Abnormal Psychology

Childhood Disorders 643

Learning Disorders:

Problems with the Three Rs

Richie Enriquez’s older brother, Javier, is in the 4th grade. Javier’s teacher has noted

that his reading ability doesn’t seem up to what it should be. Javier is a bright boy,

but when the students take turns reading aloud, Javier isn’t able to read as well as

his classmates. Javier generally has things he wants to say in class—sometimes rais-

ing his hand so high and waving it so energetically that he practically hits the heads

of nearby children; his comments often show a keen understanding of what the

teacher has said. His apparent reading problem seems to be at odds with his general

intelligence. Could Javier have a learning disorder?

What Are Learning Disorders?

A learning disorder is characterized by a signifi cant disparity between an individual’s

academic performance and the expected level of performance based on the individu-

al’s age, intelligence (assessed through an IQ test), and education level. Achievement

that is at least two standard deviations below the level of a person’s IQ score is the

general guideline for diagnosing learning disorders. However, a gap less than that

may be applicable when a comorbid anxiety disorder interferes with performance

on an IQ test or when an individual’s ethnic or cultural background decreases his

or her familiarity with the items on the IQ test. DSM-IV-TR specifi es three types

of learning disorders: reading, mathematics,andwritten expression. The reading

disorder is also referred to as dyslexia.Table 14.8 lists the DSM-IV-TR criteria for

learning disorders generally.

Table 14.8 • DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for Learning Disorders

A. The specifi c ability, as measured by individually administered standardized tests, is substan-

tially below that expected given the person’s chronological age, measured intelligence, and

age-appropriate education.

B. The disturbance in Criterion A signifi cantly interferes with academic achievement or activities

of daily living that require reading skills.

C. If a sensory defi cit is present, the learning diffi culties are in excess of those usually associated

with the sensory defi cit.

Source: Adapted from American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

DSM-IV-TR lists specifi c defi cits for each type of learning disorder (American

Psychiatric Association, 2000):

• Reading disorder is characterized by diffi culty with reading accuracy, speed, or

comprehension, to the point that the diffi culty interferes with academic achieve-

ment or activities of daily functioning that involve reading.

• Mathematics disorder is characterized by diffi culty with recognizing numbers or

symbols, paying attention to and remembering all the different steps in a math

problem, particular arithmetic skills such as multiplication, or translating written

problems into arithmetic symbols.

• Disorder of written expression is diagnosed when poor spelling or handwriting

occursalong with signifi cant grammatical or punctuation mistakes or problems in

paragraph organization. (This is the least studied of the learning disorders.)

Nancy, in Case 14.4, has a reading disorder. Additional facts about learning disor-

ders are presented in Table 14.9.

Learning disorder

A psychological disorder characterized by a

signifi cant disparity between an individual’s

academic performance and the expected

level of performance based on his or her age,

intelligence, and education level.

Dyslexia

A learning disorder characterized by

diffi culty with reading accuracy, speed, or

comprehension that interferes with academic

achievement or activities of daily functioning

that involve reading.