Learning disabilities...
What causes Dyslexia??
A common misunderstanding about Dyslexia is that it has to do with reading and/or writing backwards. However, the great majority of the time, the primary underlying difficulty in Dyslexia is actually an issue with auditory perception that makes it difficult to hear the individual sounds within words as individual sounds. That limitation causes difficulty with learning how letters and letter patterns in printed words relate to spoken words, and also undermines the learning of spelling skills. Other persons with Dyslexia have difficulty with mentally connecting printed symbols and words with the spoken words they already know.... and both types of Dyslexia can occur in the same individual. As teachers of young children know, writing the occasional letter or number backwards is very common in normally developing young children... it's usually only reflecting a real problem when it continues past grade 3 -- and by that time, it is very likely that other issues that occur with Dyslexia (slow, halting, and error-prone oral reading, weak spelling skills, slowness to learn to identify words on sight, difficulty decoding unfamiliar words, problems with reading comprehension, and resistance to reading practice) will have become evident as well.
This stated, reading and spelling problems DO sometimes result from unsuspected vision problems -- and while this is not actually "dyslexia" in the strict sense of the term, children with these types of vision difficulties can have many of the same difficulties with word identification, reading fluency, etc. that plague children, students, and adults with dyslexia (see the "Vision difficulties?" note for more information!).
What is "Dyscalculia"?
Dyscalculia basically means "difficulty with arithmetic", in the same way that Dyslexia means "difficulty reading words." Dyscalculia can take several forms. Some affected persons have trouble learning math concepts and procedures: Arithmetic doesn't make sense, the steps of how to solve problems are easily forgotten, and working with numbers always seems like hard work. Others with dyscalculia have difficulty learning basic math facts (e.g., 4 + 5 = ?, 8 x 3 = ?) by rote, even when their memories for everything else seem just fine. Still others have trouble with spatial aspects of math, so geometry concepts, graphing, and even lining up columns of numbers are unusually challenging. To complicate things further, it is quite possible for one person to have more than one of these types of difficulty.
This is a particularly challenging learning disability to have in high school, as the math class requirements for high school graduation can be relatively rigid. Even though colleges and universities will sometimes grant exceptions to math class requirements for students with Dyscalculia, high schools may not. Planning ahead to ensure students success will be critical in such cases.
What is "Dysgraphia"?
Dysgraphia means "difficulty writing letters," but a much more useful definition comes from the work of University of Washington Professor Emeritus Virginia Berninger, PhD, who described Dysgraphia as a "disorder of language by hand". Individuals with dysgraphia have a very hard time learning to write letters correctly and fluently, despite (often) normally developing fine motor dexterity for other tasks. Spelling is usually very challenging as well. Even individuals with strong spoken language skills can struggle with putting thoughts on paper, when dysgraphia affects their writing process. Technology, such as voice recognition software, word processors, and math equation editors can be very helpful, and appropriate accommodations can ensure that the difficulty does not interfere with test performance or undermine motivation for written expression.
What is "Nonverbal Learning Disorder"? I've never heard of that, and neither had my child's pediatrician...
Nonverbal Learning Disorder, sometimes called "NVLD" or "Visuospatial Learning Disorder", is not tied to the learning of a specific academic skill, as the other categories of learning disability are, though it may affect performance in all areas of academic performance, in certain ways. In NVLD, verbal skills and language-based abilities are often fully intact, and affected students may therefore do just fine in the early grades of school, when much of the emphasis of instruction is on the learning of basic reading, spelling, writing, and math skills. However, trouble can emerge when these students move into the high school level and beyond, and the emphasis in their classes increasingly requires the application of concepts, the formulation of ideas, creative problem solving, and "big-picture" thinking. Social difficulties can be a part of NVLD, when students tend to be overly literal (and thus not catch innuendo, sarcasm, jokes, or figures of speech), or else miss nonverbal language cues, such as facial expressions, posture, gestures, or tone of voice. Mild difficulties with attention can occur, even when the student does not have ADHD. Issues with organizing information when writing and with problem solving in math and the sciences can also become evident. Skills that require strong visuospatial skills can also be harder to learn and execute, even in adulthood: Reading maps, working puzzles, following assembly instructions, interpreting graphs and charts, reading music, and sewing can all be affected, to name a few examples.
NVLD, like all learning disabilities, can be mild or severe. Because it is not tied to one specific academic skill, and has largely been studied by neuropsychologists, some educators, doctors, and other professionals are still not aware of this category of learning disabilties.
