Learning Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Learning disorders affect how a person understands, remembers and responds to new information. People with learning disorders may have problems

• Listening or paying attention
• Speaking
• Reading or writing
• Doing math

Although learning disorders occur in very young children, they are usually not recognized until the child reaches school age. About one-third of children who have learning disabilities also have ADHD, which makes it hard to focus.

Evaluation and testing by a trained professional can help identify a learning disorder. The next step is special education, which involves helping your child in the areas where he or she needs the most help. Sometimes tutors or speech or language therapists also work with the children. Learning disorders do not go away, but strategies to work around them can make them less of a problem.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

• Children with Learning Disorders (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
• Keeping Up in School? Identifying Learning Problems (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Learning Disabilities (Nemours Foundation)
• Learning Disabilities (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
• Learning Disorders: Know the Signs, How to Help (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Types of Learning Problems (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• What Are Learning Disabilities? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• What Are the Symptoms of Learning Disabilities? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• How Are Learning Disabilities Diagnosed? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• What Are the Treatments for Learning Disabilities? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Living With

• How Learning Problems Are Managed (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Interventions for Learning Disorders (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Dysgraphia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Dyslexia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Gerstmann's Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• What Are Reading Disorders? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: 47,XYY syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Aarskog-Scott syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: triple X syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Percentage of Children Aged 5--17 Years Ever Receiving a Diagnosis of Learning Disability, United States, 2007--2009 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dyslexia (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Learning Disorders (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Specific Learning Disorder (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Executive Function and Academic Outcomes in Children Who Were Extremely...
• Article: Intelligence and Academic Achievement of Adolescents with Craniofacial Microsomia.
• Article: CitySCaPE: Moving beyond indifference in education for pre-registration nurses about...
• Learning Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

• Dyslexia (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Learning Problems (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Understanding Dyslexia (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Learning Disabilities (Nemours Foundation)
• Learning Disabilities and ADHD (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Transition to Adulthood (Center for Parent Information and Resources)
• Understanding Dyslexia (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Developmental reading disorder (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Disorder of written expression (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mathematics disorder (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish