A Complete Guide on Learning Difficulties and their Symptoms
It is increasingly common among children to have learning difficulties. Those disorders impact an individual’s ability to understand information and respond to it. It is essential to know and understand different learning difficulties and their symptoms and understand these individuals suffering from these disorders and develop empathy towards them.
Learning disabilities and Symptoms:
Learning disabilities often deal with issues like problems with listening skills, mathematical operations, and language skills. The child may also seem awkward and face problems in coordinating movements and is likely to be slower in speaking, reading, or writing. The learning difficulties have nothing to do with the intelligence level and can impact children with average or above-average academic abilities.
From birth till the present, the brain undergoes development and transformation in its structure. Most of the signs of learning difficulties and their symptoms are discovered during school-age when the child shows a significant gap in learning when compared with peers. The operational aberration in the brain makes it difficult for the child to achieve normal learning milestones. Some children learn to adapt fast to learning styles, while others face considerable lifelong challenges.
Most frequently displayed symptoms include poor memory, short attention span, inability to follow directions, and poor reading. The child may also exhibit poor eye-hand coordination and responds inappropriately. He may say one thing and mean another and may perform differently from day to day. He doesn’t adjust well to any change and is difficult to discipline. He often places letters in improper sequence and shows delayed speech development.
Common types of learning difficulties:
Based on the individual, or the child, the signs and symptoms of learning difficulties of a child can vary. One of the most common learning difficulties and their symptoms include a developmental reading disorder, language disorder, and written expression disorder, as well as a disorder of the mathematics operations. It is seen that these disorders are often accompanied by other disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Aggressive behaviours and slow development are common signs. When combined, those difficulties and their symptoms can create major social problems for the child and his family.
At times some symptoms can be severe and are experienced on a daily, ongoing basis. For example, he may show Dyscalculia, problems with mathematical operations or Dysgraphia, major issues with handwriting. Language-related problems can hamper his verbal and written communications significantly, while Information-processing disorders will not allow him to make full use of sensory information around him.
Treatment for learning difficulties:
Just like any other condition or disorder, there are treatments available to handle the learning disability. The child or the individual is given special speech and language therapy along with medication if required to improve his attention and concentration. The health care practitioners emphasise therapy and special education for the best results. Based on the level of severity and the kind of learning disability, and the type of treatment given, it is possible for many people to handle their disabilities in adulthood and function normally in society.
Even though the learning difficulties and their symptoms are not life-threatening, it is essential for the parent to seek medical help if his child exhibits symptoms of learning disabilities. If left untreated, his condition can aggravate and lead to other behavioural problems, and that can be frustrating and embarrassing for the whole family. Thus, it is essential for any parent to pay utmost attention to their child’s needs and have concerns about him or her. As some learning disabilities may be an offshoot of a serious underlying condition, it is essential to get the child evaluated and seek immediate medical care.
If your child too feels frustrated because he can’t master a subject, take him to a speech therapist at an early age so that his learning abilities improve over the years.