1. DEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING DISABILITIES
With a focus on the learning disabilities dysgraphia and dyscalculia
Jean Piaget‟s third stage of cognitive development, or the concrete operational stage is
characterized by the child‟s ability to perform mathematical and written activities due to the
use of logic. It is at this stage that the child‟s cognitive functioning matures to resemble that
of an adult. It is also at this stage (age 6/7) that the child begins formal schooling.
Subsequently, the child‟s growth and development is multi-faceted. This is also when
children become slightly self-aware of their capabilities, skills, strengths and weaknesses.
This is usually decided by their success or failure in classroom activities and social skills,
among others.
At this juncture, initially, it would be difficult to distinguish between the abilities of the
students on an average. Almost every student finds it difficult to write (initially), even if they
are able to grasp concepts quickly.However, most learning disabilities, disorders that interfere
with specific aspects of learning and school achievement, are also identified at this time.
Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia is not the only developmental learning disability that
children may have. Two other common ones include dyscalculia and dysgraphia, which we
will be looking at.
One of the first skills a child is taught to acquire is to write. Language skills are extremely
important for learning to communicate better as it complements what is learned through
reading. This is where children build on their vocabulary and can express their ideas through
the written medium. Expressing ideas (through writing) also help children organize and
structure their various ideas, which usually involve multiple cognitive processes like
memory, accommodation, self-evaluation, etc. Even if every child learns at different speeds,
eventually, there would be an average pace of teaching a facilitator would follow. In some
cases, a child may have difficulty in writing, even if he/she comprehends fairly well.
Dysgraphia is a learning (writing) disorder that is characterized by lessened ability to write,
both by way of physical inability and coherence of words.
“Dysgraphia is characterized as a learning disability in the category of written expression,
when one‟s writing skills are below those expected given a person‟s age measured through
intelligence and age-appropriate education.” (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders)

2. Thus those affected know and understand perfectly normally, but are unable to write
„efficiently‟.People with Dysgraphia often have superior verbal abilities, which have
progressed well. A disparity between what one thinks and can write is the most prominent
condition. People with dysgraphia usually have difficulty with organizing letters, numbers
and words on a line or page. Their writing may often be misconstrues, as they may often cite
the write words while trying hard to put thoughts to paper. They usually also have drawing
images. Due of the great difficulty they experience with writing (primarily handwriting and
spelling), people with Dysgraphia may suffer from writing fatigue too. They may lose several
opportunities to be trusted with any official or significant work that involves writing, and thus
face a lost sense of confidence, esteem. Frustration, helplessness, depression, and even self-
loathing may follow. Students may undergo extreme levels of emotional trauma due to
comparison to written works of their peers, and inability of others to read their work, etc.
Dysgraphia is usually characterised by one or both of the following :
Motor- Exhibit poor dexterity and motor clumsiness. Illegible writing, but normal (oral)
spelling.
Spatial- Defective understanding of space is seen(in terms of writing). Illegible writing once
again, though spelling is normal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjO27vEVZJQ
Though it may only be discovered (or never at all) when the child is first introduced to
writing, it is a disorder that may affect people through all ages. Other symptoms include
inability to handle tools normally held easily enough with one or two hands. Buttons, zippers,
shoe-laces, pencils (objects that require fine motor skills for handling).
Remedies and treatment are largely case-specific, and some include treating motor disorders
to for more controlled writing, teaching cursive writing as it considerably reduces issues as
opposed to other types of writing in terms of fewer reversible letters, etc.; and the use of
kinaesthetic memory to emphasize on the feel of the letters being written rather than their
visual form.
Generally, computers are advised to be used to by-pass the issues that plague writing, though
of course this short-steps the problem itself.
In the first grade, children are usually introduced to elementary arithmeticand in the process
of learning, begin to properly understand concepts such as order irrelevance (counting is not
dependent on the sequence of the objects, just that it is only counted once in any order), one-
to-one (assigning only one count word to an individual object that has been counted), stable

3. order (counting is a form of progression), etc., among others. It must be noted that these
abilities may be present from a much younger age, but are strengthened once children begin
working with mathematical operations. Apart from this they also possess certain (Acquired)
skills through their elementary school years to be good at math. Some of these include:
understanding arithmetical problems and laws, comprehending and solving word problems,
counting, estimating, retrieving arithmetic facts, etc. The term „dyscalculia‟ roughly translates
to „counting badly‟ from Greek and Latin terms, and hence applies to all types of difficulties
involving manipulating numbers, including, reading analog clocks, measurements, and
visual-spatial difficulties (it may be difficult to visualize patterns or different parts of a math
problem). The cause for dyscalculia has not been clearly established. However, there are two
major contributing factors to its development. These include: Visual-spatial difficulties,
which result in a person having trouble processing what the eye sees and language processing
difficulties, which result in a person having trouble processing and making sense of what the
ear hears
As mentioned before, detecting dyscalculia, which is the difficulty in comprehending and
learning arithmetic, may be difficult to detect, owing to the fact that different people take
different amounts of time to comprehend certain concepts. Due to the nature of the disability,
dyscalculia may be passed off as laziness, or even disinterest, or just „math anxiety‟. This
however, could lead to problems later in life. Primarily, the less than satisfactory performance
and consequent treatment from teachers, peers, and family would have a major impact on the
individual‟s self-esteem and self-confidence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o77ndNu6S1s
Secondly, as the child grows older, and his/her peers move on to more complex mathematical
problems, he/she will find it more and more difficult to cope and/or catch up. If still not
checked or identified, it would definitely lead to maths anxiety. Apart from this, the
individual will find challenging simple tasks like maintaining house accounts, being on time
for appointments, estimating distances, taking measurements, etc. Below is a table that
elaborates on the same.
Young Children
Trouble With:
Difficulty learning to count
School-Aged Children
Trouble With:
Trouble learning math
Teenagers and Adults
Trouble With:
Difficulty estimating costs

4. Trouble recognizing printed
numbers
Difficulty tying together the idea
of a number (4) and how it exists
in the world (4 horses, 4 cars, 4
children)
Poor memory for numbers
Trouble organizing things in a
logical way - putting round
objects in one place and square
ones in another
facts (addition,
subtraction,
multiplication, division)
Difficulty developing
math problem-solving
skills
Poor long term memory
for math functions
Not familiar with math
vocabulary
Difficulty measuring
things
Avoiding games that
require strategy
like groceries bills
Difficulty learning math
concepts beyond the basic
math facts
Poor ability to budget or
balance a checkbook
Trouble with concepts of
time, such as sticking to a
schedule or approximating
time
Trouble with mental math
Difficulty finding different
approaches to one problem
Dyscalculia can be rectified by the help of strategies that identify the strengths and
weaknesses of an individual. With support and encouragement of facilitators and parents,
individuals can boost and/or maintain their self-esteem, knowing that they are cherished and
accepted. Help outside the classroom lets a student and tutor focus specifically on the
difficulties that student is having, taking pressure off moving to new topics too quickly.
Repeated reinforcement and specific practice of straightforward ideas can make
understanding easier.
References
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/what-is-dysgraphia
http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/ld_basics/dysgraphia.asp
http://www.ldonline.org/article/12770/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysgraphia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dyscalculia/what-is-dyscalculia
http://www.education.gov.uk/lamb/module4/M04U16.html#
Human Development (Edition 9) –TATA McGraw HILL
By Rijul Ray, AkashMenon, Moksha Menon, Maithreyi Mao Joshi, AhalyaAcharya
II-JPEP (CIA-3)