Kathy Denious, M.Ed., C-SLCT
Learning Disabilities Specialist
dyslexia | dysgraphia | dyscalculia
support | educate| empower
Learning Disabilities
A Learning Disability (LD) is a neurological disorder that has nothing to do with intelligence.
Learning disabilities impact about 15% of the American population.
LDs are separate and distinct from intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbances, and visual or hearing challenges.
"Many children with LD struggle with reading. The difficulties often begin with individual sounds, or phonemes. Students may have problems with rhyming, and pulling words apart into their individual sounds (segmenting) and putting individual sounds together to form words (blending). This makes it difficult to decode words accurately, which can lead to trouble with fluency and comprehension."
-from LDOnline, a comprehensive resource of accurate information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD.
A Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is similar and defined as: a neurodevelopmental disorder of biological origin manifested in learning difficulties and problems in acquiring academic skills markedly below age level and manifested in the early school years, lasting for at least 6 months, not attributed to intellectual disabilities, developmental disorders, or neurological or motor disorders.
Dyslexia is a language-based Learning Disability.
Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading.
Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words.
Early identification and treatment is the key to helping people with dyslexia achieve in school and in life.
Most people with dyslexia need help from a teacher, tutor, or therapist specially trained in using a multisensory, structured language approach. It is important for these individuals to be taught by a systematic and explicit method that involves several senses (hearing, seeing, touching) at the same time. Many individuals with dyslexia need one-on-one help so that they can move forward at their own pace.
The above information was taken from the sources listed below, where you can read more about learning disabilities and dyslexia:
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/dyslexia-basics
Dysgraphia is a Specific Learning Disorder.
Dysgraphia affects how easily children acquire written language and how well they use written language to express their thoughts.
Dysgraphia is suspected when, despite exposure to adequate instruction, [individuals] demonstrate writing ability discordant with their cognitive level and age.
Dysgraphia is often found in conjunction with other LDs and SLDs and is characterized by problems with letter formation/legibility, letter spacing, spelling, fine motor coordination, rate of writing, grammar, and composition. Reading and comprehension may also be difficult.
Children with dysgraphia benefit from the same recommendations provided for dyslexia – systematic and multisensory approaches to ongoing, explicit instruction in handwriting, spelling, and composition.
The above information was taken from the sources listed below, where you can read more about SLDs and dysgraphia:
https://dyslexiaida.org/understanding-dysgraphia-2/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7082241/
Dyscalculia is a Specific Learning Disorder.
Dyscalculia is defined as a failure to achieve in mathematics commensurate with chronological age, normal intelligence, and adequate instruction.
Dyscalculia is characterized by a wide variety of math and visual-spatial perception challenges, including but not limited to struggles with: left-right, cardinal directions, and sequencing; money and time; retention of math facts; numbers, symbols, and amounts; and calculation and mental math.
It cannot be outgrown or made to go away but it can be managed, and children benefit from tailored and specific teaching methods similar to those used to tackle dyslexia, such as a multisensory and explicit approach that includes an emphasis on visual representations of numbers, color-coding, and verbal expression prior to transferring this knowledge to written math.
In addition, children with dyscalculia can be taught specific management strategies to make their lives easier and less frustrating.
The above information was taken from the source listed below, where you can read more about SLDs and dyscalculia:
https://www.dyscalculia.org/dyscalculia/