Learning Disability

INTRODUCTION

On 11 April 2017 our group went to Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 14 (1) which is a primary school that was established on 2008 by the government.It is estimated around 1500 students are studying there in 2017. Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 14(1) provides classes for special needs students such as autistic students, ADHD, slow learners and those with other learning disabilities. There are 6 classes for special need students called (Kelas Pendidikan Khas) and it is divided into three categories which are one classroom for high-functioning students that consist basic classroom necessities, four classrooms with a moderate level of functioning and one classroom for low-functioning students.

The students have their own file which includes the name, age, disabilities that they have and also the assessments used by the teachers. The students will study there until they reach 14 years of age before they continue their education at high school level, where they focus more on vocational education than academics. On this paper, we focus more on autism students that statistically estimated one out of every 600 children in Malaysia is born with autism.

Recent statistics show that some 47,000 of the people in this country are autistic and boys are 4 times more likely to have autism than girls. The number increases over time. Autistic children can be categorized into three groups which are about 40 percent of children with autism don’t speak, 25 – 30 percent of children with autism speak a few words and other 30 percent might speak but not until later in childhood. All in all, it is estimated four out of every 10,000 suffer from severe autism in Malaysia and this is a very big number in our country for the children who have autism.

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Learning disability (LD) is a processing disability in one or more of the basic psychological processes that involved in understanding and/or in using language. An area of difficulties includes memory, mathematics, writing, speaking, reading, motor-skills, comprehension and others. Based on the observation that we did at Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 14 (1) which there have many types of children with learning disabilities such as down syndrome, autism, hearing impairment, hyperactive and others. But in this assignment, we would like explain about several types of learning disabilities that have in that school.

          First types of learning disabilities that we would like to explain is down syndrome which based on our observation there have one boy that are down syndrome and he is active person. As we know down syndrome is a set of physical and mental traits caused by a gene problem that happens before birth. Children who have Down syndrome tend to have certain features, such as a flat face and a short neck. They also have some degree of intellectual disability. Down syndrome is a lifelong condition. But with care and support, children who have Down syndrome can grow up to have healthy, happy, productive lives. Down syndrome is caused by a problem with a baby's chromosomes which means that a normal person has 46 chromosomes. But most people with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes. Having extra or abnormal chromosomes changes the way the brain and body develop.  Most children with Down syndrome have some of this characteristic which they have distinctive facial features, such as a flat face, small ears, slanting eyes, and a small mouth, a short neck and short arms and legs.  For their muscle, they have low muscle tone and loose joints and their muscle tone usually improves by late childhood. Many children with Down syndrome are also born with heart, intestine, ear, or breathing problems. These health conditions often lead to other problems, such as airway (respiratory) infections or hearing loss. But most of these problems can be treated.

               Second types of learning disabilities that we get from the observation that have in that school is children with autism which known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The meaning of autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. It covers a large spectrum of symptoms, skills, and levels of impairment. ASD ranges in severity from a handicap that somewhat limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating disability that may require institutional care. Some of characteristic of autism children are have trouble in communicate, understand what other people think and feel, hard to express themselves either with through gestures, facial expressions, and touch. Autism children also have unusual responses to people, attachments to objects, resistance to change in their routines, or aggressive or self-injurious behavior. At times they may seem not to notice people, objects, or activities in their surroundings. But they may have unusually developed skills in other areas, such as drawing, creating music, solving math problems, or memorizing facts. There are some causes of autism such as exposed to certain drugs or chemicals, use of alcohol, maternal metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and the use of antiseizure drugs during pregnancy.

                     Third of learning disabilities that is hearing impairment or hearing loss, which we notice that there have one child that are hearing impairment but he is smart, can draw and coloring nicely, can do some basic mathematics such as addition, subtraction. Hearing impairment occurs when we lose part or all of our ability to hear. Other terms that are used to refer to hearing impairment are deaf and hard of hearing. Causes of conductive hearing loss include fluid in the middle ear as a result of colds, otitis media, commonly referred to as ear infection, poor Eustachian tube function, and perforated eardrum, external otitis, commonly referred to as ear canal infection, earwax buildup, benign tumors or having a foreign body in the ear Structural abnormalities of the outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear.

         Besides that there also have children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As we know hyperactive or attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder is a chronic condition that affects millions of children and often continues into adulthood. ADHD includes a combination of persistent problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Children with ADHD also may struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school. Some of the causes of hyperactive are first is genetics which they get from their family or parents. Second is an environment factor such as exposure to chemical things, maternal drugs, alcohol use, smoking during pregnancy, premature birth. Next is development in children which happen when problems with the central nervous system at key moments in development may play a role.