Disabilities In Children: Learning Disabilities And Autism
Abstract
This paper focuses on Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Autism in children. The symptoms, causes, risks, and treatments for each of those are discussed. These disorders have to do with brain development in children and are typically discovered and diagnosed at a young age up until the children start school. While most of the disabilities do not require medical treatment, all of those disabilities require the child to have an individualized education plan when they are in school that is made to fit their needs, so they can learn and progress in a way that works for them.
Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia is a learning disability that has many definitions and meanings. Some say that it cannot be specifically defined because it changes as time as goes on, and some describe it as a complex neurological condition. Dyslexia has also been defined as a reading disability that is typically associated with complications with spelling and mathematics. Five to ten percent of the general population has dyslexia. Typically, the symptoms of Dyslexia come about when the child enters school, but there are some signs that may indicate Dyslexia. Some signs in early childhood are delayed speaking, slow to learn vocabulary, difficulty recalling colors, names, and numbers. By the time the child is in school, the signs of Dyslexia are more obvious. Some of the signs are the child having trouble with reading, and cannot read at the same level as its peers, struggling with spelling, trouble remembering the order things happen in, and taking a lot of time to do reading and writing assignments.
While the causes of Dyslexia are uncertain, it is believed to be hereditary because usually more than one person in the family will have it. The environment may be a contributing factor. To be diagnosed with Dyslexia, the child must take some tests, the tests are not timed and have to do with reading and writing and their score has to be lower than the general average. There are also psychological tests done. The diagnosis does not happen overnight, and it may take years. About half of the children who have Dyslexia have ADHD, anxiety, or depression.
There is no treatment for Dyslexia, but if the child has ADHD, they can be put on medication, which will help them focus. Since there is no medical treatment possible, the treatment for managing Dyslexia begins at home and at school. The child’s teacher will work with the child. The teachers can use a variety of methods to try to help the student understand the material being presented. Dysgraphia is a learning disability that involves challenges with handwriting. A child who has Dysgraphia will have conflicts when it comes to writing by hand. The child will have a hard time hold the pencil and writing in a straight line (Patino). The child will often have handwriting that cannot be read, and they may make many errors when it comes to spelling because of their hands.
Most children with Dysgraphia will also have Dyslexia because they regularly appear together. Like children with Dyslexia; anxiety, depression, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are common in children with Dysgraphia (The Understood Team).
Dysgraphia cannot be cured with medication. Occupational Therapy is a known form of treatment to help children with it because it can help develop fine motor skills and coordination.
Dyscalculia is a learning disability that involves trouble with mathematic calculations. There is not much research done on dyscalculia, but because it appears equivalently in boys and girls, this is one disability that boys are not more likely to have, compared to girls. If a child has Dyscalculia, they may: be struggling with identifying numbers, need visual help with counting, be late learning to count for their age, and disarrange numbers when counting, have trouble with coursework and exams. There is no form of testing to diagnose dyscalculia meaning there is also no treatment for the learning disability.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a hyperactive disorder where the child is unable to pay attention and focus on a specific topic or task. Children with ADHD will show at least of the following behaviors; they may have difficulty paying attention; they may be uncontrollable and restless, and they may be impulsive. There are eight symptoms that are associated with ADHD. They are: poor concentration, impulsivity, excess movement, learning difficulties, boldness, low self-esteem, social clumsiness, and emotional disorders. There are three forms of ADHD. They are inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, or combined which is when there are both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive present (American Psychiatric Association). Typically a child that will have trouble concentrating, difficulty obeying rules and directions, and has organizational issues will be diagnosed with the inattentive form of ADHD.
For a hyperactive/impulsive ADHD diagnosis the child is more rambunctious and cannot stay still, they will talk excessively, have difficulty staying still because they are always squirming, and struggle with waiting for their turn. It is likely that eight percent of children and two percent of adults have ADHD, and it occurs more in boys than it does in girls (American Psychiatric Association). It is a common diagnosis in children and the diagnosis has been on the rise over the years. While we are unsure of the direct causes of the ADHD, there are some contributing factors that include genetics, premature birth, brain injuries and the use of cigarettes and alcohol during a pregnancy. There have been studies done on children with and without ADHD comparing their brains and their development. The children with ADHD have delayed development in their brains compared to children without it. The maximum depth of the cerebral cortex develops about three years later in children with ADHD at the age about of 10. 5 years, compared to 7. 5 years in children without ADHD.
Another study found the frontal lobe to have delayed development in children who have an ADHD diagnosis. To treat ADHD, a variety of methods are used; they are behavior therapy, medication, and modifications made by the school in the classroom with schoolwork. Usually, a combination of all three is used for the child, and they believe that behavior therapy and medication are the best for children at a young age. The two types of medication that is used to treat ADHD are Ritalin or Adderall, which are both stimulants.
