Do children outgrow learning disabilities?

By Barbara Mader from examiner.com

Most learning disabilities manifest when a child nears school age. Some may show earlier, like some speech/language delays, which may later be diagnosed as an auditory processing or other language related learning disability. Other learning disabilities may not manifest as obviously until practical application is needed, such as math computation or reading comprehension.

Parents worry about overall life implication and if their child will outgrow a learning disability. The short answer is- no. Learning disabilities cannot be outgrown since they are neurologically based. Just like growing one’s hair longer won’t change the overall curliness or straightness of it, getting older won’t change the neurological make-up of the brain. What can happen with early diagnosis of a learning disability is educational and/or therapeutic intervention, which can retrain the brain to compensate for, cope with, or learn new strategies to reach the desired end product a non-learning disabled brain can reach through conventional teaching.

Read more HERE.

Doctors Deviate From Guidelines When Treating ADHD in Preschoolers

By Christina Samuels from On Special Education

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics released guidelines on how doctors should treat preschoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The first step should be parent and/or teacher-administered behavioral therapy. If symptoms continue, the next step is medication with methylphenidate, better known under the brand names Ritalin or Concerta.

But only about 10 percent of medical specialists responding to a survey on their treatment methods said that they followed those guidelines exactly. Many chose medication as a first-line treatment; others chose to prescribe different types of medication, or refused to prescribe drugs even when behavioral therapy was not showing success.

The findings were released at a recent meeting devoted to research in child development, the Pediatric Academic Societies.

Read more HERE.

Study Questions Early Intervention Eligibility Criteria

Whether or not a child with developmental delays qualifies for early intervention varies dramatically from one state to the next, but often researchers say far more kids are eligible than can be served.

The finding comes from a new study analyzing early intervention services across the nation. Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine examined each state’s eligibility requirements for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, Part C program, which serves infants and toddlers with disabilities. Then they used data from a long-term government study tracking nearly 11,000 children to identify how many kids were likely to qualify or receive services in each state.

Read more of Shaun Heasley's Disability Scoop article HERE.