When children have trouble playing the game - learning disabilities in children - includes list of references

Parks & Recreation, March, 1995 by Lorraine C. Peniston

If one were to survey all the recreation leaders in the country, probably 95% could think of one incident involving a child who was clumsy, unable to follow instructions, and slow to catch on to the rules of the game. But a much smaller percentage probably know what makes a child behave in this way. Understanding what makes these "problem" kids the way they are can enable recreation professionals to help these kids enjoy recreation, games, and sports as much as anyone else.

Take these examples:

* Bob is a bright youngster in the seventh grade who excels in physical science but reads slowly, comprehends very little, and demonstrates difficulties in spelling. He often asks for rules and instructions to be repeated many items throughout a game and forgets which playing card is designated as the "wild" card.

* Lori is an intelligent ninth grader who has an interest in crafts but hates being forced to play volleyball. Lori does not have the ability to see clearly and differentiate objects in the visual field. She often knocks the ball outside the court boundaries. In addition, Lori tends to lose track of the ball, forgets the sequence of team rotation for serving, and frequently misjudges when to hit the ball.

* Daniel is a whiz at solving math word problems, but he is unsuccessful at Pictionary, charades, and baseball. He refuses to volunteer to coordinate his weekly Cub Scout group projects. Daniel has problems visualizing, drawing, and assembling three dimensional shapes; and he exhibits difficulty with directionality and mirroring motor movements, misses outfield catches, and forgets to bring materials to Cub Scout meetings.

Why do Bob, Lori, and Daniel excel in some tasks and perform poorly in others? It is because they have learning disabilities. Often learning disabilities cannot be detected after the first meeting or even after several meetings with an individual. It is not something that is clearly visible or audible. Teachers, parents, and coaches are surprised when the child who has the ability to express himself or herself clearly exhibits poor penmanship, misspells simple words, and displays forgetfulness. Learning disabilities do not always relate to learning and performing tasks in school; learning disabilities can affect every area of one's life, including participation in recreational activities.

Definition and Types of

Disorders

There are several similar definitions of learning disabilities. The Orton Dyslexia Society newsletter, "Perspectives on Dyslexia," (Winter, 1991) quotes the National Joint Committee for

Learning Disabilities 1981 definition for learning disabilities as follows: Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbances), or environmental influences (e.g., cultural differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors), it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences (p. 16).

Focusing on the "heterogeneous group of disorders" cited in the definition, this statement refers to the different types of disorders that can occur under the umbrella category of learning disabilities. Brown (1980) states these are:

* Dyscalculia: Inability to do math.

* Dysgraphia: Inability to write.

* Dyslexia: Inability to read.

* Association Reactions: One part of the body moves involuntarily because of the movement of another part of the body. For example, the left arm may move when the right arm moves or one arm may move when the head turns.

* Auditory Perceptual Problem: Trouble absorbing information through the sense of hearing and/or processing that information. (Processing pertains to how the information is interpreted by the sense, length of time it takes to think about and understand the incoming information to respond to instruction, question, statement, etc.) People with this problem frequently hear inaccurately. The individual hears "formed" instead of "performed," "six" instead of "sixty."

* Catastrophic Response: An involuntary reaction to too many sights, sounds, extreme emotions, or other strong stimuli. It is as if you overloaded your senses. The result may be one losing his or her temper, becoming dazed (unaware of one's present environment) or "freezing" for a short period of time.

* Cognitive Disorganization: Complication with thinking in an orderly, logical way. People with this problem jump to conclusions and have difficulty planning tasks and organizing time. Individuals also experience challenges in distinguishing between two similar concepts, such as love and like.

* Crossing the Midline: Trouble with moving one's limbs across the center of the body. This would include: difficulty writing across a page, mimicking exercise movements and catching a ball on either side of the body with the opposite hand.