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The Learning Disabilities Association of Kentucky, Inc. is a
non-profit organization of individuals with learning differences and attention
difficulties, their parents, educators, and other service providers. This
organization has been a continuous voice in this state for those who learn
differently since 1966.
The goals of LDA are:
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to embrace the challenge to educate the general public on the characteristics
of learning disability, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, etc.
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to support parents of the individuals with learning differences through
information sharing and support.
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to make available to professionals information that will assist them as service
providers; and
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to provide direct services that will assist those who learning differently
become more productive, independent, and self-motivated contributors to
society.
What is a Learning Disability?
A learning disability is a permanent disorder which affects
the manner in which individuals with normal or often above
average intelligence acquire, retain, and express
information. Such difficulties in processing information can
significantly interfere with academic and/or social
development. Like interference on the radio or a blurry TV
picture, incoming or outgoing information may become jumbled
as it travels between the senses and the brain.
Learning disabilities are usually recognized as a difficulty
in one or more of these areas: reading, comprehension,
spelling, written expression, handwriting, mathematics, oral
expression, and/or problem solving. A person with learning
disabilities may also have perceptual difficulties. It is
important to remember that no two people with learning
disabilities have the same profile of strengths and
weaknesses.
Learning disabilities are often not consistent. While the
disability does not ever go away, it might well manifest
itself more strongly in certain settings and/or academic
areas. For instance, a student might have troubles in grade
school that seem to disappear in high school and then
return in college. A person with a learning disability might
also find that his/her disability is restricted to one area,
like math or foreign languages.
Learning disability is not a generic term for having a
“special need” in school, even though it is often used that
way. It is NOT autism, cerebral palsy, sensory
impairment (vision or hearing loss), mental retardation,
social or emotional disturbance. These factors can all
hinder the learning process, but are not defined as learning
disabilities.
Types of Learning Disabilities
• ADD/ADHD
• Dyslexia
• Dyscalculia
• Dysgraphia
• Dyspraxia
• Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD/ADHD)
AD(H)D is a disorder characterized by inappropriate degrees
of attention, impulsiveness, and/or hyperactivity. Although
these areas are considered to be core symptoms, all three
characteristics are not necessarily present in those
affected. Symptoms are generally first manifested early in
childhood and may persist in varying degrees throughout
adult life. The difference between ADD and ADHD is the
absence or presence of hyperactivity.
Attention deficit disorders are commonly found in the
difficulty with sustaining attention and focusing on
information for long periods of time. AD(H)D is a medical
diagnosis (LD is an educational one), and people diagnosed
with AD(H)D are often prescribed medication to stabilize
attention and activity levels.
Common Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia is a reading
disability typified by problems in expressive or receptive,
oral or written language. Problems may emerge in reading,
spelling, writing, speaking, or listening. People with
dyslexia often show talent in areas that require visual,
spatial, and motor integration.
Dyscalculia causes
people to have problems with arithmetic and grasping
mathematical concepts. While many people have problems with
math, a person with dyscalculia has a much more difficult
time solving basic math problems than his or her peers.
Dysgraphia is a
writing disorder that causes people to have difficulty
forming letters or writing within a defined space. People
with this disorder need extra time and effort to write
neatly. Despite their efforts, their handwriting may be
almost illegible.
Dyspraxia is a problem
with the body's system of motion that interferes with a
person's ability to make a controlled or coordinated
physical response in a given situation
Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
is a permanent disorder which affects the manner in which
people understand or remember words or sounds due to a
language processing problem in the brain. Parents and
doctors can often mistake this as a hearing problem.
However, CAPD causes problems with processing and memorizing
information, not with actually hearing the information.
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