Childhood Disorders 647
Treating Learning Disorders
Children with learning disorders are eligible for the accommodations and services
mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as described
earlier. As with the other childhood disorders discussed thus far in this chapter, neu-
rological factors are generally not directly targeted for treatment (unless the treatment
is for a comorbid disorder). Dyslexia has been the subject of the most research on
treatment, and researchers have reported successful interventions for this disorder.
Treating Dyslexia
Some techniques for helping people with dyslexia include phonological practice,
which consists of learning to divide words into individual sounds and to identify
rhyming words. Another technique focuses on teaching children the alphabetic
principle, which governs the way in which letters signal elementary speech sounds
(Shaywitz et al., 2004). In fact, various forms of training using these techniques
have been shown not only to improve performance but also to improve the func-
tioning of brain areas that were impaired prior to the training (Gaab et al., 2007;
Simos et al., 2007; Temple et al., 2003).
Treating Other Learning Disorders
Various techniques have been developed to help people cope with the other learning
disorders. However, fi nding the most helpful technique for a given individual may
be a trial-and-error process because numerous distinct problems can often underlie
a defi cit. In some cases, simply allowing an individual to have more time to com-
plete a task can make a dramatic difference. In other cases, structuring the activity
can help. For example, techniques to help people with mathematics disorder include
the use of cue cards, breaking down the concepts into smaller steps, and giving im-
mediate feedback for each step in a problem (Brosvic et al., 2006).
Unlike children with mental retardation and pervasive developmental disor-ders, children with a learning disorder and no comorbid disorder may not behave
in a way that would cause them to be labeled as “different.” Although not being
able to read well or do mathematical computations as well as peers can affect a
child’s self-esteem and ability to succeed in several areas of life, it is also possible
that a learning disorder may not infl uence other parts of life as strongly as mental
retardation or autism generally do.
What do (left to right) singer Jewel, TV star Patrick
Dempsey, martial artist Billy Blanks, business mo-
gul Richard Branson, and actress Keira Knightley
have in common? They all have dyslexia, which
has not stopped them from attaining success in
Neal Preston/Corbis James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images their fi elds.P SN