Learning difficulties – their causes and consequences

Learning Difficulties / Burnout | ©: pegbes – Fotolia

When learning becomes unbearable

Many children feel like this: school is simply not their favorite pastime. Every adult will be able to remember their own school days. Doing homework and lounging for the next class work often takes place under pressure rather than with your own motivation. However, this is rarely due to the children’s unwillingness or lack of commitment, but rather to different learning difficulties. Children who are able to absorb new knowledge very quickly and with little effort often even enjoy learning. It is a dream for many parents. Unfortunately, however, this is the exception. It usually looks different. The children seem to be under pressure to start doing their homework and to learn.

But why do children no longer enjoy learning??

After all, learning and especially the question of why was very present at a young age, so that the “thirst for knowledge” could be a bit annoying for the parents. And suddenly there is no longer any interest in “imparting knowledge” – in learning?

Learning difficulties / fear of school | ©: Sonja Calovini – Fotolia

In the first or first class it is usually the case that many children are having fun. That will gradually decrease over time and make school and the learning itself into something negative over time. There are many reasons for this. Basically, our school system is not exactly designed to motivate our children. However, this rarely has anything to do with a learning disability at this young age. The reasons for such a problem lie much more outside of our school system. But no matter what the reason, children can (again) enjoy learning. However, this requires some changes, and in many cases these are not exactly easy to implement. First of all, it is important to analyze the cause of a learning disability and to counteract it with appropriate measures. Before that, however, we really need to be sure that there is such a learning disability.

Learning disability or just a few difficulties?

So that learning problems are not erroneously overregulated in every short phase, some prerequisites must be fulfilled: First, the problem must exist for at least three months in order to be diagnosed as learning weakness.

Secondly, the child does not have to have any or only very little success even with really great effort. If a child just needs longer, this is not necessarily a learning disability. Maybe it’s just using the wrong techniques or it’s kinesthetic. With such a predisposition, it does not learn, for example, like most children through visual and auditory stimuli, but through touching and performing actions. Such a child can e.g. B. learn to draw in no time, but it will probably not do very well in a test on drawing.

This is absolutely not a bad thing, just another way of understanding the world. The only problem is that this type of learning behavior is hardly taken into account in our schools. Therefore, caution should always be exercised when a person with learning difficulties has been diagnosed or should be diagnosed. In our world, things that deviate too far from the norm are unfortunately quickly described as pathological, although it is often not the case.

If you take a critical look, you can also say: learning disability sounds good somehow. It gets the touch of a "diagnosed illness" and is very comforting for many parents. Yes, an excuse for the child not being able to do something (writing, reading, calculating, concentrating, …). A learning disability has often arisen – for a variety of reasons. Basically every child, every young person, every adult is capable of learning. However, (early childhood) negative experiences have worsened this ability to learn. Would you like an example? Too much criticism causes discouragement, the child comes to the realization that "I can’t do that anyway". Over time, it will become less confident and the problems with learning will increase. The later learning weakness is determined, but whether one can still find out the many small causes that led to it?

Social, psychological or physiological reasons

It is always difficult to find out exactly how this problem originated. There are many possible causes. The reason can be psychological, social or even physiological difficulties. For example, it can happen that psychological reasons are diagnosed, even though they are physical. Or a physiological reason can be found, but the main reason for the problem was a psychological one. In any case, you should always get a second opinion and preferably a third one. There are simply too many variables to be able to quickly diagnose a learning disability.

Dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD

The symptoms of dyslexia (poor literacy), dyscalculia (poor literacy) or ADHD can be very similar. The problem with the first two is usually in neurological deficits, which can be more or less reduced by targeted measures. Medicine has not yet agreed on AD (H) S. There is the possibility of a genetic predisposition, but this does not mean that it must also come to light. AD (H) S is also often found in kinesthetic children. Overall, this diagnosis must be handled very carefully, but unfortunately it is often made very lightly. After all, it’s the easiest way to keep children calm with pills. It is much more difficult to fathom and solve the psychological problems. There are, of course, cases in which it is really a neurological disorder. As a result, treatment with medication may be necessary, but at least a suitable therapy must be worked out.

Psychological causes

Often the reason for a learning disability lies in subconscious behavior patterns and fears. For example, exam anxiety is a big topic. There are cases in which this is only very slight. On the other hand, there are students who start to sweat before work and become more and more restless. When they were studying, it was like this: the head was like a sieve, nothing wanted to get caught in it.

The reasons for such learning difficulties are often to be found in a subtle exam fear. The corresponding approaches exist for many, but for some they take on a pathological dimension permanently. This makes learning for an exam almost impossible. The fear of the exam has often arisen from early experiences, e.g. For example, fear of failure, criticism from parents, etc. In short: The fear of exams always has causes that have arisen at some point.

