pediatrics
Overview of Learning Disorders
Symptoms and Signs of Learning Disorders
Children with learning disorders typically have at least average intelligence, although such disorders can occur in children with lower cognitive function as well. Symptoms and signs of severe learning disorders may manifest at an early age, but most mild to moderate learning disorders are not recognized until school age, when the rigors of academic learning are encountered. Affected children may have trouble learning the alphabet and may be delayed in paired associative learning (eg, color naming, labeling, counting, letter naming). Speech perception may be limited, language may be learned at a slower rate, and vocabulary may be decreased. Affected children may not understand what is read, have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly, have trouble organizing or beginning tasks or retelling a story in sequential order, or confuse math symbols and misread numbers. Disturbances or delays in expressive language or listening comprehension are predictors of academic problems beyond the preschool years. Memory may be defective, including short-term and long-term memory, memory use (eg, rehearsal), and verbal recall or retrieval. Problems may occur in conceptualizing, abstracting, generalizing, reasoning, and organizing and planning information for problem solving. People with executive function problems often have difficulty organizing and completing assignments. Visual perception and auditory processing problems may occur; they include difficulties in spatial cognition and orientation (eg, object localization, spatial memory, awareness of position and place), visual attention and memory, and sound discrimination and analysis. Some children with learning disabilities have difficulty following social conventions (eg, taking turns, standing too close to the listener, not understanding jokes); these difficulties are often components of mild Autism Spectrum Disorders as well. Short attention span, motor restlessness, fine motor problems (eg, poor printing and copying), and variability in performance and behavior over time are other early signs. Difficulties with impulse control, non–goal-directed behavior and overactivity, discipline problems, aggressiveness, withdrawal and avoidance behavior, excessive shyness, and excessive fear may occur. Learning disabilities and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD, ADHD) (ADHD) often occur together. 