SLK 310 Chapter 7
Erin Polyblank
Chapter 7-Communication and
learning disorders
Everyday tasks can be confusing and frustrating, for children and adolescents
with communication and learning disorders and sometimes result in a cycle of
academic failure and lowered self-esteem.
Children with communication or learning disorders can learn, and they are as
intelligent as anyone else.
o Their disorders usually affect only certain limited aspects of learning, and
rarely are they severe enough to impair the pursuit of a normal life—but
they can be very stressful.
For many years, learning problems were attributed to poor motivation or poor
instruction.
o Breakthroughs in neuroimaging techniques has led to increased
recognition of the differences in the neurological makeup and
development of children with problems in language and related cognitive
tasks.
With recent advances in detection and intervention aimed at early language
development, signs of communication problems are detected at an early age
and children are taught using alternative methods that build on their
developmental strengths.
Defining and history
Learning disability (LD) is still commonly used as a general term for
learning problems that occur in the absence of other obvious conditions, such
as intellectual disability or brain damage.
In the DSM-5 2 specific terms are used:
1. Communication disorders.
2. Learning disorders.
A learning disability affects how individuals with normal or above-average
intelligence take in, retain, or express information.
o Information can be scrambled as it passes between the senses and the
brain.
A learning disability is hidden and is often undetected in young children.
1
,SLK 310 Chapter 7
Erin Polyblank
o Children with learning disabilities often must cope not only with their
limitations in reading, writing, or math but also with the frustration of
convincing others that their problems are as legitimate as visible
disabilities.
Learning difficulties often show up in schoolwork and can impede a child's
ability to learn to read, write, or do math, but they also can affect many other
parts of life, including work, daily routines, family life, and friendships.
Some learning problems are specific and affect a narrow range of ability,
whereas others may affect many different tasks and social situations.
Each learning disability is characterised by distinct definition and diagnosis.
o The main characteristic all children with learning difficulties share is
failing to perform at their expected level in school.
Although, symptoms vary largely.
Experts struggle to define learning disabilities because of their many forms
and overlapping symptoms.
Children with specific learning disorders who have normal intelligence show a
pattern of relative strengths and weaknesses that can make some learning
tasks much more difficult.
o This is noteworthy as it is so extreme and unexpected for a seemingly
normal child.
Communication disorder: A diagnostic term that refers to deficits in
language, speech, and communication.
o Diagnostic categories:
language disorder.
Speech sound disorder.
Childhood-onset fluency disorder.
Social (pragmatic) communication disorder.
Specific learning disorder: A diagnostic term that refers to specific problems
in learning and using academic skills.
o Is determined by achievement test results that are substantially below
what is expected for the child's age, schooling, and intellectual ability.
People with learning disabilities have normal intellectual processes in most
areas but are relatively weaker in others, which is known as having an
unexpected discrepancy between measured ability and actual
performance.
2
, SLK 310 Chapter 7
Erin Polyblank
Strauss and Werner pointed out that children learn in individual ways,
challenging the concept that learning is a relatively uniform, predictable
process in children without intellectual disabilities.
3 important concepts continue to influence the field:
1. Children approach learning in different ways, so each child's individual
learning style and uniqueness should be recognized and used to full
advantage.
2. Educational methods should be tailored to an individual child's pattern of
strengths and weaknesses; one method should not be imposed on
everyone.
3. Children with learning problems might be helped by teaching methods
that strengthen existing abilities rather than emphasize weak areas.
As the focus of the learning disabilities movement shifted from the clinic to
the classroom, parents and educators assumed a major role in programming
and placement.
Language development
From birth, infants selectively attend to parental speech sounds and soon learn to communicate
with basic gestures and sounds of their own.
o By their first birthday they can recognize several words and use a few of their own to
express their needs and emotions.
Adults play an important role in encouraging language development by providing clear examples
of language and enjoying the child's expressions.
Language consists of phonemes.
o Phonemes: the basic sounds (such as sharp ba's and da's and drawn-out ee's and ss's) that
make up language.
When a child hears a phoneme over and over, receptors in the ear stimulate the formation of
dedicated connections to the brain's auditory cortex.
o A perceptual map forms that represents similarities among sounds and helps the infant
learn to discriminate among different phonemes.
o These maps form quickly; 6-month-old children of English-speaking parents already have
auditory maps different from infants in non-English-speaking homes, as measured by
neuron activity in response to different sounds.
