Learning Disabilities

I have had many parents during my career ask me to explain a learning disability. Unlike other disabilities that can be explained or diagnosed with a medical exam, a learning disability is invisible and mysterious. The cause is often times unknown.

Simply put, a learning disability is the brain's  inability to process and/or retain information. Information goes into the brain through the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. In a typical child, the brain takes in the information, sorts it and puts it into short and long term memory for retrieval later. In the child with a learning disability, the brain is either lacking the ability to make sense of the information coming in through one or more of the senses  (a processing disorder) and/or it is unable to retrieve it later (memory deficit). Children with a learning disability may be able to process what they hear, but are unable to process visual information (or visa versa).

I like to use the illustration of a filing cabinet. My husband's filing cabinet is neatly organized. Every file is properly labeled. The papers are all sorted by what they are and he can quickly find anything he is looking for at any given time. My filing cabinet has papers stuffed in where ever there is space. Many of the papers that need filing are sitting in a big pile for when I have a few extra minutes, where they will sit for the next couple of years. When I need a paper that I have saved, I have to dig through the pile and the entire filing cabinet until I am able to locate the needed information. The brain of a student with a learning disability is much like my filing cabinet. The information sometimes makes it into the brain, but is not properly filed for future retrieval. Other information never even makes it into the brain and is therefore not filed at all.

When brain scans of a child with a learning disability are compared to brain scans of a typical developing child's brain, the typical child's brain is far more efficient. Researchers can predict which part of the brain will light up based on the task given. The brain of the learning disabled child is much more unpredictable. Different parts of the brain will light up even when the same task is given repeatedly. When the learning disabled child is given a task, several areas of the brain light up in an attempt to locate the stored information. This indicates that the brain is looking for the information in several areas of the brain at the same time.

A learning disability can be quite frustrating to parents and teachers because the child often appears to be lazy. This is not the case. The child with a learning disability typically has to work far harder than a typical child to learn the same information. Even when the child learns something, he often times will be unable to retrieve it later. I have had many parents say to me, "He was able to do it yesterday. He just doesn't want to do it today." A learning disability is not a motivational issue. It is a retrieval issue. The child's filing cabinet has papers shoved everywhere with no order to them. Some days they get lucky and find what they need on the first try. Other times they have to dig through the cabinet repeatedly to find the information.

A learning disability can be diagnosed through a process at your child's school. If you suspect that your child has a learning disability, write a note to the psychologist at your child's school requesting that your child be assessed to determine if he or she has a learning disability. The school is required to respond to your request within 15 calendar days by providing you with an assessment plan that you will need to sign. The school is unable to assess your child without your signature. Once you have signed the assessment plan, the school will test him or her and hold an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting within 60 calendar days from the time that you returned the assessment plan to them. In order to qualify for services, there will need to be at least 22 points between the child's IQ score and the standard score in one or more academic areas. The school may also use a Response to Intervention model for determining if there is a disability. This model does not look at the scores, but rather looks to see if the child is able to learn when specific interventions are provided over a period of time. Both models for determining a learning disability are permissible in the United States. It is determined by the individual school district which model they wish to use.