Page 9 - Part-A

Understanding Specific Learning Difficulties

The characteristics of a range of Specific Learning Difficulties

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) / Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD)

ADHD is a lifelong condition that causes an individual to be inattentive, hyperactive
and impulsive.

There are three ways in which an individual can present the characteristics
of ADHD, and they are:

1. Inattentive presentation

2. Hyperactive-impulsive presentation

3. A combination of the above.

The first presentation, inattentive, tends to affect girls more than boys. The second
presentation, hyperactive-impulsive, tends to affect boys more than girls. This is
an important feature of the condition because it is easier to spot hyperactive and
impulsive symptoms than it is to identify the inattentive type that appears in girls.

Girls with ADHD inattentive type are, therefore, often missed in their early years
at school and this can have serious long-term consequences for their learning
and development.

All of these presentations often go hand in hand with other SpLDs.

Dyslexia

This is characterised primarily by impaired cognitive skills related to reading, and is
usually associated with difficulty in written language, especially spelling.

The associated difficulties are with:

• Phonological awareness – this is the ability to understand that words
are made up of smaller units of sound

• Verbal memory – this is the ability to remember a sequence of
spoken information

• Rapid naming – the ability to quickly name objects, colours and numbers

• Verbal processing speed – the ability to process and write down
information that is given verbally.

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