3
Erin Polyblank
Chapter 7-Communication and
learning disorders
Everyday tasks can be confusing and frustrating, for children and adolescents
with communication and learning disorders and sometimes result in a cycle of
academic failure and lowered self-esteem.
Children with communication or learning disorders can learn, and they are as
intelligent as anyone else.
o Their disorders usually affect only certain limited aspects of learning, and
rarely are they severe enough to impair the pursuit of a normal life—but
they can be very stressful.
For many years, learning problems were attributed to poor motivation or poor
instruction.
o Breakthroughs in neuroimaging techniques has led to increased
recognition of the differences in the neurological makeup and
development of children with problems in language and related cognitive
tasks.
With recent advances in detection and intervention aimed at early language
development, signs of communication problems are detected at an early age
and children are taught using alternative methods that build on their
developmental strengths.
Defining and history
Learning disability (LD) is still commonly used as a general term for
learning problems that occur in the absence of other obvious conditions, such
as intellectual disability or brain damage.
In the DSM-5 2 specific terms are used:
1. Communication disorders.
2. Learning disorders.
A learning disability affects how individuals with normal or above-average
intelligence take in, retain, or express information.
o Information can be scrambled as it passes between the senses and the
brain.
A learning disability is hidden and is often undetected in young children.
1
,SLK 310 Chapter 7
Erin Polyblank
o Children with learning disabilities often must cope not only with their
limitations in reading, writing, or math but also with the frustration of
convincing others that their problems are as legitimate as visible
disabilities.
Learning difficulties often show up in schoolwork and can impede a child's
ability to learn to read, write, or do math, but they also can affect many other
parts of life, including work, daily routines, family life, and friendships.
Some learning problems are specific and affect a narrow range of ability,
whereas others may affect many different tasks and social situations.
Each learning disability is characterised by distinct definition and diagnosis.
o The main characteristic all children with learning difficulties share is
failing to perform at their expected level in school.
Although, symptoms vary largely.
Experts struggle to define learning disabilities because of their many forms
and overlapping symptoms.
Children with specific learning disorders who have normal intelligence show a
pattern of relative strengths and weaknesses that can make some learning
tasks much more difficult.
o This is noteworthy as it is so extreme and unexpected for a seemingly
normal child.
Communication disorder: A diagnostic term that refers to deficits in
language, speech, and communication.
o Diagnostic categories:
language disorder.
Speech sound disorder.
Childhood-onset fluency disorder.
Social (pragmatic) communication disorder.
Specific learning disorder: A diagnostic term that refers to specific problems
in learning and using academic skills.
o Is determined by achievement test results that are substantially below
what is expected for the child's age, schooling, and intellectual ability.
People with learning disabilities have normal intellectual processes in most
areas but are relatively weaker in others, which is known as having an
unexpected discrepancy between measured ability and actual
performance.
2
, SLK 310 Chapter 7
Erin Polyblank
Strauss and Werner pointed out that children learn in individual ways,
challenging the concept that learning is a relatively uniform, predictable
process in children without intellectual disabilities.
3 important concepts continue to influence the field:
1. Children approach learning in different ways, so each child's individual
learning style and uniqueness should be recognized and used to full
advantage.
2. Educational methods should be tailored to an individual child's pattern of
strengths and weaknesses; one method should not be imposed on
everyone.
3. Children with learning problems might be helped by teaching methods
that strengthen existing abilities rather than emphasize weak areas.
As the focus of the learning disabilities movement shifted from the clinic to
the classroom, parents and educators assumed a major role in programming
and placement.
Language development
From birth, infants selectively attend to parental speech sounds and soon learn to communicate
with basic gestures and sounds of their own.
o By their first birthday they can recognize several words and use a few of their own to
express their needs and emotions.
Adults play an important role in encouraging language development by providing clear examples
of language and enjoying the child's expressions.
Language consists of phonemes.
o Phonemes: the basic sounds (such as sharp ba's and da's and drawn-out ee's and ss's) that
make up language.
When a child hears a phoneme over and over, receptors in the ear stimulate the formation of
dedicated connections to the brain's auditory cortex.
o A perceptual map forms that represents similarities among sounds and helps the infant
learn to discriminate among different phonemes.
o These maps form quickly; 6-month-old children of English-speaking parents already have
auditory maps different from infants in non-English-speaking homes, as measured by
neuron activity in response to different sounds.
3
