability has been diagnosed. It becomes a seeking game and often becomes a circular question with a great deal of guilt and shame for the parents. It is vital to remember that in the majority of cases, no specific cause can be found for a child's learning disability. Guilt, blame, or shame have no part in the learning process for the child diagnosed with a learning disability. If problems did occur during pregnancy or early childhood, nothing can be done to turn the clock back.

It is vital to give the best possible care to pregnant women, to make sure they have the tools they need to take the best possible care of themselves while pregnant. Early childhood must also be an enriched time with adequate nutrition and outlets for development. But, it is important to remember that many learning disabilities have no known cause, they do happen in families who did everything exactly right, and the task then becomes to meet the child wherever he or she might be so learning can be maximized and life-happiness as full and complete as possible for the whole family.

Resource: National Institute of Mental Health, Decade of the Brain. NIH Pub. No. 93-3611, September 1993. http://www.kidsource.com/kidso urce/content/learningdis.html

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