Understanding School Failure and Learning Disabilities

Posted on Aug 27, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

School Failure and Learning Difficulties

Understanding the Difference

School failure and learning difficulties are often confused but are not synonymous. School failure refers to poor academic performance regardless of the underlying cause. Learning difficulties, on the other hand, refer to challenges in learning caused by personal factors, such as a lack of maturity in the central nervous system.

Minimal Brain Dysfunction (MBD)

Minimal Brain Dysfunction (MBD) is a medical concept that describes a specific learning disorder. It often manifests as:

  • Learning disabilities
  • Behavioral issues (irritability, aggressiveness, sensitivity to frustration, hyperactivity)

In psychiatry, this is often referred to as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterized by:

  • Decreased attention
  • Distractibility
  • Hyperactivity
  • Impulsivity
  • Emotional disturbances
  • Developmental disorders of perception and motor language

Classifying Learning Disabilities

Based on Learner Characteristics:

  • Organic Deficit: Caused by genetic or environmental factors (e.g., alterations in the central nervous system).
  • Inheritance: Examples include dyslexia, hearing, or visual impairments.
  • Biochemical Alterations: Resulting from nutritional problems, viral infections (postnatal, perinatal), or endocrine issues.
  • Problems in the Pituitary Gland: Can affect empathy.
  • Dysfunction of the Pancreas: Can lead to diabetes.
  • Cognitive Deficits: Reflected in poor school performance.

Derivatives of Different Contexts:

  • Socio-cultural Traits: Factors like poverty, malnutrition, and lack of sensorimotor experiences can contribute to learning disabilities.
  • Education System: Inadequate curriculum demands, inappropriate materials, and lack of resources can lead to poor performance.

Integrating Personal and Contextual Factors:

Learning difficulties often arise from a complex interplay between personal characteristics and the environment. Academic performance depends on factors like learning strategies, the ability to learn from experience, and family stimulation.

Six Features of Learning Difficulties (Myers and Hammill, 1987)

While not all six features need to be present, they can contribute to learning difficulties:

  1. Disorders of Motor Activity: Associated with learning difficulties and central nervous system disorders.
  2. Emotional Disorder: Emotional instability often linked to learning difficulties and abnormal brain functioning.
  3. Disorders of Perception: Inability to identify, discriminate, and interpret sensations.
  4. Disorders of Symbolization:
    • Receptive-Auditory: Misunderstanding spoken symbols.
    • Receptive-Visual: Difficulty understanding written text.
    • Expressive-Vocal: Difficulty expressing thoughts through speech.
    • Expressive-Motor: Difficulty expressing thoughts in writing or through gestures.
  5. Attention Disorders: Can stem from either excessive or insufficient attention.
  6. Memory Disorders: Difficulty absorbing, storing, and retrieving information.

Other Contributing Factors

In addition to the six features above, other conditions can impact learning, including poor concentration, lower-than-average intelligence, auditory weakness, limited vocabulary, and low self-esteem.

Specific Problems Stemming from CNS Dysfunction

These problems often affect perception and imagination and can be grouped into five categories:

  1. Auditory Language Disorders: Typically occur between ages 2-4 and hinder the development of symbolic language. This includes receptive aphasia (inability to understand language), expressive aphasia (difficulty expressing language), and mixed aphasia (difficulties with both comprehension and production).
  2. Reading Disorders: Dyslexia is a common reading disorder. Other related issues include confusion of letters or words and problems with visual analysis.
  3. Written Language Disorders: Difficulties with writing can manifest as dysgraphia (visuo-motor difficulties), problems with revisualization (visual memory difficulties), and syntactical errors (e.g., incorrect pronoun usage, punctuation errors).
  4. Impaired Arithmetic (Dyscalculia): Associated with neurological dysfunction that interferes with quantitative thinking. This can be related to language impairment or be a specific dyscalculia affecting the understanding of mathematical principles.
  5. Nonverbal Learning Disorders: Difficulties understanding nonverbal aspects of life, such as space, time, size, and direction.

Elements of a Counseling Assessment

A comprehensive assessment should consider the following:

  • Background: Information from teachers about the student’s development, academic performance, and potential causes of difficulties.
  • Analysis of the School Environment: Understanding the school’s organizational structure, curriculum, teaching practices, and classroom climate.
  • Family Context: Assessing the family’s influence on the student’s emotional, affective, and social development.
  • Student Evaluation: A comprehensive analysis of the student’s cognitive, motor, and academic abilities.

Objectives of Counseling Assessment

The primary goal is to gather, interpret, and evaluate data to inform educational decisions. Assessments should be:

  • Functional: Used to make decisions about the teaching-learning process.
  • Dynamic: Focused on determining the student’s learning potential and identifying appropriate support.
  • Scientific: Based on objective data and analysis of the student’s curriculum competence and developmental level.

This information will be used to develop a plan to address the student’s specific needs and support their academic success.