Specific learning disabilities are neurological disorders that affect how a person processes information. They can impact areas like reading, writing, math, listening, or speaking. Children with specific learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence but their brains process information differently. Determining if a child has a specific learning disability involves assessing if their achievement is below what is expected for their age and intelligence across academic areas like reading, writing, math, etc. and ruling out other factors. Common types of specific learning disabilities include dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia which impact reading, writing, and math respectively. Treatment focuses on strengthening skills and developing individualized learning strategies.

1. Specific Learning
Disability
Introduction

2. Definition of Specific Learning Disability
• SLD means a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in
using language, spoken or written, which may manifest
itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, write,
spell or to do mathematical calculations.

3. SLD
• Children with learning disabilities are not dumb or lazy. In
fact they usually have average or above average
intelligence. Their brains just process information
differently.

4. Determining the existence of a SLD
A child may not be determined to be a child with SLD if
underachievement is the result of:
 A visual, hearing, or motor disability
 Intellectual disability
 Emotional disturbance
 Cultural factors
 Environmental or economic disadvantage

5. How to determine the existence of SLD
• A child does not achieve commensurate with the child’s
age or meet grade- level standards in one or more of the
following areas
• A child does not make sufficient progress toward meeting
those standards when provided with learning
experiences appropriate for the child’s age.

6. Criteria for determining the existence of
SLD
• Oral expression
• Listening comprehension
• Written expression
• Basic reading skills
• Reading fluency skills
• Reading comprehension
• Mathematics calculation

7. Early signs of existence
 Early signs of SLD may appear in the preschool years
(difficulty learning names of letters, or counting objects)
but it can only be diagnosed reliably after starting formal
education ( at 6 years of age onwards)

8. Learning disorder can vary in severity:
• Mild: Some difficulties with learning in one or two
academic areas, but may be able to compensate.
• Moderate: Significant difficulties with learning, requiring
some specialized teaching and some accommodations
or supportive services.
• Severe: Severe difficulties with learning, affecting several
academic areas and requiring ongoing intensive
specialized teaching.

9. Types of SLD
• DYSLEXIA
• DYSGRAPHIA
• DYSCALCULIA

10. Dyslexia
• A specific learning disability that affects reading and
related language based processing skills.
• Dyslexia reflects a specific problem in processing
individual speech sounds (e.g., the ssss sound, the mmm
sound) in words (phonemes). There can also be
problems with holding sounds in sequence in short-term
memory (e.g., holding the sequence of sounds in a new
word in mind long enough to recognize it). Children with
a reading disability may also have difficulties with reading
fluency, resulting in reading skills that are accurate but
effortful and slow.

11. Dysgraphia
• A specific learning disability that affects a person’s
handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
• Dysgraphia is generally characterized by distorted writing
despite thorough instruction. A student with dysgraphia
exhibits inconsistent and illegible writing, mixing upper
and lowercase letters, and writing on a line and inside
margins. He or she might have fine motor difficulties such
as trouble holding the pencil correctly, inability to use
scissors well, or coloring inside the lines.

12. Dyscalculia
• A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability
to understand numbers and learn math facts.
• Dyscalculia is generally characterized by difficulty in
learning or understanding mathematical operations. A
student with arithmetic disorder might have difficulty
organizing problems on the page; following through on
multiple step calculations such as long division;
transposing numbers accurately on paper or on to a
calculator, such as turning 89 into 98; distinguishing right
from left; and using mathematical calculation signs. They
may also be confused about basic operations and facts

13. Associated Co morbidities
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Children with SLD are at an increased risk of
hyperactivity. There is a strong relationship between
inattentiveness and reading disabilities. The comorbidity
of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

14. Specific Learning Disorder: Treatment
• While there is no cure for specific learning disorder, there
are many ways to improve reading, writing, and math
skills for a child. Treatment usually includes both
strengthening the skills and developing a learning
strategy tailored to take advantage of a child’s strengths.
• A learning specialist can help determine the services or
accommodations a child might benefit from at school.
Psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy in particular,
may also be helpful in treating the emotional and
behavioral problems that can accompany specific
learning disorder.

15. Identifying learning styles
• Kinesthetic, Visual and Auditory
• Treatment for specific learning disorder often also
involves multimodal teaching. If a child has trouble
comprehending a subject with his or her eyes and ears
alone, other senses such as touch, taste, and even smell
can play a role in the learning process
• Individualized Educational Programme

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