What causes Dyslexia??
A common misunderstanding about Dyslexia is that it has to do with reading and/or writing backwards. However, the great majority of the time, the primary underlying difficulty in Dyslexia is actually an issue with auditory perception that makes it difficult to hear the individual sounds within words as individual sounds. That limitation causes difficulty with learning how letters and letter patterns in printed words relate to spoken words, and also undermines the learning of spelling skills. Other persons with Dyslexia have difficulty with mentally connecting printed symbols and words with the spoken words they already know.... and both types of Dyslexia can occur in the same individual. As teachers of young children know, writing the occasional letter or number backwards is very common in normally developing young children... it's usually only reflecting a real problem when it continues past grade 3 -- and by that time, it is very likely that other issues that occur with Dyslexia (slow, halting, and error-prone oral reading, weak spelling skills, slowness to learn to identify words on sight, difficulty decoding unfamiliar words, problems with reading comprehension, and resistance to reading practice) will have become evident as well.
This stated, reading and spelling problems DO sometimes result from unsuspected vision problems -- and while this is not actually "dyslexia" in the strict sense of the term, children with these types of vision difficulties can have many of the same difficulties with word identification, reading fluency, etc. that plague children, students, and adults with dyslexia (see the "Vision difficulties?" note for more information!).
What is "Dyscalculia"?
Dyscalculia basically means "difficulty with arithmetic", in the same way that Dyslexia means "difficulty reading words." Dyscalculia can take several forms. Some affected persons have trouble learning math concepts and procedures: Arithmetic doesn't make sense, the steps of how to solve problems are easily forgotten, and working with numbers always seems like hard work. Others with dyscalculia have difficulty learning basic math facts (e.g., 4 + 5 = ?, 8 x 3 = ?) by rote, even when their memories for everything else seem just fine. Still others have trouble with spatial aspects of math, so geometry concepts, graphing, and even lining up columns of numbers are unusually challenging. To complicate things further, it is quite possible for one person to have more than one of these types of difficulty.
This is a particularly challenging learning disability to have in high school, as the math class requirements for high school graduation can be relatively rigid. Even though colleges and universities will sometimes grant exceptions to math class requirements for students with Dyscalculia, high schools may not. Planning ahead to ensure students success will be critical in such cases.
What is "Dysgraphia"?
Dysgraphia means "difficulty writing letters," but a much more useful definition comes from the work of University of Washington Professor Emeritus Virginia Berninger, PhD, who described Dysgraphia as a "disorder of language by hand". Individuals with dysgraphia have a very hard time learning to write letters correctly and fluently, despite (often) normally developing fine motor dexterity for other tasks. Spelling is usually very challenging as well. Even individuals with strong spoken language skills can struggle with putting thoughts on paper, when dysgraphia affects their writing process. Technology, such as voice recognition software, word processors, and math equation editors can be very helpful, and appropriate accommodations can ensure that the difficulty does not interfere with test performance or undermine motivation for written expression.
What is "Nonverbal Learning Disorder"? I've never heard of that, and neither had my child's pediatrician...
Nonverbal Learning Disorder, sometimes called "NVLD" or "Visuospatial Learning Disorder", is not tied to the learning of a specific academic skill, as the other categories of learning disability are, though it may affect performance in all areas of academic performance, in certain ways. In NVLD, verbal skills and language-based abilities are often fully intact, and affected students may therefore do just fine in the early grades of school, when much of the emphasis of instruction is on the learning of basic reading, spelling, writing, and math skills. However, trouble can emerge when these students move into the high school level and beyond, and the emphasis in their classes increasingly requires the application of concepts, the formulation of ideas, creative problem solving, and "big-picture" thinking. Social difficulties can be a part of NVLD, when students tend to be overly literal (and thus not catch innuendo, sarcasm, jokes, or figures of speech), or else miss nonverbal language cues, such as facial expressions, posture, gestures, or tone of voice. Mild difficulties with attention can occur, even when the student does not have ADHD. Issues with organizing information when writing and with problem solving in math and the sciences can also become evident. Skills that require strong visuospatial skills can also be harder to learn and execute, even in adulthood: Reading maps, working puzzles, following assembly instructions, interpreting graphs and charts, reading music, and sewing can all be affected, to name a few examples.
NVLD, like all learning disabilities, can be mild or severe. Because it is not tied to one specific academic skill, and has largely been studied by neuropsychologists, some educators, doctors, and other professionals are still not aware of this category of learning disabilties.