Note: This column was originally published in the Corvallis Gazette-Times/Albany Democrat- Herald on Feb. 15, 2015.
By Dr. Joyce Fusek
It is estimated that as many as one-third of people with learning disabilities also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Often children are not identified as having learning disabilities until they are adults. Therefore, such individuals can suffer from self-esteem issues, have low expectations for themselves, struggle with completing higher education, experience social difficulties, and are in trouble with the law more often than their non-learning disability peers.
Learning disabilities are both real and permanent. Yet some people never discover that learning disabilities are responsible for their lifelong difficulties in such areas as reading, math, written expression and in comprehension.
For that reason, it is important that learning disabilities and ADHD are discovered early in life and treated.
Causes
Learning disabilities arise from neurological differences in brain structure and function and affect a person’s ability to receive, store, process, retrieve or communicate information. While the specific nature of these brain-based disorders is still not well understood, considerable progress has been made in mapping some of the characteristic difficulties of a learning disability to specific brain regions and structures. Common types of learning disabilities are as follows:
- Dyslexia (the most prevailing and well recognized of learning disabilities)
- Dyscalculia (mathematics learning disability)
- Dysgraphia (writing disabilities).
As with learning disabilities, ADHD is linked both to heredity (genetics) as well as to brain structure and function. However unlike learning disabilities, features of ADHD can be attributed to neurochemical imbalances that can be effectively treated with a combination of behavioral and, as needed, pharmacological therapies.
In addition, there are associated deficits and disorders that go along with ADHD. The inability to process information efficiently can lead to frustration, low self-esteem and social withdrawal. ADHD as a brain–based disorder results in significant inattention, hyperactivity, distractibility or a combination of these characteristics. Some of the co-occurring disorders with ADHD include depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing a learning disability is a joint effort between the child’s pediatrician, parent/caregiver, teacher and the school administrator. Often, a child is seen by their primary care provider and then referred for further evaluation and testing by a psychologist to identify ADHD or learning disabilities, or both.
A neurocognitive evaluation consists of an interview, evaluation and follow-up appointment to review the results. The evaluation provides specific diagnosis and individualized treatment objectives for your child. It offers a detailed clinical neurocognitive profile of how a person’s brain interacts with their home, school, work and social environments.
After a diagnosis is provided, a student will often qualify for a 504 plan or an IEP (individual education plan) to help the child with his or her specific disability. A 504 plan provides services and changes to the learning environment to meet the needs of the child as adequately as other students. An IEP offers individualized special education and related services to meet the unique needs of the child.
In addition, pediatricians can provide a crucial role in determining if medications to treat ADHD are necessary.
Early recognition that children may be at risk for learning disabilities or ADHD, or both, can prevent years of struggle and self-doubt.
Joyce Fusek, Psy.D., ABSNP is a licensed clinical psychologist at The Corvallis Clinic and is certified in school neuropsychology by the American Board of School Neuropsychology. She can be reached at 541-754-1288.
