Child Learning Disabilties: What Every Parent Should Know

A learning disability is a neurobiological disorder that affects a person's ability to receive, process, or communicate information. It is defined as a substantial gap in a person's mental ability and the skills he has acquired at each age. It is believed that subtle differences in brain structures and functions affect the brain of a person with a learning disability in such a way that he learns differently.

Children with learning disabilities have normal intelligence but they have a problem in one or more areas of learning. These limitations are exhibited in a number of ways, which include certain problems with language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Specifically, learning disabilities can affect areas such as spoken language, reading, written language, math, reasoning, memory, social behavior, physical coordination, organization and metacognition. Children with learning disabilities also display signs of hyperactivity like excessive movement, a short attention span and impulsive actions.

Some learning disabilities are discovered even before kids start school. Others are not detected until as late as middle or high school. If not discovered early on, learning disabilities are inclined to have a snowball effect. As these children struggle to cope with tasks in school, they become more and more frustrated and, consequently, they feel defeated over their inability and failure to learn. As they grow older with this condition, they develop low self-esteem, which can lead to bad behavior and other emotional problems. When learning disabilities in children go undetected or untreated, they can cause adult literacy problems. Determining the problem early can help the affected children in the correction of the disability so that they can reach their potential.