Learning difficulties reflect an enduring deficit rather than just a developmental lag, necessitating intervention programs of greater duration and intensity than those normally offered in the classroom. Research studies show that 70 per cent of students with literacy difficulties at age 7 still have reading/literacy problems when aged 15.
Students with learning difficulties reveal problems in storing information in memory as well as retrieving it from memory.- Learning difficulties cluster with other difficulties such as attention-deficit disorder, conduct disorders, motivation, language and social and interpersonal difficulties.
- Because of their interactive relationships, difficulties in one or more of these domains often affect the development of the others.
- Although there are as many females as males showing characteristics associated with learning difficulties, boys are three to four times more likely to be identified as being learning disabled.
- Students literacy and numeracy difficulties detrimentally affect all school subjects.
- Students social skills and motivation to be involved in schooling are diminished.
- Students with learning difficulties have lower academic self-concepts and show less persistence when faced with difficult tasks.
- Students with learning difficulties are less efficient and effective users of learning and thinking strategies than their academically more successful peers.
- Students with learning difficulties often suffer diminished self-esteem, lack intrinsic motivation and attribute academic success or failure to luck.
Children with learning difficulties can present with either or both of the following:
Visual and auditory processing are the processes of recognizing and interpreting information taken in through the senses of sight and sound. The terms, “visual and auditory processing” and “visual and auditory perception”, are often used interchangeably. Although there are many types of perception, the two most common areas of difficulty involved with a learning disability are visual and auditory perception. Since so much information in the classroom and at home is presented visually and/or verbally, the child with an auditory or visual perceptual disorder can be at a disadvantage in certain situations.
Children with learning difficulties can be described as the following:
- Appears bright, intelligent and articulate but is unable to read, write or spell at grade level.
- Labelled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, “not trying hard enough”, or “behaviour problem”.
- Isn’t “behind enough” or “bad enough” to be helped in the school setting.
- High in IQ, tests well orally but not in written form.
- Feels dumb, poor self-esteem; covers up weaknesses with compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing.
- Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, storytelling, sales, business, designing, building or engineering.
- Seems to “zone-out” or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
- Difficulty sustaining attention; seems “hyper”.
- Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation and visual aids.
Memory and Cognition
- Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations and faces.
- Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced.
- Thinks primarily with images and feelings, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue)
Behaviour, Health, Development, Personality
- Extremely disorderly or compulsively orderly.
- Can be class clown, troublemaker or too quiet.
- Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, walking, crawling, tying shoelaces)
- Prone to ear infections, sensitive to foods, additives and chemicals.
If your child displays any of the following signs then an Occupational Therapy assessment may be needed:
- delayed motor milestones e.g. walking, sitting, crawling
- delayed language and speech development, reading and spelling difficulties
- health problems in early childhood e.g. frequent infections, especially ear infections
- short attention for tasks, easily distracted, impulsive, unable to follow directions
- difficulty with manual dexterity, poor pencil grip, poor handwriting
- good at maths, but poor at language subjects
- difficulty copying from far to near/blackboard to paper
- difficulties making friends, mood swings, variations in performance.