Learning Disabilities (LD) are neurological in origin and result from minor or major differences in how the brain is wired'. Most often these problems are recognized by parents before they attend school but not always. Since the children with LD are as smart and adventurous as so called normal children, the problem may not be known until they start to school.

There are no cures, no fixes, only patterning and ways around these difficulties. Since these students do not see their world as others see theirs, an individualized plan must be written just for them according to the particular type of learning their learning disability.

Of these, dyslexia, the reading disability where letters and numbers are seen as somewhat skewered or upside down or backward, is seen frequently, and accounts for most of the reading handicaps seen today. It is said that even Einstein did not learn to read until the age of nine. Can you not hear today's parents hollering at their teachers if they child could not read by that age?

Others have trouble solving math problems, termed dyscalculia; trouble writing, dysgraphia; auditory and visual processing disorder where there are language problems although the student can hear and see well. This means that the sounds and sights are deciphered differently, owing to the brain's wiring' irregularity. Then a neurological non-verbal problem sometimes results from a disorder in the right brain hemisphere that makes "visual-spatial' intuitive, organizational, evaluative, and holistic processing functions difficult.

Learning disabilities are not rare. National Institutes of Health statistics show that 15% of the US population has some form of learning disability. These can be hereditary, as seen from members of the same family having the same affliction. And too, Learning Disorders are often mis-diagnosed as mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral problems. And, although it can coincide with Attention Disorder, it is not the same. When that hyperactive condition is fixed, the learning disorder will still be present. It may, however, make the intense learning endeavor all the more difficult.

What can worried parents do?

A.
They need to encourage their children and emphasize their strong points in learning and help them understand and cope with their weaknesses.

B.
They will need to meet with the teacher and school authorities and work with them to get the right kind of help.

C.
If IEP is not suggested to them, they need to request it. This is a specialized plan for learning for each individual learning disabled student. If after testing a disability is found, then it is a law (IDEA) that each state must educate learning disabled student, appropriate to their particular condition, from age 3 until 21.

Source:
www.idonline.org/index.php

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