Another big problem is motivation, because without motivation nothing works at all for many people. Both problems are the result of a very specific environment with little support. In many cases, a learning disability from a psychological point of view is due to education. But the parents can’t do anything about it, because they only do what they themselves have learned. Therefore, there should be a lot more help for parents who give well-founded tips and indicate the correct educational measures. Children are always influenced by their parents. If they unknowingly make serious mistakes, a psychological problem quickly arises, for example in the form of a learning disability.

The worst thing parents can do is put pressure on them. Since children usually want to please their parents, they do everything that is required of them. However, if a failure occurs again and again, this inevitably leads to corresponding fears. If after a bad grade children don’t have to count on help, but punishment or even contempt, the fear increases from time to time. At some point it becomes so big that it creates a real reluctance to learn, out of fear of renewed failure.

Another problem is the lack of appreciation. If a child writes a good grade and gets no praise for it, it leads to the same result. It is often said that a three or even two is not enough. The child comes home with a 2+ and then it is criticized that it has not become a one. Instead of rejoicing for and with the child and praising him as it should be, he is supposed to make a mistake. Now the child begins to interpret good grades as bad and the learning problem begins. Not only does this lead to a learning disability, it also gnaws at the child’s self-confidence. This in turn leads to social problems and other uncertainties. A spiral of problems begins.

Social and physiological causes

The reverse is also possible: learning problems develop from social problems. If a child is struggling with serious ongoing problems at school and is barely socially active, then parents and teachers should definitely pay attention. Furthermore, a learning disability can also be caused simply by physical impairments. A child does not know what is normal and what to tell its parents. Sometimes children are afraid that something may be wrong with them and therefore say nothing.

So z. B. Problems with sight and hearing ensure that the child does not understand the teacher correctly or that it is difficult to recognize tasks in books or on the blackboard. In order to rule out such perception problems, an ear, nose and throat specialist or an ophthalmologist should be consulted if in doubt. It would therefore be too one-sided to look for the causes of problems only in the psychological area. An impairment of perception can also be considered.

Learning difficulties | ©: contrastwerkstatt – Fotolia

The consequences of learning disabilities

The consequences have already been touched upon. The learning disability is often a result of fears, lack of recognition, wrong ambition of the parents, which causes fears (fear of failure, fear of criticism) or discouragement in the child. The child no longer believes in learning. So a smorgasbord of opportunities that then lead to a learning drop and lead to an alleged learning disability.

The further consequences are then: the child withdraws, deals with other things where it is successful (computer games, sports), or with young people often alcohol, drugs and cliques, where they spend their free time. school & Learning is often a red cloth. The child / young person considers himself "stupid", "less clever". Self-esteem drops. Of course, adolescents can hardly admit this and try to hide their insecurity and despair about themselves through coolness.

What can parents and educators do??

It is important for parents to always watch carefully. Perhaps the learning disability is only a phase, but if it lasts longer, then you should take a closer look. If it is then quite certain what the problem is, it must be made clear to the child that he is not responsible for it (many parents make the mistake here and say "The child is lazy". But that is not the case. Rather, the child has already gave up because a lot of things went wrong in advance.) It has to be done guided to deal with the situation as well as possible and to master the challenge. In addition to understanding, it is also important to always support and encourage the child.

Educators can also make their contribution. The most important thing to recognize here is that there is a problem. Children often manage to hide something like this from their parents. It is therefore equally important that teachers make such assumptions about the parents. Perhaps can also a school psychologist may be helpful. If there is a diagnosis, this problem must of course be taken into account in such a way that the child in question does not feel excluded. Just as children with poor eyesight are allowed to sit at the front, children with learning disabilities must be treated accordingly, possibly by being transferred to a special class or – in severe cases – to a special school.

Conclusion: Attention! Learning difficulties can have many causes

In summary, it can be said that great care should be taken when presuming a learning disability. It could be anything, an illness, a psychological or social deficit or a perception problem. Extreme caution must be exercised not only because of this great diversity, but above all because of the possible consequences. Learning is one of the most important functions for a happy life, so it must not be hindered. Otherwise affected children could have great difficulties in the future.

And if the child receives the "diagnosis of learning disability" due to dyscalculia, ADHD, etc. etc. – and is possibly also told that this can also cause discouragement in the child: "I am sick", "I can never learn that anyway ". From this diagnosis, too, a possible and so-called “learning disability” can be reinforced. The child then feels labeled "less clever". And who wants to be labeled as "stupid", "less clever", as "not capable of learning"? This must inevitably trigger something negative in every person’s feelings. So I would be very careful in this regard.

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