Dyslexia and other learning difficulties
What are specific learning difficulties?Defining specific learning difficultiesWhich areas of learning are involved?What is a'significant delay'?Which other causes of difficulty must be excluded?How early can specific learning difficulties be diagnosed?Historical backgroundTerms used for types of specific learning difficultyHow common are specific learning difficulties?The benefits of recognizing specific learning difficultiesHow a specific learning difficulty is diagnosedPointers to a specific learning difficultyWhat to do if you suspect that your child has a specific learning difficultyWhat is a comprehensive assessment?How to arrange an assessmentEducation departmentLearning difficulties clinicsDevelopmental paediatricians and psychologists in private practiceHow a diagnostic assessment is carried outCollection of information about the childPrior to the assessment visitAt the assessmentExamination of the child—the psychologist's roleApproach to testingTypes of test usedTests of intelligenceTests of academic achievementTests of other special abilitiesExamination of the child—the paediatrician's roleThe physical examinationSpecial testsVision and hearing testsChromosome testElectroencephalogram (EEG)Cognitive event-related potentialsSkull X-rayExplanation of the findings to the parentsRecommendation of an appropriate management planReview assessmentsTheories of causationTheories about the underlying causeGenetic factorsEnvironmental factorsTheories about brain damage, malformation, dysfunction, and maturationUndetectable brain damage theoryMinor brain malformation theoryMinimal brain dysfunction theoryMaturational lag theoryTheory of cerebral dominance failureTheory of information processing deficitsHow parents can help— general principlesParents' concernsSiblings' needsBuilding up your child's self-esteemTelling your child about his learning difficultyParents as teachersWorking with the schoolHelp from organizationsAreas of learning ReadingHow common is specific reading difficulty?What competent reading involvesHow reading is learnedThe deficit in specific reading difficultyHow reading is assessedHow reading is taught'Look and say' methodPhonic methodEmbellished alphabetLanguage experience methodMultisensory methodTeaching a child with specific reading difficulty to readHow parents can help their child with specific reading difficultyCircumventing reading difficultiesSpellingWhat is specific spelling difficulty?How spelling is assessedThe deficit in specific spelling difficultySpelling errorsPhonetic errorsVisual errorsLetter substitution errorsInsertion and omission errorsSequential errors'Irrational' errorsHelping your child with specific spelling difficultySpelling dictionariesWritingHow writing is assessedCriteria for diagnosisWhen specific writing difficulty is detectedDefects in specific writing difficultyMotor planning difficultiesVisual perception deficitPencil grip disordersVisual memory deficitSpatial planning deficitDiminished rate of processingWhich form of writing should be taught?Helping your child with specific writing difficultyArithmeticHow arithmetic skills are testedTypes of difficultyMathematical comprehensionOperational functionsSelection processSequential memorySequential organizationVerbal mathematics expressionAbstract symbolizationAuditory-visual associationsClusteringConcrete mathematical manipulationConservation of quantityEstablishment of one-to-one correspondenceGraphic representation of numbersInterpreting process signsHelping your child with specific arithmetic difficultyStage 1: numbers, counting, sorting, matching, and arranging in orderStage 2: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and divisionStage 3: measurement, shape, time, and moneyCalculators and computersLanguageHow language is assessedNormal language development during the school yearsComponents of languageTypes of language difficultyExpressive language difficultyReceptive language (comprehension) difficultyVerbal dyspraxiaAttention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and sequential organization difficultiesAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderBehaviour management adviceMedicinesSequential organization difficultiesCoordination and clumsinessHow coordination is assessedTypes of clumsinessMovement planning deficit (dyspraxia)AgnosiaVisual-spatial deficitLow toneTreatment of clumsinessHelping your child with visual-spatial difficultiesSocial and emotional developmentSocial cognition deficitBehaviour that may arise because of a specific learning difficultySchool avoidanceHomework avoidanceTV, computer, and gaming console'addiction'CheatingAggression'Controlling' behaviourQuittingWithdrawalControversial treatmentsSensory integrative therapyDoman-Delacato method (patterning)AllergyVisual trainingTinted lensesHypoglycaemia dietsLaterality trainingMegavitamins and mineral therapyChiropracticAdulthoodThe advantage of adulthoodComing to terms with persisting specific learning difficultyGetting around difficultiesCareers
