L EARNING D ISABILITY (D YSLEXIA ) _______________ M ENTAL R ETARDATION

L EARNING D ISABILITY (D YSLEXIA ) Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

C HARACTERISTICS OF D YSLEXIA Failure to understand that words come apart Inability to learn to associate letters with sounds Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters The inability to read common one-syllable words or to sound out even the simplest of words

C HARACTERISTIC OF D YSLEXIA ( CONTINUED ) Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar, or complicated words Not being able to find the exact word, such as confusing words that sound alike Very slow progress in acquiring reading skills Omitting parts of words when reading Oral reading filled with substitutions, omissions, and mispronunciations

C HARACTERISTIC OF D YSLEXIA ( CONTINUED ) Reading that is very slow and tiring A struggle to retrieve words: “It was on the tip of my tongue” Finding it really hard to write by hand - neat writing is very difficult Finding it difficult to copy things accurately off the board Having difficulty writing down what they think

C AUSES OF D YSLEXIA Trauma Dyslexia usually occurs after some form of brain trauma or injury to the area of the brain that controls reading and writing. Primary Dyslexia is a dysfunction of, rather than damage to, the left side of the brain. Primary Dyslexia is passed in family lines through their genes (hereditary).

C AUSES OF D YSLEXIA ( CONTINUED ) Secondary or Developmental Dyslexia is felt to be caused by hormonal development during the early stages of fetal development. Crossed Wiring. The right side of the brain is not the side that is made to comprehend language, suggesting that some where those wires got crossed.

M ENTAL R ETARDATION Mental Retardation is a developmental disability that is exemplified by the presence of deficits in both cognitive and adaptive functioning.

C HARACTERISTICS OF M ENTAL R ETARDATION Cognitive Ability Slower when it comes to learning new things Low short-term memory capacity Low attention span Difficult to work independently Difficult to concentrate on a particular task

C HARACTERISTICS OF MR ( CONTINUED ) Adaptive Ability Unable to take care of themselves using daily living skills Communication skills are also very poor Difficult to listen, understand and respond in conversations Difficult to make new friends and sustain friendships Lose focus during conversations Do not maintain eye contact and interrupt frequently

C AUSES OF M ENTAL R ETARDATION Genetic conditions - Abnormalities of chromosomes and genes. Such as Down Syndrome, fragile X syndrome Problems during pregnancy - When the baby does not develop normally inside the mother

C AUSES OF MR ( CONTINUED ) Problems at birth - If a baby has problems during labor and birth, such as not getting enough oxygen Health problems - Diseases like whooping cough, measles, or meningitis. Mental retardation can also be caused by extreme malnutrition or being exposed to poisons like lead or mercury.