Learning Disabilities

The term “learning disability” is commonly used in educational circles to describe a condition in which a student is experiencing difficulty in learning.  But what does it really mean?  At the Vancouver Learning Centre we understand the complex range of issues involved with this kind of learning difficulty.  That is why we have such outstanding success in helping children overcome their problems.

Standardized tests reveal that some students (between 5% and 20%) who are generally intelligent people have difficulty learning in the same way or at the same rate as their peers or classmates.  This shows up on standardized subtests when they cannot work as fast or hold as much information in short term memory as their peers. These problems are cumulative and over time these basic problems produce difficulty in learning words, facts, information or procedures in subjects like Math.  Gaps in the learning platform appear that prevent successful performance in classroom tasks and tests.

These learning failures or disappointments produce frustration, lower self esteem and cause acting out or avoidance behaviours that further exacerbate the problem.  This brings them to the attention of their teachers, who report these problems to parents.

Children demonstrate their unhappiness in a variety of ways:

1. They appear depressed and unhappy at going to school.  (Their best subject is recess or P.E. and their best day at school is the last day before summer holidays.)
2. They act out in class, or act the clown to avoid showing they cannot do the task, or they are restless and cannot sit in their seats.  They do not appear able to pay attention or focus for an appropriate time period.  They are sometimes diagnosed by teachers or other school personnel as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  These children are hard to handle in a class of 20 to 30 children and the teacher may request a visit to the doctor with the view to providing medication to solve their problem, or a visit to the school psychologist to confirm this diagnosis.  This is a serious issue in that it fails to address the real cause of the problem. Moreover, taking medication to control their behaviour or to help focus attention may lead young people to believe that they need drugs to function effectively in society.  This can have life-lasting effects and may lead to other problems as they become adolescents, particularly if they continue to have problems succeeding in school.
3. They are challenged by the tasks of learning to read (decode) and understand what they have read (comprehension), to spell, to write, to compose their thoughts in written format (written expression) and to calculate (math).

At the VLC standardized testing that leads to appropriate diagnosis shows that students with learning disabilities have widely disparate abilities in different processing areas, usually more than two standard deviations apart.  Scores on subtests that measure these functions may range from the 5th percentile or below to the 95th percentile or higher.

The subtests reveal both the areas of strength and the areas of difficulty.  From this a proper diagnosis can be made and a program and strategy to address the difficulties can be created.  This leads to addressing both the learning disability itself, and the problems created by the learning disability over the long term.  Professional, experienced and thoughtful diagnosis of learning disabilities that leads to effective treatment can produce a “personal best” outcome over both the long and short term.

At the Vancouver Learning Centre we take the diagnosis and create a Program Design targeted to address the specific problems of the individual student.  Our specially trained dedicated teachers are then assigned deliver the program. This combination of assessment and program design to produce an individualized rehabilitation process for the student is what makes the Vancouver Learning Centre unique in British Columbia and beyond.

Red Flags for Parents

Because children with learning disabilities are different learners who are normal in all respects, parents are generally not alerted to the problem until the child begins school. Further, boys outnumber girls about four to one.  Since boys are also slower to mature, conform and settle down to the classroom situation, teachers may not alert parents until they see the child having difficulty learning to read, to write, or to focus.

Sometimes, the teachers assure the parents that the issue is developmental, that the child will outgrow it or that their system of Learning Assistance will handle it.  While this is sometimes the case, such students are losing precious learning time when their sense of how intelligent they are is forming.  They are disadvantaged when they fall behind their peers and they are at risk for low self esteem.

Addressing the issue with a proper diagnosis as early as possible will produce the best outcome for the child, especially if this is followed by a proactive strategy to address the delays in acquiring skills.

It is interesting to note that parents who would react immediately if their child needed medical interventions, even simple antibiotics, will allow difficulties in learning and the emotional consequences to go unattended, sometimes for years.  It cannot be overemphasized that the problems that arise from learning disabilities can and should be addressed as early as possible, especially if a child is not learning to read at a grade appropriate level by the end of Grade 1.

