Learning Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Findings indicate that students with severe learning disabilities can profit from instruction geared toward abstract higher-order comprehension when it is designed according to their particular instructional requirements. Early intervention improves outcomes for most children with disorders of learning, attention, and cognition. Impairments in the physical, language, sensory, or mental domains are usually harder to diagnose before a child's entry into school system, but they are easier to treat if caught early. Children with above-average intellectual abilities often have the ability to compensate or master appropriate coping mechanisms that greatly minimize their overall negative outcomes. Parental attitudes and commitment, availability of resources, and the presence of an associated neurologic deficit or medical disorder can also significantly impact outcomes.