Specific Learning Disorder

specific LEARNINGdisorder
a neurodevelopmental disorder produced by the interactions of

heritable and environmental factors that influence the brain’s
ability to efficiently perceive or process verbal and nonverbal
information. It is characterized by persistent difficulty learning
academic skills in reading, written expression, or mathematics,
beginning in early childhood, that is inconsistent with the overall
intellectual ability of a child. Children with specific learning disorder
often find it difficult to keep up with their peers in certain academic
subjects, whereas they may excel in others. Academic skills that
may be compromised in specific learning disorder include reading
single words and sentences fluently, written expression and
spelling, and calculation and solving mathematical problems.
Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in
Reading
Reading impairment is characterized by difficulty in
recognizing words, slow and inaccurate reading, poor
comprehension, and difficulties with spelling. Reading
impairment is often comorbid with other disorders in
children, particularly, ADHD.
Epidemiology
An estimated 4-8% of youth in the US have been identified with
dyslexia, encompassing a variety of reading, spelling, and
comprehension deficits. Three to four times as many boys as girls
are reported to have reading impairments in clinically referred
samples. In epidemiological samples, however, rates of reading
impairments are much closer among boys and girls. Boys with
reading impairment are referred for psychiatric evaluation more
often than girls due to comorbid ADHD and disruptive behavior
problems. No clear gender differential is seen among adults who
report reading difficulties.
Comorbidity
• Language Disorder
• ADHD
• Opposition Defiant Disorder
• Conduct Disorder
• Depressive Disorder
Etiology
Because reading impairment typically includes a language deficit, the
left brain has been hypothesized to be the anatomical site of this
dysfunction. Several studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
studies have suggested that the planum temporale in the left brain
shows less asymmetry than the same site in the right brain in children
with both language disorders and specific learning disorder. Positron
emission tomographic (PET) studies have led some researchers to
conclude that left temporal blood flow patterns during language tasks
differ between children with and without learning disorders.
Course and Prognosis
Children with reading disability may gain knowledge of printed
language during their first 2 years in grade school, without remedial
assistance. By the end of the first grade, many children with reading
problems, in fact, have learned how to read a few words; however,
by the third grade, keeping up with classmates is exceedingly difficult
without remedial educational intervention. When remediation is
instituted early, in milder cases, it may not be necessary after the
first or second grade. In severe cases and depending on the pattern
of deficits and strengths, remediation may be continued into the
middle and high school years.
Treatment
Effective remediation programs begin by teaching the child to make
accurate associations between letters and sounds. This approach is
based on the theory that the core deficits in reading impairments
are related to difficulty recognizing and remembering the
associations between letters and sounds.
• Reading instruction programs such as the Orton Gillingham
and Direct Instructional System for Teaching and
Remediation (DISTAR)
Mathematics
Children with mathematics difficulties have difficulty learning and
remembering numerals, cannot remember basic facts about
numbers, and are slow and inaccurate in computation. Poor
achievement in four groups of skills have been identified in
mathematics disorder: linguistic skills (those related to understanding
mathematical terms and converting written problems into
mathematical symbols), perceptual skills (the ability to recognize and
understand symbols and order clusters of numbers), mathematical
skills (basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and
following sequencing of basic operations), and attentional skills
(copying figures correctly and observing operational symbols
correctly).
Epidemiology
Occurs in about 1 percent of school-age children, that is
about one of every five children with specific learning
disorder.
Although specific learning disorder overall occurs two
to three times more often in males, mathematics
deficits may be relatively more frequent in girls than
reading deficits.
Comorbidity
• Specific Learning Disorder
• Development Coordination Disorder
Etiology
Causes of deficits in mathematics are believed to be
multifactorial, including genetic, maturational, cognitive,
emotional, educational, and socioeconomic factors.
Prematurity and very low birth weight are also a risk factor for
specific learning disorder, including mathematics. Compared
with reading abilities, arithmetic abilities seem to depend
more on the amount and quality of instruction.
A child with a specific learning disorder in mathematics can
usually be identified by the age of 8 years (third grade). In
some children, the disorder is apparent as early as 6 years
(first grade); in others, it may not be apparent until age 10
(fifth grade) or later. Too few data are currently available
from longitudinal studies to predict clear patterns of
developmental and academic progress of children classified
as having mathematics disorder in early school grades.
Treatment
• Early intervention programs using visual aids, flash

