What Are Some Types Of Learning Disabilities

There are various types of learning disabilities (LD), which are neurologically-based processing problems. These disabilities hamper the learning of some basic skills such as reading, writing, or handling mathematics. Learning disabilities are not confined to these basic peripheries only; they can also affect higher-level skills such as organization, time planning, and abstract reasoning. The types of learning disabilities depend on the particular processing problem, which may be linked with Input, Organization, Memory and Output.

While Input relates to getting information into the brain, Organization makes sense of the received information. Memory stores and later retrieves this information and Output gets it back out. This makes it clear that the processing problems that cause learning disabilities are to be found somewhere in these four areas.

Input can be in the form of visual perception and auditory perception. A person could have difficulty in one or both of these areas. As far as visual perception is concerned, a person might have problems distinguishing subtle differences in shapes. Their problems lie in rotating or reversing letters or numbers (d, b, p, q, 6, 9) and thus misreading the symbol. A few might get confused over which figure(s) to focus on from the page that contains many words and lines. They might skip words, skip lines, or read the same line twice. People with such learning disabilities tend to misjudge depth or distance, bump into things or face difficulty in doing any job where this information is needed to tell the hands or body what to do. In the case of auditory perception, an individual may find it tough to distinguish subtle differences in sound (known as phonemes) or face problems in distinguishing individual phonemes as quickly as normal.

In the stage of Integration, which makes sense of the Input received in the brain, an individual could have problems in arranging information in the proper sequence. He/she thus cannot remember sequences such as the months of the year, the alphabet, or the times table. Some people fail to infer the meaning of specific words or concepts. They fail to understand jokes, idioms, or puns etc. Words having different meanings when used differently pose a problem to them. Time organization also proves difficult for people with such types of learning disabilities.

For learning, three types of memory are important. “Working memory" means the ability to hold on to pieces of information until the pieces blend into a well-rounded thought or concept. “Short-term memory" stores and retains information for a limited duration. “Long-term memory" is information that has been stored and that is available over a long period of time. Individuals could have difficulty with auditory memory or visual memory giving rise to a learning disability.

In Output, information is communicated by means of words or though muscle activity such as writing, drawing, gesturing. A person may have a language disability or a motor disability. When asked a question, a person may find it difficult to organize his/her thoughts, choose the right words and speak at the same time. In the case of spontaneous output, however, language disability doesn't matter so much. If one has motor disability, he/she could have difficulty coordinating teams of small muscles and face problems with cutting, coloring, buttoning, writing, or tying shoes. So an individual may have his/her unique pattern among various types of learning disabilities.

• Cassandra Bagley
• 10/04/2009, 10:59 PM
• 0 Comments