behavioral, emotional and social aspects of the learning disabled dr. kersi chavda psychiatrist,...
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Behavioral, emotional and social aspects of the Learning
Disabled
Dr. Kersi Chavda
Psychiatrist,
P .D. Hinduja National Hospital
After the 1980’s there has been a change in
focus from only looking at academics of the
LD child to evaluating his social, emotional
and behavioural aspects
We know that the majority of preschoolers
with dyslexia are happy and well-adjusted.
However emotional problems seem to
begin when early reading instruction does
not match their learning styles
Frustration centres on their inability to meet
expectations of others as well as inability
to achieve their own goals
The emotions of bewilderment, shame and guilt
of being “inadequate” deals a crippling blow to
confidence and self-esteem
Early on in life starts a feeling of inadequacy and
impotence… a feeling that he would not be able
to manage things and will NEVER get them right
This feeling tends to persist in adulthood…one often avoids challenges, refuses promotions, etc.
Often the feeling…: “Am I good enough”?
A child is likely to be having BES difficulties if his behaviour
• Is not age- appropriate• Results in isolation from his peers• Negatively affects the learning environment• Places unreasonable demands on the teaching
staff• Leads to negative self-concept and a low self-
esteem• Creates dangerous situations
Pupils with BES behaviours are troubled
individuals whose emotional state leads them to
negative behaviours. They may seek attention,
even the negative kind, or “lash-out” at a world
wherein they feel that everyone is against them.
This results in a serious lack of positive feedback in a downward spiralling of self-esteem
The child becomes his worst enemy
Social Competence
This refers to the social, emotional and
cognitive skills and behaviours that
children need for successful social
adaptation
This depends on a number of factors including social skills, social awareness and self-confidence
Whereas parents are the primary source of social
and emotional support for children during the
first years of life, in later years peers play a
significant complimentary or unique role in
promoting child social-emotional development.
With increasing age, peers rather than parents
become preferred companions
Children learn to take another persons perspective
and develop an understanding of the social rules
and conventions of their culture. There is more give
and take between them than with adults.. thus
providing an opportunity for the development of
social competencies such as cooperation and
negotiation. These skills are associated with
effective interpersonal relationships in adult life,
including with co-workers and romantic partners
Social skills This is the knowledge and ability to use a
variety of social behaviours that are appropriate to a given inter-personal situation and are pleasing to others
It is the capacity to inhibit egocentric, impulsive and negative social behaviours
A child’s social effectiveness is an ability to
establish and maintain high quality and mutually
satisfying relationships and to avoid negative
treatment or victimization from others
Why are youth with LD less accepted by their peers?
# Poorly developed social-emotional skills may be responsible (Bryan 2002)
# Poor language and communication skills
# Difficulty recognizing and understanding others emotions
# Co-morbid psychiatric disorders e.g.. ADHD and depression
# Educational isolation
# Repeated failure and low self-esteem
The possibility of bidirectional pathways
between both disorders has also been
proposed (Hinshaw 1992)
Thus :
Anxiety Cognition
Failure
There appear to be five main ways in which
emotional concerns and Learning
Disabilities interact:
* LD leads to emotional distress
* LD raises or exacerbates existing emotional concerns
* Emotional issues may mask a child’s LD
* Emotional issues may exacerbate an LD
* Positive emotional health may enhance the
performance of children with LD
LD may lead to emotional stress
# There are increasing levels of depression, loneliness and low self-esteem (Livingston.1985).
# It is unclear as to whether depression worsens
LD or LD puts children to increasing risk of
depression, or whether an overreacting brain
dysfunction increases the likelihood of both
# There is often increased victimization
# There is increased anxiety {Margalit and Zak
1984} …the LD child feels more often that
events happening to them are beyond their
control
# Bender and Wall (1997) :There is an increased
co-morbidity of LD and depression
Forness and Karale (1999): Nearly I out of
every 4 depressed children seemed to
have an LD
There are attempts to cope with a difficult
learning process and the resultant failure,
frustration and feelings of incompetence
that these feelings cause
# Impulsivity and low self esteem and a cognitive
weakness in relating cause and effect may
increase suicide risk above the risk of
depression alone.
# Thus, some of the very characteristics of LD may
predispose them to suicide (Rouke 1996)
LD exacerbates existing emotional concerns:
# The disability influences the child’s ability to
develop positive interpersonal relationships
# There are more problems with social incompetence
# There is increased sadness, confusion and anxiety
The incidence of anxiety and depression
in LD children seems to cause
Oppositional Defiant Disorders , Conduct
Disorders and Adjustment Disorders of
Adolescent much more than in the normal
population
Behavioural problems in LD are not
necessarily an indication of emotional
disturbances but may be part of the neuro-
developmental delays associated with this
condition
# There is an increased vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse
• # The is an increased likelihood of being a school drop-out
Emotional issues may mask LD
# There may be a focus on a child’s demeanor or actions with no realization that LDs are present
# There may be an increase in somatic complaints
# There may be acting –out behaviours: a turning
of hatred onto self…provoking reproach from
others
Emotional health may intensify LD
# Abrams(1986): Constant failure and frustration may lead to strong feelings of inferiority which in turn may intensify the initial LD
# Escaping school
# Trouble at home
Emotional health may enhance performance of students with LD
Bryan (1996): Positive “affective states” increase
performance of memory, computation and
discrimination
# Learning about their own LD seems to help
# Cognitive therapy : helps “can-do” attitude
There are clear indications that understanding
the different mechanisms of interaction can be
helpful in selecting priorities and strategies for
interventions
Helma Myklebust et al (Chicago, Ilinois,2005) :
394 public school children: explored the
relationship between emotional disturbance and
LD
226 III and IV graders, 170 boys/156 girls with
clearly diagnosed LD were compared to a
control group of 168 kids
Factorial analyses of variance disclosed that
children with LD exhibited greater emotional
stress on only 4 out of 14 scores of the
Children's Personality Questionnaire.
