Written by: Ms. Devipriya Senthilkumar, Secretary Helikx
What are learning disabilities?
The term “learning disabilities” is actually a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. There are many different kinds like dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia etc., but our main purview is dyslexia.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability. It comes from a Greek word (dys means difficulty and lexia means language). It is a hid-den disability and is not visible like the other handicaps like blindness or deafness. Individuals with dyslexia have specific learning problems that can cause a person to have trouble learning and using certain academic and education-related skills.
How is it caused?
An individual with dyslexia is either born with those issues or acquires them through events such as a brain/head injury. Dyslexia is a developmental disorder. They tend to run in families – there is definitely a genetic component to it.
What is a developmental disorder?
A developmental disorder is that which occurs right from the very beginning. All developmental disorders fall in a continuum and can be mild, moderate, or severe.
How early can a child be identified?
Children who have a difficulty in speech, language and some motor aspects can be identified even be-low 5 years and helped. These children are not termed as having dyslexia but being ‘at risk’ for a learning disability if they are not helped.
How do they perform?
A person who has SLD often performs inconsistently. One day she/he may be able to do something, and the next day, may not be able to perform the same task. There is a severe discrepancy between the person’s ability and performance level. That discrepancy or gap is evidence of the learning disability.
How is their performance different from a slow learner’s performance?
A dyslexic child’s performance could be erratic. There are “on and off” days. While the slow learner struggles and just gets border marks and manages to perform almost at the same level throughout, this child could do very well in one test but poorly in another test in the same subject.
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