|
When
parents get to face the fact that their child has
a learning disorder, they cannot help but ask how
their child got it, why, and what caused it.
|
|
Scientists
are in the process of studying the causes
of learning disability (LD) as they are
also in the pursuit of finding ways to prevent
it.
To date, there
is actually no known exact cause of learning
disability amidst chasing down probable and
contributing factors leading to LD. There
are simply too many matters to consider before
pinning down its cause with detailed accuracy.
|
Mental
health experts stress this to parents who insist
on looking at the past for reasons that could have
led their child to this condition. It is strongly
advised that the family accept the situation, look
positively forward and help find ways to improve
the child's condition instead.
Scientists once believed
that all learning disabilities rooted from one specific
area of the brain. Further research backed by the
NIMH proved that the causes are far more complex
and varied than arising from a single neurological
malfunction.
Research showed that
different regions of the brain encounter difficulty
to piece together the information making it hard
to "intellectualize" them.
A leading
theory gaining popularity explains that learning
disabilities emanate from slight disturbances in
brain structures and functions. Oftentimes, these
disturbances are believed to begin prior birth.
Errors
affecting the development of fetal brain
As the
fetal brain develops from a few universal cells
during pregnancy, it grows into a new and complex
structure known as neurons. These are billions of
intricately interconnected nerve cells with specialized
structures. It is during this cell evolution that
things may go haywire in the developmental process
that can alter or affect the formation or interconnection
of the neurons.
Brain
stem forms in the early pregnancy stages which controls
breathing and digestion, the propellers of life.
What goes to develop later is a deep ridge that
separates the thinking part of the brain or cerebrum
into two - the right and left brain hemispheres.
Other areas follow to develop associated with the
senses such as sound, sight, and those with thinking,
emotion and attention.
Nerve
cells grow and move to their necessary places to
form brain structures forming networks along other
brain parts. Information is shared through these
networks transmitting them to other regions of the
brain.
Development
of the brain is very vulnerable to disturbances
during the entire pregnancy. The fetus may not survive
when disruption happens in the early stage, or if
it happens to survive, the borne infant may suffer
various disabilities and even mental retardation.
If disturbances occur on the later stages of pregnancy
where cells have started to develop accordingly,
these disruptions may leave errors on cell location,
connection and composition. Some scientific experts
are convinced that these errors affecting fetal
brain development are the culprit of learning disorders.
All brain structures are present during birth.
Cracking
brain development interferences
NIMH
scientists and other fellow researchers are engaging
in long hours studying the brain development's natural
process in the hopes of understanding the complex
process and structure better when disruption or
irregularities arise. By gaining full understanding
of the process, scientists can start to identify
and pinpoint exactly where things will go wrong.
In the
course of these studies, other factors are being
looked into such as genetic issues, abuse of substances,
problems encountered during pregnancy and harmful
toxins that can affect brain development.
Genetic
Issues
It is
a fact that learning disabilities have a tendency
to run in the family that makes it a genetic issue.
Children with difficulty in reading when it comes
to hearing sounds of words usually take after a
parent experiencing related difficulty. But of course,
the parent's difficulty already takes a different
form in the child. This can be seen in a parent
with a writing disorder having a child who has expressive
language disorder. It goes to show that specific
learning disorders are unlikely to be inherited
directly. A slight brain dysfunction of a parent
can lead to a child having full blown learning disability.
Aside
from genetics, learning disability may actually
be influenced by the environment of the family seeming
the condition to be hereditary. If a parent has
expressive language disorders, tendency is they
do not communicate with their children well, or
their language is distorted, they end up in less
talk. This makes the child unable to acquire a sense
of good language while growing up, making the child
appear learning disabled.
Substance
Abuse: Alcohol, Smokes and Drugs
Pregnant
women are strongly advised not to take drugs, drink
alcohol and smoke tobacco or cigarettes as these
will affect the baby's health since these are directly
passed onto the fetus. The U.S. Public Health Service
warns against the dangers of this unhealthy practice.
Data
show that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are
more prone to delivering smaller babies less than
5 pounds. This little weight makes the baby susceptible
to health problems. LD is one of them. Alcohol also
shrinks the chances of a baby to be born normal
since alcohol can distort neurons that are just
starting to develop. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a
result of heavy alcohol intake during pregnancy.
This is a condition that causes intellectual impairment,
physical defects, low birth weight and hyperactivity
in a child. Alcohol can also affect the child's
learning, memory and attention. It is better to
steer clear from alcohol during pregnancy.
Conceiving
women doing drugs especially cocaine in smoke-version
called "cracks" are posing extreme dangers to their
baby. These drugs can affect the development of
the child's brain receptors. Research shows that
drug abuse causes receptor damage. The receptors
are responsible for transmitting signals to the
brain from our sensory motors directing us to react
to our environment. If the receptors are damaged,
there is difficulty in understanding sounds, speech
and letters. This makes researchers believe that
learning disorders and even ADHD are associated
with faulty or damaged receptors.
Pregnancy
and delivery problems
One
possible factor that can be attributed to learning
disability is pregnancy complications. There are
cases that the pregnant woman's immune system gets
to react to the fetus and treats it as an infection.
This can lead to disruption in the child's formation
of brain cells forming in the wrong portion of the
brain. Another factor is when the umbilical cord
gets twisted around the baby's neck temporarily
interrupting the supply of oxygen during delivery.
This sudden absence of oxygen can impair the baby's
brain functions that can lead to conditions of LD.
Environmental
Toxins
A year
after a child's birth, production of neural networks
and new brain cells still occur. A one-year old
child's cells are still prone to development disruptions.
As researchers
explore relative factors leading to LD, their studies
also look into environmental toxins that can be
detrimental to a child's brain development. The
presence of harmful toxins found in the environment
like lead and cadmium are still the highlights of
neurological studies. Cadmium, an element used to
create steel products, can mix with the soil where
we grow food, while lead, a former component in
gasoline and paint, can still be traced in water
pipes. The National Institutes of Health sponsored
a study to see the effects of exposing animals to
lead. Rats exposed to lead showed significant changes
in brainwaves reflecting slow learning ability.
Lead exposure caused the animals to exhibit prolonged
learning problems even when the lead has long been
taken out.
Children
with cancer undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
can also be subject to learning problems since their
cells get affected in the process. LD is more exhibited
in children with brain tumors going through radiation.
Children
with Special Needs -> What Causes Learning
Disability
|
