Definition
The learning difficulties are expressed with concentration and attention deficits, added to problems of language development or processing of visual and auditory information.
Mild disorders are generally detected in school age, while more severe symptoms tend to occur earlier. Affected subjects can show problems in understanding verbal or written language, in coordinating movements, in reading, in doing mathematical calculations or in spelling. Furthermore, affected children may have difficulty concentrating on a task, organizing an activity or telling a story in sequential order. Disorders can also occur in reasoning and in organizing and planning information for troubleshooting.
A cognitive yield not adequate to the average can derive from sensory pathologies (hypoacusis or strong visual difficulties), neurological, genetic and psychological.
Learning difficulties can also be the consequence of behaviors adopted by the future mother during pregnancy, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol and the abuse of toxic substances, or complications during childbirth (eg obstetric traumas).
In other cases, they may depend on neonatal problems: low birth weight, premature or post-term birth, severe jaundice and perinatal asphyxia damage.
Other risk factors include exposure to environmental toxins (eg lead, paints and pesticides), central nervous system infections, malignancies, head trauma, malnutrition, severe social isolation or emotional deprivation.
Possible Causes * of learning difficulties
- Amblyopia
- Fanconi anemia
- Autism
- Vascular dementia
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
- Encephalitis
- Meningitis
- Neurofibromatosis
- Spastic paraparesis
- Tuberous sclerosis
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Asperger syndrome
- Klinefelter syndrome
- Prader-Willi syndrome
- Tourette syndrome
- Turner syndrome
- Feto-alcohol syndrome
