Learning disability and Social Skills | How we can help children with difficulties in social skills?

The term learning disability explains the difficulty of children / adult in learning specific areas like reading, speaking, listening, writing, spelling, reasoning and mathematics. Children who have learning disability will find issues with school works. LD can be find in all age groups as well as in all economic classes.

  • This term doesn’t include learning problems due to visual, hearing or motor handicap.
  • This condition is presumed to be due to central nervous dysfunction.

Characteristics of learning disability.

The following characteristics are widely observed in person with LD.

  1. Hyperactivity
  2. Perceptual impairment
  3. Emotional disturbance
  4. General coordination deficits
  5. Attention issues
  6. Impulsivity
  7. Disorders of memory and thinking
  8. Specific learning disabilities in the area of reading, arithmetic, writing and spelling
  9. Speech and hearing issues
  10. Neurological signs and EEG irregularities.

Social skills in LD

  • Studies prove that children with LD have poor social skills and other children doesn’t like to mingle with them also.
  • They liken to use defensive mechanism towards others when they talk to strangers- they look like more difficult to handle children/ person.
  • They sometimes fails to understand social cues or they easily misinterpret others action.
  • Individuals with LD has problem in accepting other’s views and turn taking roles.
  • Low self esteem
  • High levels of stress and anxiety.
  • Ineffective anger management
  • They are also at the risk of psychological condition like depression and conduct disorder.
  • Poor maintenance of social relationships.
  • Difficulty in solving social problems
  • Improper behaviour in social situation
  • They mostly get the non-supportive comments from adults.

The reason for developing poor social skills is either due to the result of neurological dysfunction or due to the negative reaction from the society towards scholastic failures. Don’t give them a chance to learn positive social skills.

How we can help children with difficulties in social skills?

  • Identify the source of the problem by observing them so that you can work with them effectively.
  • Prepare the children to face different social scenarios.
  • Remind the child with all possible outcomes
  • Improve their interactions with other children.
  • Proper training for language, reading, writing, spelling, and mathematical issues.
  • Don’t pressurize them.
  • Support them in their failures and motivate them to improve their skills in a positive way.
  • Help them to acquire healthy social relationships
  • Take part in role plays for improving problem solving skills.

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