Specific Learning Disability

Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is defined as difficulty in acquiring academic skills that a child is expected to learn according to his or her age. These difficulties usually become more evident when formal schooling begins. For a diagnosis of SLD to be considered, the individual must have normal intelligence and be receiving appropriate and adequate education. If, despite these conditions, the child shows significantly lower than expected performance in areas such as reading, writing, and mathematics, then an evaluation for Specific Learning Disorder should be conducted.

In SLD, common difficulties related to reading include reading words incorrectly, slowly, or with great effort, frequent pausing, guessing words, spelling out words letter by letter, difficulty blending letters into words, problems with reading comprehension, writing letters backwards or incorrectly, difficulty combining sounds to form words when writing (spelling under dictation), errors in grammar and punctuation, trouble understanding numbers, their magnitudes, and relationships, difficulty applying mathematical rules, confusing symbols, struggling with numerical calculations, problems applying mathematical rules and operations to word problems, and difficulty understanding and solving multi-step problems.

The diagnosis can be made after the child starts formal education. It is established through information obtained from parents and teachers, the child’s academic examination, and the evaluation of comprehensive standardized tests assessing intellectual development and learning skills.

Another neurodevelopmental disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), frequently co-occurs with SLD and can exacerbate the clinical picture. Associated problems may include low self-esteem, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and difficulties with anger control. The primary treatment for SLD is individualized educational support targeting the specific academic areas of difficulty. For cases with severe symptoms and significant gaps in age-appropriate academic skills, it is necessary to prepare an individualized education plan at school, implement inclusion programs such as taking exams in a separate room with a proctor at the child’s own level, and provide individual tutoring sessions.