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Chapter 3

Consequences of Learning Disabilities

The information processing problems, distortions, and discrepancies which we have called learning disabilities are not just academic or school related problems, but can adversely affect the child's total life and impair the child's coping and adaptive abilities.

The typical profde of a learning disabled child in school is an 11-year-old boy, chronologicaily in the 5th grade, but reading at the 2nd grade level, and writing and doing mathematics at about the 3rd grade level. He may also exhibit minor school behavioral problems in that he may show poor attention span, poor impulse control, hyperactivity, poor peer relationships, a tendency to get into more fights with peers, and further exhibit some impairment in affect, modulation or empathy.

Therefore, the social or nonacademic side of the learning disabled child's difficulties are more apt to bring him to the attention of neighborhood and community authorities than are his initial academic underachievements. Thus, the consequences of a learning disability in a child's life can be categorized as: 8 - Psychologid Consequences

Psychological, which may be manifested as low self-esteem, self- preoccupation, immaturity, depressed affect, accompanied by a higher risk for emotional probkms later in adult life. b - Edumdonrl Consequences

Educrtional, which may be manifested as academic underachievement, p o t d d school failure, increased truancy, high school dropout, higher risk for awginal employability, or employability failures. c - Social Consequences May be manifested as impairment or distortion of social cues, the inability

to control or modulate affect, the impairment of interpersonal relationships leading to poor impulse control, poor frustration tolerance and increase in social conflict and inappropriate aggression. This latter obviously increases the risk for contact with the juvenile justice system.

I9861 Juvenile & Faniili* Court Journal 9