Specific Learning Disorders Paper

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Pages: 5

Specific Learning disorders refer to disorders that affect one certain aspect of a child’s learning. These include dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyslexia. Dyslexia is the most recognized of the three with the inability to read. Dyscalculia affects a child’s ability to recognize numbers, and dysgraphia affects a child’s ability to write. Of the three, dysgraphia affects about 5% of the public- school population; however, that is most likely under-identified. It is able to be an independent disability, but also can coexist with autism and other disabilities. The number of students affected by writing impairments can fluctuate over the year because students can start off with weak writing skills and they will improve. Students with dysgraphia will …show more content…
Dysgraphia can manifest through sloppy handwriting, incorrect spelling, excessive writing time, and problems with grammar (Chung, Patel 2015). Dysgraphia is a specific learning disorder under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, a child must not meet statewide grade-level standards in literacy or math skills. (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen 2009) It is also a specific learning disorder under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). To gain a dysgraphia diagnosis, the child must be affected for at least 6 months. Under the DSM, the child must be below what is expected for the chronological age and have ruled out any underlying conditions. (Chung, Patel …show more content…
In comparison to dyslexia, another specific learning disorder, and cerebral palsy, an orthopedic impairment, dysgraphia shows striking similarities and differences. Both Dysgraphia and Dyslexia are specific learning disorders meaning they affect one area of learning. In Dyslexia’s case, it’s reading. Reading and writing are both important in regard to a child’s literacy level; however, writing is more complex because it requires working memory and analyzation while reading is a task typically completed with the text in front of you requiring less of the working memory to be used. Content is held in the one part of the brain. These two disorders are able to be independent disorders, but also can exist together or in conjunction with another disability. Visual attention is presented differently in both dyslexia and dysgraphia. In dysgraphia, a student’s attention to the topic will be seen in subject change or variance throughout the work; however, with reading- the child will not sit to read or will not remember what they’ve read. A key trait with dyslexia is the switching of letters with the same shape where a key trait with dysgraphia is phonological awareness of the letter sounds they are writing. Spelling is an issue that troubles both disorders. (Dohla, Heim