At the Vancouver Learning Centre, children can be tested by the time they are 5½ to 6 years old.

But what if children do not appear to have problems until they are older?

Some children manage to keep up with their peers and appear at least average until Grades 4 or 5.  They have managed to learn to read (to decode)and to spell and write.  Often these children have difficulty with Math but their other skills mask their learning difficulties.

In this case the problem may be in the auditory processing system and good habits, good intelligence and good attitudes have allowed them to “survive” rather than flourish.  At this point, however, the need to effectively process oral instruction has reached their challenge level.  These children’s problems can be addressed with effective strategies and new skills in Effective Listening.

Some young people with learning disabilities have found smart ways to overcome their difficulties in elementary school.  They reach their challenge levels in high school, often in Grade 8, but sometimes as late as Grade 10.  Here too, strategies that address the difficulties directly allow these young people to achieve the grades they need to go on to post secondary instruction.

At whatever age, including adulthood, an effective, professional and thoughtful diagnosis can reveal ways to access strengths, overcome weaknesses in learning strategies, and become effective learners and performers.

Other Learning Difficulties

Developmental Disabilities

When developmental disabilities occur parents know this early in the child’s life, unless the problem is fairly mild.  In fact, community services in the form of specialized preschools may be available through community sources.  Once such children reach school age, other services are often available within the public school system to address the issues.

However, if parents are interested in achieving a “personal best” for their child, specific diagnosis and programs to enhance and complement these services and to provide a personal best outcome are available from four years old to adulthood at the Vancouver Learning Centre.

We specialize in programs for adolescents and young adults who need extra skills to reach their potential to function effectively as independent adults (often after or close to the end of their high school Life Skills program).

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Children with these conditions have difficulty focusing their attention to be effective learners. These conditions are diagnosed from lists of symptoms.  This means that a series of symptoms are listed as being present in these conditions. When a child reaches or exceeds a particular number of symptoms, they are diagnosed with the condition.

In this case physicians consider the use of medications to help the child control the symptoms, such as the commonly prescribed drug Ritalin or newer similar formulations.  A huge increase in the number of prescriptions for these drugs has occurred in the last decade.

These drugs sometimes work in helping a child focus attention.  This allows him or her to function more effectively in a classroom situation.  However, there is great controversy among professionals about the long-term use of these medications on learning outcomes.

It is important to understand that these medications do not address the learning difficulties and while they may be the simplest solution and sometimes the only solution for children genuinely affected by Attention Deficit Disorder, in many cases they are not the only solution.

At the Vancouver Learning Centre, using cognitive behaviour management and other strategies, we work with parents and teachers with or without the use of medication to address the issue of learning to focus attention.

Down’s Syndrome

The intellectual abilities of children and adults with this condition vary widely, as they do in any population. At the Vancouver Learning Centre over more than 25 years we have had success in helping these learners to achieve a “personal best” based not only on their limiting condition but on the other natural skills these young people bring to the table. Over the years they have been fully integrated in the VLC community.  We become their special learning place and they have achieved some remarkable outcomes.

Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome

As with other populations, these children, youth and young adults vary widely in intellectual abilities and in the severity of their condition. They appear to thrive in the one-to-one learning experience at the Vancouver Learning Centre.  Programs address intellectual, social, emotional and behavioural issues together in an integrated fashion.

Coaching strategies are particularly effective as these young people reach adulthood.

Brain Injury/Traumatic Head Injury

When disease, or the effects of chemotherapy/radiation, or head injury due to automobile or other accident occurs, the learning journey is interrupted, sometimes in devastating ways. At the Vancouver Learning Centre, intensive and comprehensive programs have helped children, adolescents and adults achieve “personal best” outcomes. We are here for the long term and have achieved some remarkable outcomes well beyond expectations.