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The emotional reality of a learning disability

The emotional reality of a learning disability Aden A. Burka, Ph.D. Department of Psychiatry Ochsner Clinic and Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation New Orleans, Louisiana The fundamental problem that a learning-disabled child faces is how to compensate for the disability. In my experience, children do not get over a learning disability, but rather, they learn how to compensate for it. The foundation of the compensatory process is the child's emotional reaction to having a problem and whether or not he can channel his energy toward productive rather than counterproductive efforts to deal with it. There are a host of environmental factors that influence this compensatory process, many of which will be outlined in this paper. The focus here will also be on what takes place inside the child and the interdependence between the child's emotional life and his com- pensatory efforts. Many of the children that I see for diagnosis or treatment are learning-disabled in the technical sense. Their actual achievement in school falls at least two grade levels below what we might expect based upon their mental age. These children are not necessarily a true sample of the wider population of learning-disabled children. The very fact that I am seeing them signals that larger problems are http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annals of Dyslexia Springer Journals

The emotional reality of a learning disability

Annals of Dyslexia , Volume 33 (1): 13 – Jan 1, 1983

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References (9)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1983 The Orton Dyslexia Society
ISSN
0736-9387
eISSN
1934-7243
DOI
10.1007/BF02648013
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Aden A. Burka, Ph.D. Department of Psychiatry Ochsner Clinic and Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation New Orleans, Louisiana The fundamental problem that a learning-disabled child faces is how to compensate for the disability. In my experience, children do not get over a learning disability, but rather, they learn how to compensate for it. The foundation of the compensatory process is the child's emotional reaction to having a problem and whether or not he can channel his energy toward productive rather than counterproductive efforts to deal with it. There are a host of environmental factors that influence this compensatory process, many of which will be outlined in this paper. The focus here will also be on what takes place inside the child and the interdependence between the child's emotional life and his com- pensatory efforts. Many of the children that I see for diagnosis or treatment are learning-disabled in the technical sense. Their actual achievement in school falls at least two grade levels below what we might expect based upon their mental age. These children are not necessarily a true sample of the wider population of learning-disabled children. The very fact that I am seeing them signals that larger problems are

Journal

Annals of DyslexiaSpringer Journals

Published: Jan 1, 1983

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