Learning disabilities hinder efficient learning
Learning disabilities affect a broad range of the population with vast individual differences and are thought to be due to abnormal functional organizations of the brain that hinder proper cognitive abilities. The prevalence rate in children is estimated to be 5-10 percent. It has been demonstrated that learning disabilities are not secondary deficits resulting from certain neurological disorders or lesions, inefficient schooling, or from general developmental disabilities. These learning disabilities can be manifested, for example, as problems with motor coordination, language development or orientation. In subsequent stages of development they appear during the acquisition of basic reading, writing or arithmetic skills. In some children problems with cognitive functions can be expressed in the form of attention deficits and difficulties in the programming and guidance of their activities that affect the child's task orientation. Also, the latter difficulties affect the performance and control of behavior. It is worth mentioning that certain diagnosed neurological disorders (for example epilepsy or cerebral palsy) and certain causes of brain damage (for example lesions caused by accidents) are commonly expressed as learning disabilities. Yet, the latter only constitutes a small fraction of the total population suffering from learning disabilities.
It is of primary interest for the Niilo Maki institute to find the causative roles that hinder proper cognitive mechanisms in the brain. Hence, the institute attempts to establish neurocognitive disabilities that are responsible for the expression and severity of learning disorders. These disorders appear especially in the following areas of learning:
- reading (dyslexia)
- writing (dysgrafia)
- linguistic functions (dysphasia)
- arithmetic (dyscalculia)
- visuo-spatial orientation (dysgnosia)
- attention deficits and
- motor control.
Recently, research has focused particularly on the overlapping occurrence of apparently different learning disabilities, i.e. co-morbidity. The research attempts to define those neurocognitive mechanisms that tend to give rise to learning disabilities and, if possible, discovering means to influence them. Especially early language development has been identified as a significant research target in early diagnostics and as a background factor in learning disabilities.
Research at the institute is heterogeneous, with various fields of expertise working in collaboration. Research has been led by the methods and theory from experimental and cognitive psychology, as well as from psychophysiology and psychometrics. This collaboration has encouraged many more to come abroad, for example international researchers, developmental psychologists, specialists in pedagogy, experts in linguistics, child neurologists, neurophysiologists, and experts in physical education. Representatives of scientific data processing have contributed and helped develop multimedia appliances in the hopes of answering questions concerning rehabilitation and research methods.
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