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Trouble with Information Processing Can Lead to Learning Disabilities

Information processing is how one’s body collects information from sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste. The brain is supposed to collect the information the body is sending, recognize it and respond to it appropriately. This information is usually stored, as well, so the brain will recognize what to do quicker when it happens again. It is the brain’s processing that makes it possible for people to do all the things they can do in a lifetime and even a day.

The two main types of information processing are vision and hearing. They have several overlapping subcategories but accomplish the same goal, giving the person the ability to process a situation or circumstance. The most important ones are visual and auditory discrimination, memory, and sequencing, and visual motor processing, visual closure, and special relationships.

Information processing disorders are a deficiency of the brain in processing and understanding the information the senses have gathered. This is not related to a physical problem with the eye and ears or an intellectual disorder. It is the brain that cannot function and process the information properly. Learning disabilities will and do arise in such people with no known cause or reason.

Many times it can take years to figure out that a person has an information processing disorder. This is after every test conceivable has been performed. Those suffering from this type of disorder tend to be very frustrated, have low self-esteem, and be socially withdrawn from others. This is especially true if there are speech problems that are apparent to those around them. If you or your child has a consistent difficulty with learning or behavior over a long period of time, you might want to be or have them looked at by a doctor.

Some basics you should know about visual processing disorders is that they effect how the brain processes what the eyes see. This has nothing to do with actual vision and there is not any underlying impairment. This is a life long challenge for many and effects how the person interprets information. Their behavior will change after difficulties have risen to the point of absolute frustration. There are several types of visual processing disorders that can effect what one perceives and can cause many learning issues. They can cause different problems at different ages. This is due to the capacity of the person being able to express them selves and know what is happening to them.

During early childhood, the most common difficulties may be interpreted as just simple childhood issues. These children are often easily distracted and find visual stimulation very hard to understand. They might get simple symbols like &, +, /, and x confused, or just totally misunderstand them. The alignment of math problems and writing within margins or on lines seem to pose a problem, as well. Children with visual disabilities also tend to bump into things due to the inability to judge distances. They tend to also have an issue with similar numbers or colors, as well. It is important to use books and other material with large print and also read directions out loud. Teaching methods must include many forms of understanding such as images, sounds, and written and spoken words. This allows the child to see it and process it from several senses not just visual.

For teens and adults with visual disabilities, the most common difficulty is putting multiple sources of information together to form one document. They tend to have problems identifying things from pictures, maps, charts and graphs. Some very simple chores, such as finding a phone number in the telephone book, can prove to be an impossible task. Or, even remembering the directions to a specific location can be almost impossible.

There are also many common issues for those suffering from an auditory processing disorder. Many of the disorders have nothing to do with actual hearing loss. The ear hears what is said, but the brain cannot process the information properly. Many of the difficulties are the same for those with ADD and may be hereditary. Many of the people suffering from auditory disabilities find socializing extremely difficult. For children just the simple tasks of learning to talk and understanding what people say to them can be a challenge.

They might have problems discerning between background noise and the meaningful sound they were supposed to hear. Staying focused on a person’s voice or remembering a song they heard can prove very hard if not impossible at times. It is also common for them to mix up words that sound alike. Sufferers can find simple tasks as speaking in a normal tone or remembering people’s names very hard and feel socially inept. The most important thing about these types of disorders is to help make the sufferers life easier through accommodation so they can function to their best ability in society.