Learning is the process by which human beings acquire and store certain information in order to be able to use it when necessary. For this to be possible, it is essential that this information penetrates through the senses, to be subsequently processed and stored in our brain.
“The brain is to learning what the lungs are to breathing”. Therefore, it is easy to understand how the knowledge of the different brain bases that explain the different learning disorders is of fundamental importance.
There are certain “sensitive periods” in life in which learning occurs in a more effective and lasting way. Outside these periods, a given learning process requires more time and the result is less effective.
For example, in school-age children, the brain plasticity of this age group makes this a unique period. If we diagnose the difficulty in question early and initiate treatment and specific school adaptations, we will be able to have a direct impact on the deficient brain functions and change the results.
In adolescence, on the other hand, this brain plasticity is much lower and the measures we can take at this age are mainly based on the search for strategies that allow us to make up for a series of already established difficulties.
For this reason, the earlier we diagnose and treat the different learning disorders, the better the results will be.
In this sense it is of fundamental importance the early detection of certain “warning signs” that are usually present in these children from an early age, and that only professionals specifically trained and experienced in the fields of neuropsychology and child neurology can evaluate and treat adequately.
What are the “warning signs” that should alert parents and educators to a possible learning disorder?
Below, we will outline the main general “warning signs” that may lead to the suspicion of a learning disorder, and which should prompt a consultation with a specialist.
- Persistent difficulty in one or more learning skills, which may affect language as a whole, reading and writing or mathematics in particular, the ability to concentrate, pay and maintain attention, or the ability to self-regulate and control behavior.
- School performance is not commensurate with the child’s intellectual capacity. That is, there is a discrepancy between the child’s ability and low academic achievement.
- School performance is not commensurate with the child’s effort. That is to say, there is a discrepancy between the effort the child puts into his studies and the results he obtains.
- The difficulties are persistent, preventing the child from keeping up with the learning pace of children his age, and have a negative impact on the child’s progress during school.
- The child’s behavior does not match the type of education received or the family environment from which he/she comes (impulsivity, impatience, social attunement problems, disorderly, disorganized, troublemaker).
- Behaviors of refusal of one or more learning tasks, or symptoms of anxiety, anguish, headaches or abdominal pain without an apparent medical cause and in close relation to the performance of school tasks.
What should we know about the “warning signs”?
At this point it is important to know:
- These are only “warning signs” that serve to detect possible difficulties. Not to diagnose.
- A diagnosis requires the intervention of a specialized team, a complete medical history, a neurological examination and a neuropsychological study.