Author:
Handler Sheryl M.,Fierson Walter M.,
Abstract
Learning disabilities constitute a diverse group of disorders in which children who generally possess at least average intelligence have problems processing information or generating output. Their etiologies are multifactorial and reflect genetic influences and dysfunction of brain systems. Reading disability, or dyslexia, is the most common learning disability. It is a receptive language-based learning disability that is characterized by difficulties with decoding, fluent word recognition, rapid automatic naming, and/or reading-comprehension skills. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonologic component of language that makes it difficult to use the alphabetic code to decode the written word. Early recognition and referral to qualified professionals for evidence-based evaluations and treatments are necessary to achieve the best possible outcome. Because dyslexia is a language-based disorder, treatment should be directed at this etiology. Remedial programs should include specific instruction in decoding, fluency training, vocabulary, and comprehension. Most programs include daily intensive individualized instruction that explicitly teaches phonemic awareness and the application of phonics. Vision problems can interfere with the process of reading, but children with dyslexia or related learning disabilities have the same visual function and ocular health as children without such conditions. Currently, there is inadequate scientific evidence to support the view that subtle eye or visual problems cause or increase the severity of learning disabilities. Because they are difficult for the public to understand and for educators to treat, learning disabilities have spawned a wide variety of scientifically unsupported vision-based diagnostic and treatment procedures. Scientific evidence does not support the claims that visual training, muscle exercises, ocular pursuit-and-tracking exercises, behavioral/perceptual vision therapy, “training” glasses, prisms, and colored lenses and filters are effective direct or indirect treatments for learning disabilities. There is no valid evidence that children who participate in vision therapy are more responsive to educational instruction than children who do not participate.
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference279 articles.
1. National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000. NIH Publication 00-4769. Available at: www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/upload/smallbook_pdf.pdf. Accessed June 17, 2010
2. Hallahan DP, Mercer CD. Learning disabilities: historical perspectives. Available at: www.nrcld.org/resources/ldsummit/hallahan.pdf. Accessed June 17, 2010
3. A word deafness and word blindness;Kussmaul,1877
4. CONGENITAL WORD-BLINDNESS.
5. A case of congenital word blindness;Morgan;Br Med J,1896
Cited by
120 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献