Learning Disabilities

Many professionals who deal with learning disabilities emphasize that it does no good to try and research the cause of the disability yourself as it could stem from any number of factors, some beyond your control. However, doctors and researchers who work in mental health do look into these causes to understand the how’s and why’s so that perhaps one day a learning disability could be prevented while a child is still in the womb.

One possible reason for learning disabilities is that there are subtle issues in the development of a child’s brain while they are still a developing fetus in the mother’s womb. These problems would not be detected through any medical test but would be at cellular level. If there were some biological event that interrupted the normal flow of development, this could cause a disability later as the child grows up.

Genetic factors play a role in learning disabilities. Search the family tree and see if anyone had a learning problem or were perceived as “different.” You may have had issues with learning growing up as well. Of course, there is nothing that can be done if the disability is the result of genetics.

Learning disabilities can also stem from drug use, alcohol and smoking while the mother is pregnant. Even being exposed to second hand smoke or taking prescribed medications for an ailment while pregnant can pose problems that are not readily known until the child grows and displays problems.

The delivery of the child itself could cause learning disabilities later if the child was deprived of oxygen, even briefly. The mom’s immune system could perceive the baby inside the womb as an enemy and attack, causing the normal distribution of cell development to falter in the fetus. Even exposure to various toxins can create a problem in cognitive functions and cause problems. All in all, the list of probably causes of learning disabilities could go on and on.