Dr Ritu Kalgotra
The Bollywood movie, Taare Zameen Par, is about an 8-year-old young boy struggling to learn, humiliated and pushed around in school and shouted at home. He was sent to a boarding school to be disciplined, which was an act of rejection by his family. Although he was not good at reading and writing skills, he had an amazing talent for painting and making different kinds of things out of waste. His art teacher detected that he is dyslexic (a type of learning disability) and helped him to overcome his reading disorder using different instructional strategies (multisensory teaching, phonic-based) and behavioural interventions. This movie is an eye-opener because the lack of awareness among parents and school teachers creates a significant issue in early diagnosis and providing appropriate intervention for children with learning disabilities.
What is Learning Disability
A learning disability is a neurological condition that affects the brain’s ability to send, receive, and process information. A child with a learning disability may have difficulties in reading, writing, speaking, listening, understanding mathematical concepts, and general comprehension. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, (2016) defines specific learning disabilities as a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia. As reported in different research studies, the prevalence of specific learning disability in India ranges from 5%-15%. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-exists in one-third of the population with learning disabilities.
Some children begin as slow learners but gradually learn as they grow and some children may not be interested in learning a new language, a specific activity, an academic subject, sports or other outdoor activities which indicate the child’s interests and are not indicative of a learning disability. Children with Specific Learning Disabilities have difficulties in some areas of learning but they may have great aptitude, skill and talent in other areas of their interest. Parents and teachers should focus on talent and encourage the child to recognize his hidden potential. Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise, George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Alva Edison, Walt Disney, Agatha Christie, John F. Kennedy, John Lennon, are a few successful personalities who suffered from dyslexia. Persons with learning disabilities can be of average or above-average intelligence but there is a gap between the individual’s potential and actual achievement.
Types of Specific Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia is a term used to describe difficulties in connecting letters they see on a page with the sounds they make. This makes reading slow, effortful and not fluent. Children have trouble breaking down spoken words into syllables and recognizing words that rhyme. Adults with dyslexia often try to avoid activities involving reading and prefer other media such as pictures, video, or audio.
Dysgraphia is a term used to describe difficulties with putting one’s thoughts onto paper. Problems with writing can include difficulties with spelling, punctuation, handwriting, pronunciation, expressing (single words, poor/wrong retrieval of words, poor answering and narrative and conversational skills) and grammatical difficulties. Persons with dysgraphia may struggle to form letters and numbers. They have trouble thinking and writing simultaneously.
Dyscalculia is a term used to describe difficulties learning number-related concepts or using symbols and functions to perform math calculations. Persons with dyscalculia also have difficulties with number sense, memorizing math facts, math calculations, math reasoning and math problem-solving. Children may have trouble with measurement, telling time, counting money, and estimating number quantities.
Diagnosis of Specific learning disability
The child shouldn’t have impairment because of intellectual disability, neurological disorders, visual/hearing acuity problems, or inadequate schooling, but represent a specific type of dysfunction in cognitive processing. Symptoms along with poor academic performance may include oppositional behaviour, aggression, school refusal, poor academic motivation, low self-esteem, mood swings, crying, changes in sleep and appetite, and somatic complaints (pain symptoms, fatigue).
A clinical psychologist conducts specific intelligence tests to determine the child’s intellectual functioning. A special educator assesses the child’s academic achievement by administering tests to assess the child’s performance in areas like reading, spelling, written language, and mathematics. A counselor helps in understanding behavior, and checks for any behavioral issues due to poor home/school environment, or any emotional problems that may be the reason for the child’s poor performance at school. A pediatric neurologist records the detailed clinical history and does a thorough physical examination to exclude medical conditions like hypothyroidism, chronic lead poisoning and neurological disorders (cerebral palsy, Wilson’s disease). A child Psychiatrist checks if there are symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other disorders which may be the cause of poor academic performance.
Psychometric testing
Psychometric testing helps in the confirmation of diagnosis including Intellectual Assessment (Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAISIII), Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability), Achievement Tests (Woodcock Johnson Psycho- 166 Educational Battery-Revised, Nelson Denny Reading Test), Cognitive Processing Abilities (Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Raven Colored Progressive Matrices, Rex Auditory-Verbal Learning Test). Indian tests included NIMHANS Index for SLD, Grade Level Assessment Device (GLAD) by the National Institute for Empowerment of persons with Intellectual Disability, Curriculum-Based Test for Educational Evaluation of Learning Disability by Rukhshana Sholapurwala.
Interventions
School or a special educator might develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that will describe how a child can best learn in school. These are a few ways that help children with specific learning disabilities to learn.
Dyslexia: Intensive teaching techniques ((involve small group or one-on-one instruction, classroom modifications (teachers can give extra time to finish tasks), use of technology (listening to audiobooks or word-processing programs).
Dysgraphia: Special tools (oral exams, provide a note-taker, or allow the child to videotape reports instead of writing them), use of technology (use word-processing programs, incorporating speech-to-text translation, or an audio recorder instead of writing by hand), reducing the need for writing (provide notes, outlines, and pre-printed study sheets).
Dyscalculia: Visual techniques (draw pictures of word problems and use coloured pencils to differentiate parts of problems), memory aids (rhymes and music to remember math concepts), computers for drills and practice.
Alternative therapies like music, art, and dance can also benefit children with learning disabilities. It is important to develop their unique artistic talent and other abilities rather than overemphasizing the correction of their language skills.
(The author is teaching in the Department of School Education)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