cards, workbooks, and computer games
• Utilziation of multimedia self-instructionalor group-
instructional in-service training program (e.i. Project
MATH)
Written Expression
Deficits in written expression are characterized by writing skills
that are significantly below the expected level for a child’s age
and education. Such defciits impair the child’s academic
performance and writing in everyday life. Components of
writing disorder include poor spelling, errors in grammar and
punctuation, and poor handwriting. Spelling errors are among
the most common difficulties for a child with a writing disorder.
Spelling mistakes are most often phonetic errors; that is, an
erroneous spelling that sounds like the correct spelling.
Examples of common spelling errors are: fone for phone, or
beleeve for believe.
Epidemiology
• The prevalence of specific learning disorder with impairment in
written expression has been reported to occur in the range of 5–
15% of school-age children.
• Over time, specific learning disorder remits in many youth, leading
to a persistent rate of specific learning disorder of 4% in adults.
• The gender ratio in writing deficits is two to three to one in boys
compared with girls. Impaired written expression often occurs
along with deficits in reading, but not always.
Comorbidity
• ADHD
• Depressive Disorder
Etiology
• Causes of writing disability are believed to be similar to
those of reading disorder, that is, underlying deficits in using
the components of language related to letter sounds.
• Hereditary predisposition to writing impairment is supported
by the finding that most youth with impaired written
expression have first-degree relatives with similar difficulties.
Children with limited attention spans and high levels of
distractibility may find writing an arduous task.
• A child with all of the above disabilities will likely be diagnosed with language
disorder first and impaired written expression last. In severe cases, an impaired
written expression is apparent by age 7 (second grade); in less severe cases, the
disorder may not be apparent until age 10 (fifth grade) or later..
• Youth with mild and moderate impairment in written expression fare well if they
receive timely remedial education early in grade school.
• Severely impaired written expression requires continual, extensive remedial
treatment through the late part of high school and even into college.
• The prognosis depends on the severity of the disorder, the age or grade when the
remedial intervention is started, the length and continuity of treatment, and
presence or absence of associated or secondary emotional or behavioral
problems.
Treatment
• Intensive and continuous administration of individually tailored, one-
on-one expressive and creative writing therapy
Diagnostic Criteria
A. Difficulties learning and using academic skills, as indicated by the
presence of at least one of the following symptoms that have
persisted for at least 6 months, despite the provision of interventions
that target those difficulties:
1. Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading (e.g., reads single
words aloud incorrectly or slowly and hesitantly, frequently guesses
words, has difficulty sounding out words).
2. Difficulty understanding the meaning of what is read (e.g., may
read text accurately but not understand the sequence, relationships,
inferences, or deeper meanings of what is read).
3. Difficulties with spelling (e.g., may add, omit, or substitute vowels
or consonants).
4. Difficulties with written expression (e.g., makes multiple
grammatical or punctuation errors within sentences; employs
poor paragraph organization; written expression of ideas lacks
clarity).
5. Difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or
calculation (e.g., has poor understanding of numbers, their
magnitude, and relationships; counts on fingers to add single-
digit numbers instead of recalling the math fact as peers do; gets
lost in the midst of arithmetic computation and may switch
procedures).
6. Difficulties with mathematical reasoning (e.g., has severe
difficulty applying mathematical concepts, facts, or procedures to
solve quantitative problems).
B. The affected academic skills are substantially and quantifiably
below those expected for the individual’s chronological age, and
cause significant interference with academic or occupational
performance, or with activities of daily living, as confirmed by
individually administered standardized achievement measures
and comprehensive clinical assessment. For individuals age 17
years and older, a documented history of impairing learning
difficulties may be substituted for the standardized assessment.
C. The learning difficulties begin during school-age years but may
not become fully manifest until the demands for those affected
academic skills exceed the individual’s limited capacities (e.g., as
in timed tests, reading or writing lengthy complex reports for a
tight deadline, excessively heavy academic loads).
D. The learning difficulties are not better accounted for by intellectual
disabilities, uncorrected visual or auditory acuity, other mental or neurological
disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of proficiency in the language of
academic instruction, or inadequate educational instruction.
Note: The four diagnostic criteria are to be met based on a clinical synthesis of
the individual’s history (developmental, medical, family, educational), school
reports, and psychoeducational assessment.
Coding note: Specify all academic domains and subskills that are impaired.
When more than one domain is impaired, each one should be coded
individually according to the followingspecifiers.
Specify if: 315.00 (F81.0) With impairment in reading:
Word reading accuracy
Reading rate or fluency
Reading comprehension
Note: Dyslexia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of
learning difficulties characterized by problems with accurate or
fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities. If
dyslexia is used to specify this particular pattern of difficulties, it is
important also to specify any additional difficulties that are present,
such as difficulties with reading comprehension or math reasoning.
315.2 (F81.81) With impairment in written expression:
Spelling accuracy
Grammar and punctuation accuracy
Clarity or organization of written expression
315.1 (FBI .2) With impairment in mathematics:
Number sense
Memorization of arithmetic facts
Accurate or fluent calculation
Accurate math reasoning
Note: Dyscalculia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of
difficulties characterized by problems processing numerical
information, learning arithmetic facts, and performing accurate or
fluent calculations. If dyscalculia is used to specify this particular
pattern of mathematic difficulties, it is important also to specify any
additional difficulties that are present, such as difficulties with math
reasoning or word reasoning accuracy.
Specify current severity:
Mild: Some difficulties learning skills in one or two academic domains, but of mild
enough severity that the individual may be able to compensate or function well
when provided with appropriate accommodations or support services, especially
during the school years.
Moderate: Marked difficulties learning skills in one or more academic domains, so
that the individual is unlikely to become proficient without some intervals of
intensive and specialized teaching during the school years. Some accommodations
or supportive services at least part of the day at school, in the workplace, or at
home may be needed to complete activities accurately and efficiently.
Severe: Severe difficulties learning skills, affecting several academic domains, so that
the individual is unlikely to learn those skills without ongoing intensive individualized
and specialized teaching for most of the school years. Even with an array of
appropriate accommodations or services at home, at school, or in the workplace,
the individual may not be able to complete all activities efficiently.

Specific Learning Disorder

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specific LEARNINGdisorder

a neurodevelopmental disorder produced by the interactions of

• Early intervention programs using visual aids, flash

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