CHAPTER VI


 TECHNIQUES FOR SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY CASES



 Two to five per cent of the general population suffer a spe-
cific learning disability. These people, though of normal intelli-
gence, do not attain a functional literacy unless special methods are
used. They have frequently been exposed to the teaching of reading
and have failed to profit from it. Many people in this category are
convinced that they are stupid. Some have other personality problems.
Many are intelligent persons who cannot learn to read as most other
people do with such seeming ease. The best therapy that can be
given these people is to teach them to read. With patience and
special methods, this can be done.

 All the causes of specific learning disability are not known.
Many of the cases appear to result from damage to the central nervous
system. Some appear to be caused by maturational lag. Some are
hypothesized to be caused by an unusual structuring of the central
nervous system. The cases with a known brain injury affecting their
communication ability are classified as aphasics. Those aphasics
whose communication problem is primarily the inability to read are
classified as alexics.

 Many adults who are suffering from alexia have not been
formally identified. Most illiterates from the culturally deprived
group need no neurological examination. To indicate that one might
be needed would frighten many of them. Furthermore, since the cause
usually cannot be remedied and the diagnosis is often uncertain, the
examination would not prove of great value. However, teachers should
recognize some of the symptoms associated with alexia. When many of
these are displayed, the student should be taught special methods.
In no event should an adult basic education teacher classify a person
as an-alexic. Most neurologists would be reluctant to make such a
diagnosis; an educator certainly should not.

 There are a large number of adults who show symptoms of a
specific learning disability but who do not exhibit neurological mal-
functioning. Some of the symptoms of a specific learning disability
are similar to those of alexia. As teachers, it is not our task to
determine the causal factors of the specific learning disability,
but rather to differentiate the specific learning disability group
from those who have not learned to read because of poor pedagogy, cul-
tural deprivation, and visual or hearing handicaps.

 Specific learning disability tends to run in families. Ques-
tioning will often reveal that the father of the student showing a
specific learning disability syndrome also had difficulty learning


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