The Hindu : Kerala News : Coping with learning disability

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Monday, May 05, 2008
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Coping with learning disability

Special needs: Students with learning disabilities taking part in a contest.

Diagnosing learning disabilities in children would help tackle the associated problems that the disability creates. About 20 per cent of all children have learning disability (LD) and they have to fight with it all alone if they do not get support at home and school.

The Indian Academy of Paediatricians, as part of a national programme, had organised workshops to familiarise fellow doctors and to spread the word around in government circles to recognise learning disability as one of the disabilities under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.

Jeeson C. Unni, national convenor of the programme, called IAP Vision 2007 — Poor Scholastic Performance Programme, said that there was no accurate national data on learning disability. However, there are various centres where programmes are run to address learning disabilities.

The Child Care Centre in Ernakulam registered 1,391 cases for poor academic performance from January 2006 to September 2007. Of these, 300 children were in the 12-18 age group. Out of the 300 adolescents, 77 per cent were boys and 65 per cent (193/300) had specific learning disability.

A per the data provided by paediatrician M.K.C. Nair, at the 100 Higher Secondary Schools where Family Life Education is being provided, psychological screening was done among 1,247 children. Again, 47.6 per cent showed scholastic problems.

All these reflect that academic performance is the foremost casualty of learning disability or specific LD and the child is punished for not doing something, which his or her brain does not allow. More often, the child’s poor performance in school is a cause of parental discord, said Dr. Unni. While factors at home, factors in the school or influence of friends can be reasons for academic backwardness, there are factors in the child that could be the reason. Specific LD, slow learners, sensory motor and other handicaps, chronic diseases, emotional disturbances, anxiety disorder and substance, physical or sexual abuse are some of the factors that may result in poor performance at school. Dr. Unni said that there are warning signs that teachers and parents can look out for. Avoidance of reading and writing, tendency to misread information, difficulty in summarising text, reading/comprehension problems, trouble with open-ended problems, continued difficulty with spelling, poor grasp of abstract concepts, difficulty in learning other languages and poor ability to apply mathematical skills are some of the signals that could be closely analysed and diagnosed by experts.

Social behaviour is a problem with children with LD. They are not tolerant to criticism, they have difficulty in seeking or giving feedback, have problems negotiating or advocating for oneself, have difficulty resisting peer pressure and difficulty understanding another person’s perspectives.

Children with LD would also have difficulty in keeping their things organised, have trouble with test formats like multiple choice, slow work pace in class and in testing situations, poor note-taking skills and poor ability to proof read or double check work.

These disabilities can be managed and children can be guided to take up a vocation in which their disabilities would not come as a hindrance, said Dr. Unni.

Shyama Rajagopal

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