SLD's - Terms and Definitions

For anyone who's been told their child may or does have a specific learning disability, it is a great relief to find straight-forward terms and definitions to understand this condition.

The Departments of Education in Australia generally define a SLD as being a condition where a child of average to above average intelligence is approx. 2 years behind their chronological age in areas of reading or maths. (I doubt that U.S. or British educators would differ greatly from this overall definition).

However, we can get more specific than that. Here are some terms:

Dyslexia: The child may mix up letters within words and sentences while reading. Difficulties with spelling are common as are letter reversals.

Dyscalculia: The child finds maths concepts and symbols difficult to understand and use.

Dysgraphia: The child has a difficult time with the physical task of forming letters and words using a pen and paper and therefore has a hard time producing legible writing.

Dyspraxia: This is where the child mixes up their spoken words and sentences.

Non-verbal learning disorder: The child may perform very well in areas of language and maths but have poor motor coordination, visual spatial organization and/or a lack of social skills.

It's important to get the right diagnosis in order to give the right remediation. The term 'learning disabled' is broad and it's desirable to have a more detailed understanding of the child's actual condition. When we help a child in an educational setting, the idea is to tailor the help to meet that child's specific needs.

Nice idea huh? Not so easy to see in practice, sadly.

Terms above adapted from a very helpful and informative link regarding learning disabilities, run by the University of Washington.

Comments

[Deb]

We follow similar standarards here in the US.

[Alison Tuck]

Hi Deb, Yes I think the US and Australia are more alike than dissimilar. Thanks for dropping in.

[HealthPsych]

Some of those more technical terms can be overwhelming for parents so it's great to have a plain English reference. Great link too, thanks!