Despite marked differences in verbal learning
and cognitive functioning, they were comparable
to normal children in emotional status
It is suggested that deficits in social (non-
verbal} perception may be more critical to
the onset of autism
Another perspective:
Kids with LD often land up experiencing /exhibiting a number of characteristic features:
SHAME For some kids who are diagnosed…there
is a sense of relief. For others, this causes further stigmatization.
This often causes the individual to hide the
difficulty rather than risk being labelled.
Internalized negative labels of stupidity
and incompetence usually result in a poor
self-concept and lack of confidence
(Gerber and Ginsberg,1992)
FEAR This is often masked by anger and
anxiety Fear:….of being found out They develop coping strategies to hide
their disability Fear of failure:….. They reason that since they failed
before, they will fail again…so they perceive themselves to be failures
Fear of ridicule:
Adults internalize the negative criticisms and view themselves as dumb, lazy and incompetent
Fear of rejection:
…..if not seen as capable by others
Environmental and Emotional Sensitivity
Adults are often overwhelmed by too much
environmental stimuli e.g.. background
music, side-conversations, etc.
They are often believed to be highly sensitive…often unable to cope with the onslaught of the emotions that they feel
Emotional regulation
LD’s shift easily from one emotion to the
next. Others may experience difficulty
regulating impulses or actions
CHANGE
There is often difficulty adjusting to change
They are less prepared for the unexpected!
What can be done?
The negative behaviours often seen in a child with LD
and ADHD often seem to turn into positive attributes
in adulthood. List carefully the irritating negative
behaviours in your students and imagine which ones
may eventually contribute to adult success
What happens in childhood as a refusal to
do things the same way that others do
them is really an inability to perform the
same way. The child has to find a way to
solve the problems…in his own original
manner, an original way
Students who are rigid and work with great
intensity as children are committed and
dedicated with highly focused thinking…
e.g. researchers
Kids who are highly ego-centric and self-
absorbed…often translate into creative and
highly successful activity…the artist, the
novel thinker and the popular critic
A number of LD’s who tend to be friendless and
isolated from groups…land up working for the
homeless, elderly or ill…populations which
desperately need assistance
Harvard psychologist, Dr. Howard
Gardner, says most schools rely on
linguistic intelligence, the world of words,
or mathematical logical intelligence, the
world of numbers and logic.
Alternative learners frequently use their
visual intelligence (artists, film makers0, or
musical intelligence (musicians), or
kinesthetic intelligence (dancers and
athletes)
Gardner also describes those who have interpersonal intelligence (great leaders and entrepreneurs) or intrapersonal intelligences (psychologists and social workers). Some learn through nature (zoo keepers and explorers)….and many more.
Parents and teachers need to look for these
routes and bring them to schools
Remediation must find a way to reverse the
cycle of failure and to experience success,
build feelings of self-worth and increase
confidence
Individual therapy could be effective when
introduced in conjunction with special ed.
provisions. However, group therapy may be
more effective as peers are a better source of
support and insight, specially peers who have
the same problems. While insight is gained in
individual therapy, it can be exercised in the safe
environment of a supportive small group
Testing the negative thought, and
often realizing it is wrong.
e.g. “I’ am dyslexic – it must be
my fault again” or “I never get
anything right”.
Exercise….structured physical activity
Relaxation exercises…guided visual
imagery
Helping a child develop a sense of commitment, control
and challenge may be useful while coping with the
stressful circumstance.
Commitment
The committed find the learning situation
more meaningful…ideally they are actively
involved in building their special
educational programme.
Control
They behave and act as if they can influence the
course of events. They perceive many stressful
life events as predictable consequences of their
own activity, and thereby, as subject to their own
direction and manipulation
Challenge
This is a belief that change, rather than
stability, is normal. Stress then is
anticipated as an opportunity and incentive
for growth
Mother Theresa:
We will never know till we go to heaven how much we owe the poor for allowing us to help them. The truth she spoke lies in the basic need of human beings to do something useful and helpful to others if one is to be truly fulfilled and happy.
As the LD student acquires the skills of
helping others, they discover more of their
own resources, and feel more related to
the world because others need them. They
are empowered by giving.
Do not give up hope
There is outstanding resilience in many
unlikely students and there are numbers of
good people who help them with their
difficult journeys to adulthood.
Do not discount the impossible
Some very irritating negative behaviours that
have worn out parents and teachers and lead to
school failure, have helped youngsters with LD
demonstrate astonishing creativity and awesome
talent in adult life.
Different is not bad.
Different is the world.
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