Does My Child Have a Learning Disability?

When a child isn't doing well in school, parents can jump to a myriad of conclusions. Is it ADHD? Is the child just disinterested in school? Is it a learning disability? The questions can roll over and over in a parent's mind.

Though a learning disability may seem like the natural conclusion, the actual cause might be harder to identify. There are several things that can cause symptoms that look deceptively like a learning disability.

Visual or Hearing Difficulties A child whose sight or hearing is impaired will have difficulty seeing the board or teacher, or hearing instructions, and his schoolwork may suffer as a result. That's why most learning disability assessments include vision and hearing tests. If your child is struggling in school, this should be one of the first possibilities you consider.

Emotional Disorder
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act defines an emotional disturbance as "a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance—

1. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory personal relationships with peers and teachers.
3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems." ¹

An emotional disorder can be anything from depression or anxiety to bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia. Any one of these disorders can make paying attention in class and learning extremely difficult. Some signs to watch for that may indicate an emotional disorder include:

• Frequent sadness, tearfulness, or crying
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Withdrawal from friends and activities
• Lack of enthusiasm or motivation
• Decreased energy level
• Major changes in eating or sleeping habits
• Increased irritability, agitation, anger or hostility
• Frequent physical complaints such as headaches and stomachaches
• Indecision or inability to concentrate
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
• Pattern of dark images in drawings or paintings
• Play that involves excessive aggression directed toward oneself or others, or involves persistently sad themes
• Recurring thoughts or talk of death, or self-destructive behavior²

Some of these symptoms will occur in even the most well adjusted children. Parents should only take note and seek professional help if the symptoms continue for more than two weeks. Most emotional disturbances are treatable over time with counseling and possibly behavior therapy.

Mental Retardation
Mental retardation is primarily defined as a below average intellectual ability and an IQ of 70 or less. A person with mental retardation with struggle with two or more of the following: social/interpersonal skills, communication, self-direction, personal care, academic ability, safety.

The most common and reliable way to diagnose mental retardation is an IQ test. Someone with an IQ that falls between 50 and 70 is considered to have mild mental retardation. An IQ of 35-50 is considered moderate, and 20-35 is considered a severe mental retardation.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Pervasive Developmental Disorders are "characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills." ³ Symptoms may be recognizable as early as infancy, but typically develop before a child is three-years-old. Symptoms include:

• Problems with using and understanding language
• Difficulty relating to people, objects and events
• Unusual play with toys and other objects
• Difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings
• Repetitive body movements or behavior patterns⁴

Types of PDD include Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Rett's Syndrome. Since most people are familiar with Autism, we'll take a brief look at the other types of PDD.

Asperger's Syndrome Asperger's is essentially a milder form of autism. There are similarities in environmental responses and social interactions, but children with Asperger's have fairly normal cognitive and communication development. Often, there is also an usually high interest and focus of attention on one particular topic; i.e. – numbers, trains, the telephone, etc.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder CDD has many of the same symptoms as autism, but doesn't appear in children until they are between the ages of 2 and 4. With CDD, a child develops normally for the first few years of life, but then begins to lose the skills he or she had developed. Language, social, and even self-care abilities all begin to degenerate, until the child's condition looks nearly identical to autism.

Rett's Syndrome Rett's Syndrome is also a degenerative disorder, like CDD, except that the onset of the degeneration happens much sooner, often in the first 5 to 30 months. The child will begin to develop normally, but then head growth will begin to decelerate – sometimes rapidly. Odd motor skill patterns will also begin to emerge, such as hand-wringing.

Though there is no cure for these Pervasive Developmental Disorders, all of them can be treated in various ways, with varying degrees of success. The initial onset of any of these disorders can give the impression that a child has a learning disability when in fact, it's something completely different. In addition, there are varying degrees of each PDD, and a mild form of any one of them can present the same as a learning disability.

It's important to be aware of the different disorders than can give the false impression that a child has a learning disability. Whatever the issue, proper diagnosis is vital. If you suspect your child has a learning disability, consult a psychologist or other mental health professional that is willing to work with you and your child until an appropriate diagnosis is reached. If your child does have a learning disability, the right mental health professional will be able to help you create an educational plan for your child. If the problem turns out to be something else, he or she will also be equipped to suggest or offer your child the necessary treatment.

Refernces:

• ¹Source: http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs5txt.htm
• ²Source: http://brighttots.com/Emotional_disorder.html
• ³Source: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pdd/pdd.htm
• ⁴Source: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pdd/pdd.htm