Specific learning disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that influence the brain’s ability to

efficiently perceive or process verbal and nonverbal information. Here are risk factors of
learning disabilities.

Environmental - Prematurity or very low birth weight increases the risk for specific
learning disorder, as does prenatal exposure to nicotine.

Genetic and physiological - Learning problems like trouble with reading, math, and spelling
seem to run in families. If a person has difficulty with reading or math, their close relatives are
much more likely to have the same trouble, maybe 4 to 8 times more likely for reading and 5 to
10 times more likely for math. If parents have a history of struggling with reading or spelling,
their kids are more likely to have similar issues.

Course modifiers - Kids who have trouble paying attention during preschool might struggle with
reading and math later on, but not necessarily to the point of having a specific learning
disorder. If a child has speech or language delays or has trouble with things like understanding
sounds or remembering information in preschool, they're more likely to develop specific
learning disorders in reading and writing later on.

Learning disability is characterized into three, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.

First, dyslexia, it affects the person’s reading and language-related processing skills. It is
characterized by difficulty in recognizing words, slow and inaccurate reading, poor
comprehension, and difficulties with spelling. This may be due to trouble decoding words, their
ability to match letters to their respective sounds, and/or trouble in phonetic awareness, their
ability to recognize the sound in each word.

Here are some recommendations. The multi-sensory approach, by the use of different senses
such as sight, sound, and touch to teach the child new reading concepts to learn. Visual
prompts and modelling, to guide the child and provide minimal assistance. Visual strategies to
assist with reading and spelling, for an example the use different colors on the letters. Listening
to an audiobook while reading the words on the pages of the book.

Next, dysgraphia, it affects a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor skills. Components of
writing disorder include poor spelling, errors in grammar and punctuation, and poor
handwriting.
A person with dysgraphia shows difficulty in forming letters, writing grammatically correct
sentences, correct spacing in between letters and words, writing in straight line, holding
properly the writing tool, writing clearly, and complete writing/copying of words.

Here are some recommendation. For those having difficulty holding the writing tool properly,
we could provide physical assistance by the use of any aids or trialing different pencil grasps
that could make writing easier. Do fun games for the child to complete sentence structures and
word association games.
Last, dyscalculia, problems with the person’s ability to understand numbers and learn math
facts.
Some investigators have classified mathematics deficiencies into the following categories:
difficulty learning to count meaningfully; difficulty mastering cardinal and ordinal systems;
difficulty performing arithmetic operations; and difficulty envisioning clusters of objects as
groups. Children with mathematics difficulty have trouble associating auditory and visual
symbols, understanding the conservation of quantity, remembering sequences of arithmetic
steps, and choosing principles for problem-solving activities. Children with these problems are
presumed to have good auditory and verbal abilities; however, in many cases, the mathematics
deficits may occur in conjunction with reading, writing, and language problems.

-Remembering mathematical signs

-Translating word problems into computations
-Counting money or making change
-Calculating during the expected time
-Judging speed or distance
-Understanding the concept (e.g. counting and adding)
-Holding numbers in their head while solving problems