Learning Disability
We have often heard people talking about learning disabilities in children, their assessment and ways to overcome them, but you hardly must have heard about learning disabilities in adults. No worries. This article will help you understand everything about it, its types, causes and assessment.
First, let us understand what is learning disability. It is a neurological disability that affects how a person will learn, respond and communicate in day-to-day life. In some cases, adults are born with this disability while others acquire it later in life.
Types of Learning Disability
There are different patterns of difficulties that are faced by different people. Usually, they fall into four major categories:
- Problems with speaking or listening or both
- Problems in either reading or writing or with spelling in a language
- Problem with numbers and calculations
- The problem is the integration of thoughts and ideas
Causes of Learning Disability
Several research studies have been conducted to find the cause of Learning Disability Assessment. Here are a few possibilities that have been suggested by the experts:
- Heredity: It has often been found that these disabilities are passed on through genes and therefore people with a family history are more likely to have it.
- Complications during Pregnancy: Studies show that learning disabilities are common if the mother has faced complications during childbirth like lack of oxygen, long labour hours, or premature labour etc.
- Accidents after Birth: If the child has been exposed to head injuries, or toxic substances, after birth, there are chances he might suffer from learning disabilities in childhood or later during adult life.
Learning Disability Assessment
It is the process of gathering all the necessary information about a person’s strengths and challenges to find out whether he is suffering from some learning disability or not. The assessments that are performed may vary from person to person depending on the problem he or she might be facing.
Broadly they fall into four major categories:
- Screening: This includes collecting all medical history, reports, school and work reports, informal question and answer sessions etc.
- Evaluation: This includes various tests that determine the processing ability, decision-making, communication, achievements and intelligence of the individual.
- Diagnosis: This includes an analysis of the test and screening performed, detection of the type of learning disability, and explanation of the report to the individual.
- Recommendations: Explanation of steps and changes to be made in daily life to handle the disability.
Need for Learning Disability Assessments
Assessments are suggested if a person is facing one or more problems in personal and professional life. If a person is facing problems in achieving professional goals, or difficulties in managing responsibilities or relationships at the personal front, decision making etc; then he might go for these Assessments.
The first step to finding a solution to a problem is finding the cause of it and then only its appropriate solution can be worked out.
Couples Therapy
It is a form of Psychotherapy, in which a professional helps in solving problems that exist between a couple and works towards improving their relationship. It is also referred to as Couple Counselling. It is usually conducted by a licenced therapist, a Marriage counsellor or a Family Therapist.
This therapy enables the two partners involved in the relationship to better understand the problem, listen to each other’s perspective, and work towards a common solution with the help of the therapist.
Steps in Couple Counselling
The therapist uses different behavioural and relationship counselling techniques depending on the problem to be resolved. However, it usually consists of the following steps:
- Getting a detailed insight into the problem. For example issues regarding commitment, anger, loyalty, jealousy or intimacy.
- Participation of both partners keeping in mind that improvement in relationship is the common goal.
- Interventions by the professional to drive a solution.
- Reaching a compatible solution.
Research shows that 93% of couples said they were better able to resolve the conflict with the help of therapy.
What to Expect During Therapy
Couples not only opt for this therapy to sort out the existing problems in their relationship but also to get a better understanding of their own and their partner’s relational patterns. They also learn how to better communicate to find solutions when they are stuck in similar situations.
We will explain the entire process in three stages-
- Initiating Therapy: During the first session, the therapist gets details about both the partners, their family history, cultural background, values, and any physical or mental health condition one or the other might be suffering. The marriage counsellor will take also details about your relationship.
In case there is any crisis, the therapist will intervene to handle the situation and decide the further course of sessions. Through all this, he will decide the problem to focus on, the treatment goal, and on and structure of the following sessions.
- Ongoing Sessions: In these sessions, the therapist will help the partners understand the root cause of the existing conflict, and enable them to learn each other’s perspective and work towards a solution.
- Exercise outside sessions: An important part of every therapy is change in behaviour. The therapist will ask you to do certain exercises after every session so that you learn to practice the new skill and implement them in your daily interactions.
Conclusion
Psychological problems affect our lives at personal and professional levels. No matter what problem you are suffering from, the sooner you get an understanding of the problem, the easier is the treatment.
Learning Disabilities hamper your growth in your professional & personal life and affect your self-esteem. If you are facing any sort of problem, it is good to seek the intervention of the experts to get early treatment.
Toronto Psychological Services have been providing all sorts of therapy including Couples Therapy, Marriage Counselling, Family Therapy, Sex Therapy etc help people improve their relationship with themselves and others.
Your mental health is as important as your physical health. So take good care of your mind and your relationships.
