DrRoberts_Clinical_Psychologist

Table of Contents

Classification of Learning

& Social-Emotional Disabilities

Learning disabilities are impairments in the basic psychological processes that are important for a person’s ability to learn, as well as for the person’s self-development and adaptation to his or her environment.

The main purposes for classifying learning disabilities are:

to formulate empirically-based criteria for diagnosing learning disabilities, which would also facilitate research and communication among professionals, the learning disabled and parents;
to identify the etiological basis/causes for developmentally-based impairment, and neurobiological dysfunctions, as well as psychological and social processes underlying learning disabilities;
and to provide empirically-based strategies/interventions that are effective in helping persons with learning disabilities;

Learning disabilities alter brain functioning in a manner which affects cognitive processes related to learning. These come in many forms and affect a person with varying levels of severity. Learning disabilities also affect a great number of other important skills, which invariably interfere with the person’s learning and adaptation to his or her environment. Learning disabilities fall into distinct categories such as:

Disabilities related to specific academic areas: e.g., in reading, mathematics, written language, or oral language.
Motor skills deficits involving gross- and fine-motor activities: e.g., balance and movement, coordination of information that is received from and about our surroundings.
Executive dysfunctions, such as problems with organizational skills, memory (working memory, short- and long-term memory linkage), or metacognition: i.e., the ability to think about what we think.
Disabilities related to social cognition: e.g., using and understanding language in a social context and social behavior which fosters optimal relationships with others.
Higher-order cognitive disabilities involving intellectual skills, logical thinking, problem-solving or creativity.

A learning disability is most appropriate as a diagnosis when neuro-based psychological processes are involved: e.g., phonological awareness in reading. Other psychological or cognitive processes such as motivation and social/emotional and emotional disturbances also contribute to learning disturbances and lower academic performance. Often, both learning disabilities and social/emotional and behavioral problems concur with learning problems. It goes without saying that identifying the psychological processes and the appropriate diagnosis (i.e., learning disability and/or social/emotional and emotional disturbance) involved in learning problems is important in order to determine the proper interventions, thus increasing the chances of treatment success.

Learning disabilities can occur throughout the life span. Some of them are life-long while others are temporary, lasting one or more years. Their effects may be expressed differently over time, depending on the person’s characteristics and the social demands that the environment imposes on the person. Additionally, the effects of a learning disability is determined by its etiology, and learning disabilities can have a multitude of causes, some having a greater and more permanent impact on the person’s functioning than others. Learning disabilities can result from such causes as:

Genetic factors and hereditary influences.
Events in the pre-perinatal and post-natal periods: e.g., low birth weight.
Brain injuries as a result of traumas.
Primary sensory deficits (e.g., visual or hearing impairments).
Neuro-biological factors.
Use of toxic drugs which alter brain chemistry.
Physical conditions and viral infections.
Psychological or psychiatric disorders.
Environmental factors, such as isolation and deprivation or abuse.

Academic or professional underachievement can be addressed with a variety of interventions. Empirically-based instructional services need to make a significant difference in helping the person affected with a learning disability; effective programs need to be research-based or measurable and open to evaluation. Specialized interventions in the school, home or workplace, that are appropriate to the person’s strengths and needs, may include:

Specific skills instruction intended to strengthen weak areas: e.g., teaching strategies for reading, writing and/or mathematics.
Special education and related services consisting of specialized instruction in academic compensatory skills: involving prescribed hours in a special class or placement in a special class with more intensive support.
The development of the student’s self-advocacy skills to increase competency in a school setting.
Accommodations: e.g., special seating arrangements, alternative or modified assignments or modified testing procedures.
Assistive technologies to help improve or compensate for a person’s specific learning disability: e.g., word processors and computer programs to alleviate graphomotor difficulties.
Vocational rehabilitation: services offered to individuals with disabilities designed to enable participants to attain skills, resources, attitudes, and expectations needed to compete in the process of interviewing for a job, getting a job, and maintaining a job.