All of us suffer from more or less some kind of learning
disabilities. It is a particular human characteristic that is no way
related to the intellectual aspects of human character. Even the
stalwarts who touched great heights in their lives like Walt Disney,
Alexander Graham Bell and Winston Churchill had several learning
impairments.
In essence, learning disability is a kind of
problem that corrupts the ability of the brain to process, store,
analyze and receive information. A student’s suffering from learning
disability will hold him back to cope up with his studies and lag
behind the other normal students.
Learning disabilities may
also affect your power of concentration and focus on subjects. Your
mind resides in a wandering state and lacks stability and potency.
Students with such disability may also find it hard to read, write,
spell or solve math problems.
It is not easy to understand
whether a person has learning disability or not. It can only be
understood when you see the person having problems in speaking,
reading, writing, solving math problem, interacting with parents and
being attentive in the class.
Types of Learning disabilities
Learning
disabilities can be both verbal and non-verbal. In case of verbal
learning disability you find it difficult to cope up with words both
written and spoken. Dyslexia is the most common form of verbal learning
disability, in which case you have lots of trouble in recognizing and
processing letters along with their associated sounds. If you have
dyslexia you won’t be able to read and write properly.
People
suffering from non-verbal disabilities have to face lots of problems in
processing what they see before them. They feel confused when they see
letters or signs on the blackboard and take time to recognize or
identify things written before their eyes.
Causes of learning disabilities
Genetic
Influences – Some experts are of the opinion that learning
incapabilities may run in families and they feel that heredity has a
major role to play in this particular matter.
Brain
development – The process of brain development in a child may be
greatly affected due to several reasons like low birth weight, lack of
oxygen or premature birth. Those who have suffered a head injury at an
early stage of childhood, might have bright chances of developing
learning disabilities
Environmental impacts – Learning
incapability may also occur due to presence of toxic materials in the
environment, or poor nutrition in the early stage of life
How to cope up with learning disabilities
A
student suffering from learning disability should be made to work with
a special teacher or tutor for hours, days and even weeks. This special
guide will help the student acquire special studying skills, note
taking strategies, and several organizational techniques.
Some
schools run Individualized Education Programs or IEPs. These programs
clearly define an individual’s learning strengths and weaknesses. This
program provides a plan based on learning activities, which would help
the students perform best in the academic sphere.
Well you
should never confuse learning impairments with other types of disorders
like psychological disorder, and mental retardation. An individual can
only cope up with his learning disabilities when his family as well as
friends aptly supports him.