Learning Disabilities

TAKE A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE ARTICLES
in our archive that help to explain what doctors and educators are discovering about the causes, diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities.

But what if there is no epidemic? What if the apparent explosion in autism numbers is simply the unforeseen result of shifting definitions, policy changes and increased awareness among parents, educators and doctors? That's what George Washington University anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker persuasively argues in a new book sure to generate controversy.
From Is the Autism Epidemic a Myth?
By Claudia Wallis
Jan. 12, 2007

[Fetal alcohol syndrome] can also cause behavioral problems such as poor sleep-wake cycles, learning disabilities and distractability And while an alcohol-addicted mom can always try to clean up, a baby born with FAS is stuck for life.
From Helping the Babies of Problem Drinkers
By Jeffrey Kluger
Jun. 27, 2006

A child who has developed normally at home but has not talked at school or in other social situations for at least a month is a strong candidate for a diagnosis of SM [selective mutism].
From Why Abby Won't Talk
By Wendy Cole
Feb. 6, 2006

Within the medical community—to say nothing of the families of the troubled kids—concern is growing about just what psychotropic drugs can do to still-developing brains.
From Medicating Young Minds
By Jeffrey Kluger
Nov. 3, 2003

No, people with dyslexia are not brain damaged. Brain scans show their cerebrums are perfectly normal, if not extraordinary. Dyslexics, in fact, seem to have a distinct advantage when it comes to thinking outside the box.
From The New Science of Dyslexia
By Christine Gorman
July 28, 2003

You can often spot the symptoms of this learning disability even before your child starts to read, if you know what to look for.
From Is Your Child Dyslexic?
By Sora Song
July 28, 2003

More than 600,000 of the freshmen who arrived at U.S. colleges this fall — remarkably, 29% of the total — are taking at least one remedial reading, writing or math class. Taxpayers spend approximately $1 billion a year on the classes.
From Who's Ready For College?
By John Cloud
Oct. 14, 2002

Children on the autistic spectrum, however, are 'mind blind'; they appear to think that what is in their mind is identical to what is in everyone else's mind and that how they feel is how everyone else feels.
From The Secrets of Autism
By J. Madeleine Nash
May 6, 2002

English has 1,120 different ways of spelling its 40 phonemes, the sounds required to pronounce all its words. By contrast, Italian needs only 33 combinations of letters to spell out its 25 phonemes.
From Deconstructing Dyslexia
By Unmesh Kher
Mar. 26, 2001

Is there a parent in America who has heard the talk or read the best sellers about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the drugs used to treat it without wondering about his or her child?
From The Age of Ritalin
By Nancy Gibbs
Nov. 30, 1998

The children enrolled in the Rutgers study had one thing in common: although they are of at least average intelligence, tests showed that they frequently had difficulty distinguishing among phonemes.
From Zooming In On Dyslexia
By J. Madeleine Nash
Jan. 29, 1996

For children with ADHD, a ticking clock or sounds and sights caught through a window can drown out a teacher's voice, although an intriguing project can absorb them for hours.
From Life in Overdrive
By Claudia Wallis
Jul. 18, 1994