About Neurological Learning Disorders

Estimates for children who suffer from neurological learning disorders run between 8 to 10 percent in the United States. These disorders affect the sufferer’s ability to learn and apply that learning in the traditional ways. Typically, these disorders are not diagnosed until the child begins to have problems in school, both learning and behavioral problems.

What are Neurological Disorders?

This spectrum of disorders can cause difficulties in learning and understanding language, both written and spoken. They may be unable to do mathematic calculations, coordinate motor functions and focus or direct their attention on the tasks at hand. Neurological learning disorders are lifelong conditions, and many times the patients and learning professionals must develop alternate ways to learn these functions.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is probably the most known of the neurological learning disorders. This condition is a language disability – most notably written language. Patients may see different characters than what is written on a page, or they may switch letters and numbers around in a word or group of words. This slows reading skills and comprehension.

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia is a learning disorder affecting the sufferer’s mathematic skills. Solving math problems and retaining math concepts is difficult for the dyscalculia patient. The patient’s inability to process even simple numerical problems and equations leads to poor performance in math and math-related subjects in school.

Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

Patients with nonverbal disabilities exhibit different signs that are not always verbalized by the patient and may go unnoticed by others. These signs include:

• Visual-spatial learning – instead of learning by words, the patient uses pictures and maps to learn.


• Organizational skills are impaired


• Evaluative skills are limited

 Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is another disorder in the language spectrum, and like dyslexia, it is primarily a written language problem. The patient with dysgraphia cannot form letters in the traditional sense. Letters and words that that belong in specific spaces, such as between lines or in a box, cannot be accomplished in this structured formation. Often in the dysgraphia patient, you will see words that have letters of various sizes.