Learning disorder is defined as a disorder in which individuals with normal or above normal intelligence are diagnosed with reading, mathematics and written expression significantly below what is expected in standardized tests, taking into account age, intelligence level and education.
It is reported that approximately 80% of all cases of learning disorders are reading disorders (dyslexia) and that this disorder is seen in 5-17.5% of the population. Although the prevalence of math disorder (Discalculi) is given as 1%, it has been found to be 3-6% in studies conducted in normal populations in different countries. Written expression disorder (Dysgraphia) is frequently associated with other learning disorders. The prevalence is reported to be 4% in school-age children.
Preschool Learning Disability Symptoms
- Speech delay
- Confusion of object names, action words (take-give)
- Difficulty in learning the sequence of sounds or syllables (peach-festali, book-kipat etc.)
- Difficulty not only in speaking but also in listening and communicating what is heard
- Difficulty in learning simple rhyming words (taç-maç) or letter-sound relationships (knowing that each sound has a symbol and recognizing some of them)
- Difficulty in listening to and following verbal instructions (two or more steps) as well as focusing and sustaining attention on a point
- Difficulty in concepts of time (morning-evening, yesterday-today-tomorrow, before-after etc.), space (inside-out, separate-adjacent, under-over etc.), direction (up-down, front-back)
- Difficulty in learning and distinguishing colors, numbers and geometric shapes
- Difficulty in Difficulty in drawing (copying accurately by looking at the model),
- Delay in hand preference (using the right and left hands mixed when doing the same or different tasks)
- Inability to pronounce words correctly
- Switching the places of sounds in words (basketball-ball, etc.)
- Not being interested in telling stories or being told, or not showing interest in sounds and words even if listening
- Difficulty in finding words, naming known objects (table, glass, etc.)
- Difficulty in remembering children's poems, songs, names of friends, things heard, seen (story, game, movie, etc.) and their order
- Difficulty in doing the tasks he/she always does, starting and finishing a task
- Difficulty in matching (similarity, difference), classifying (classifying objects according to their size, color and shape) and sorting (ordering from largest to smallest, etc.)
- Difficulty in learning concepts (big-small, long-short, etc.)
- Cutting, pasting, painting, drawing reluctance and failure in activities
- Incorrectly holding the pencil (palm, tight grip, etc.) starting from the wrong direction when drawing shapes
In our center, individuals diagnosed with Specific Learning Disorder are evaluated developmentally, then a realistic education program appropriate to the individual's needs is prepared and the family is provided with counseling on this issue. The characteristics that help or hinder the child's academic progress, such as self-esteem, attention skills, increasing school and lesson motivation, peer relationships, expectations from the child within the family and school, are taken into consideration and the family is guided in developing the individual's self-esteem, and counseling or psychotherapy support is provided for emotional and social difficulties.