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders are complications that arise in relationships that have to do with fear, depression, and aggression. While the textbook does not focus much on emotional and behavior disorders, it does say that the majority of children will have a little bit of difficulty emotionally when they are at the school age, so it is safe to say that it something that we may all have struggled with as a child for a bit. The emotional and behavior disorders are mentioned in this chapter because some children, who have a learning disability, will also have emotional and behavioral disorders. About 8 percent of children who have an individualized education plan due do their disabilities have emotional and behavioral disorders.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are developmental disorders that range from mild to severe. There are three types of Autism. There is: Autistic Disorder (or “classic” Autism), Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (or “atypical” Autism). Our textbook focuses on Asperger Syndrome and Autistic Disorder. Autistic Disorder is the severe form of autism and Asperger Syndrome is the milder form. Asperger’s is the milder form of autism because the child can still function properly and will have milder symptoms. The child will have issues with everyday interactions; the interactions will be verbal, nonverbal, and social. The child may also have repetitive movements. Autistic Disorder being the most severe, appears during the first three years of the child’s life and is characterized by the child being unable to communicate properly so there is a lacking in the social relationships in the child’s life, and repetitive behaviors.
Occasionally, if a child has met some of the measures for autistic disorder or Asperger’s will be diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder because their symptoms will be milder. Some of the symptoms of autism are avoidance of eye contact, unable to respond to their own name by the age of 12 months, have obsessive traits, showing little to no interest in objects around them, have sensory issues, and struggle to understand their feelings, as well as the feelings of others. Autism is a common disorder. It affects many children and adults. About 1 in every 68 children in America are on the autism spectrum. I had previously mentioned that boys are five times more likely to have autism than girls. About 1 out of every 48 boys has autism, whereas about 1 in every 252 girls has autism. There are no tests and treatment for autism, making it hard to get a diagnosis at a young age. By the age of two, a diagnosis of autism should be complete and accurate. Doctors diagnose the children with autism. The doctors will use the child’s behaviors and development to look for signs of Autism. While there is no treatment for autism, research has showed that early intervention treatment at a young age can benefit children if they have autism. There have been many rumors about what exactly causes autism. Some people (and celebrities for that matter) have been known to believe that vaccines cause autism, so they refuse to vaccinate their children. Studies have shown that vaccines do not cause autism because there is no correlation between the two. While we do not know for sure what causes autism, there are a few theories: prescription drugs taken by the mother during pregnancy, genetic chromosomal conditions, the age of the parents during conception (the older they are, the greater the chance), and genes. It should also be noted; that if parents have one child diagnosed with autism, the chances of their other children being diagnosed with autism increases.
Autism has made progress over the years on television. There have been many characters on popular shows that are autistic. The Big Bang Theory has Sheldon Cooper, Parenthood has Max Braverman, Grey’s Anatomy has Doctor Dixon, and Orange is the New Black has “Crazy Eyes”. I have seen The Big Bang Theory, Parenthood, Grey’s Anatomy, and Orange is the New Black. Grey’s Anatomy and Parenthood discuss autism. I have seen both Doctor Dixon and Max Braverman address their Asperger syndrome in the shows. From what I have seen in the shows, Parenthood focuses the obstacles in Max’s life and the progress that he makes throughout the series. Doctor Dixon is a minor character in Grey’s Anatomy who says at the end an episode in the elevator talking to Doctor Bailey that she has Asperger’s. I have not seen anything on television about Sheldon Cooper and “Crazy Eyes” being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, so I am unsure if they have it. Having television characters with autism has helped people understand the disorder more, but it is not always seen as a good thing on television because autism spectrum disorders are often shown as a tragic event in a person’s life.
Education
In 1975 Public Law 94-142 also known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed. The law requires that everyone student who has a disability, gets a free education through the public school system. Since then, the name has changed from Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and is now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Through this right that the students with disabilities have, they have educational learning plans to help them achieve that right. While not every disability and disorder that were disused in this paper require medical treatment, they all require IEP’s. An IEP is an individualized education plan. The IEP helps the student with a program that is specifically personalized for their educational needs. There is also a least restrictive environment (LRE) which is almost as if the student does not have a disability with the way they are learning. They will have a classroom environment that is similar to the mainstream classrooms. Schools will have inclusion courses which are when a student with disabilities is included in the mainstream classroom.
At Milton High School where I graduated from, the inclusive courses were the elective courses such as gym and foods and not the core curriculum courses. This lead the students with IEPs to have a learning experience in a mainstream setting to participate in elective courses with their peers. There are many learning disabilities along with physical and mental disabilities in children. While all of them cannot be cured, they are not all bad and do not require medical treatment, just treatment in the school system. Some of the learning disabilities occur hand in hand together, and others do not. The one thing that all of these disabilities have in common is the individual education plan the school is required to provide for management and treatment in the children.
