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The Effect of Mental Disabilities on Children Learning
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The Effect of Mental Disabilities on Children Learning
Introduction
Different open and day preliminary schools receive children with mild and moderate mental retardation and educate them together with others. Children with severe and profound mental disabilities are admitted to institutions that are best fitted to offer residential treatment and care for the handicapped. It is important to involve people who know the dilemma affecting such children in the placement service of children with severe and profound mental disabilities. According to the United Nations, a child is a young person who is yet to attain the age of 18 years. Since the most prevalent mental disabilities, abuse, bad foundation, and neglect are the chief causes of mental retardation, it is evident that children are at a greater risk of being mentally handicapped. The process of development and education of children with mental disabilities is different from that of typical children. To help the children suitably, it is vital, first of all, to understand the mode in which they develop as they grow. The main goal of this research paper is to establish the effect of mental disabilities on learning children.
Literature Review
According to Patel (2020), mental disability manifests in children prominently during their formative stages of growth and development. There are a number of factors that lead to mental disabilities in children, some of which, if well managed, could otherwise have resulted in mental retardation (Patel, 2020). Most mental disabilities are characterized by a lack of intelligence quotient (I.Q.) and the ability to learn and sustain a high level of academic competence. Mental disabilities are classified into mild with an I.Q. of 50-70, moderate with an I.Q. of 36-50, severe with an I.Q. of 20-35, and profound where the I.Q. is below 20. Mild and
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moderate mental retardation is prevalent amongst young children. This is why many schools today are providing learning support services to the affected children.
Hypothesis
The study hyponthesis illustrate that a child with a learning disability encounters many challenges for their existence in the community. They receive their learning instruction at grade level from the age of 7 years and without the support of a resource room or other specialized instruction. These conditions lead to emotional and behavioral problems, social competence, academic achievement, self-concept, social stigma, and internal management. Emotional behavior is a reaction to stressful situations. Displeasure with intelligence results in tension exhibited as anxiety, worry, tension, restlessness, anger, sorrow, regulation, self-harm, guilt, shame, disgust, humiliation, betrayal, resistance, disobedience, awareness, argumentativeness, self-esteem, realization, confidence, and empathy.
Subjects
Participants
The study population was comprised of 50 individuals. The participants were grouped into two groups, comprising 20 participants who were victims of mental disabilities in the past, while the remaining population was used as the control element of the research. The age range for the participants who were part of the study was 18 to 40 years. They were recruited from the local community centers and rescue counseling centers. The research utilized both structured interviews and the Childhood Mental Disabilities Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess the history of abuse among the research participants.
Materials
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A set of standardized neuropsychological tests was conducted on the study participants, assessing several domains, including deficits in memory, attention, and executive function. The tests conducted were selected based on their psychometric strength and their widespread use for research purposes.
Research Variables
The presence or absence of abuse history formed the independent variable of the study. On the other hand, the dependent variables included the outcome of neuropsychological tests performed on the victims to measure cognitive functioning based on several domains, such as memory and attention
Statistical Analysis
The use of Independent T-tests was used to determine the impact of mental disabilities on learning children( Elinder, 2020). The significance level was set at p < 0.05, a standard threshold for determining statistical significance in psychological research. SPSS software was employed for data analysis and manipulation.
Results
Based on the study observations from the neuropsychological tests conducted, the learning disabilities are found in 5% to 15% of children in the world. It is not a single disorder, but a group of disorders. The children who are going to school require knowledge and skills. This knowledge and these skills are assessed. The scores in the tests are used to determine the child's knowledge in all possible ways. This has a major influence on the children's mental health. As scores increase in school, they are academically brilliant and intelligent, but poor in terms of mental health functioning in the future. Mental health refers to psychosocial well-being. It includes self-concept, interpersonal relationships, problem solving, decision making, and anger
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control, which provide positive consequences for children's adjustment, primarily psychological, personal, and academic achievements.
Discussion
The research findings indicate the Dyslexia, autism, Asperger's syndrome, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are among the learning disabilities which impair the individual's effective use of cognitive ability and thus hamper fully functional adaptation in society (Andermo et al. 2020). Learning disabilities (LD) which affect cognitive and central nervous systems (CNS) like autism, Asperger's syndrome, and ADHD affect a large community in the world. 7People who manifest a significant difference in their ability to absorb, process, and apply information do not have a physical, hearing, or vision disorder.
Implications and Future Directions
According to the Ministry of Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Development, a person is termed a disabled person when he/she possesses limitation in performing the majority of the tasks, activities or functions which are taken for granted by the majority of people. Children are also said to have learning disabilities when they possess severe sensory, speaking, walking and other disabilities. Students that are said to possess general learning disabilities have problems in learning a subject or several subjects due to difficulties in understanding, dexterity, processing of information and memory. Such students are said to have severe education hitches, thus making it such that subject learning in the ordinary classroom renders useless. Therefore, Hunt has a traditional educational treatment, where special attention should be given to children with special needs (Grigerenko et al. 2020). In the teaching and learning realm to comply with
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the individual requirements of those said to be learning disabled or as Bassett has it, teaching and learning should be provided in each developmental handicap degree in order to facilitate as well as establish more effective learning for students.
Many children with learning disabilities have been neglected in various learning institutions, including special education institutions. While teaching students with special needs in regular schools cannot be termed new, the phenomenon has created confusion among various stakeholders regarding what it entails as regards the management of these institutions, its implication, and what the future holds for the students with disabilities entirely as well as those in regular schools. Tolo and Tolo argue that, as long as the government continues holding fast to regular schools where the majority of the students with disabilities are enrolled, the confusion is bound to heighten more and more since regular schools are relatively new in the field of teaching children with special needs.
Conclusion
In recent years, the scientific and technological developments and the spread of education to wider areas brought about an increase in the demand for education and thus the number of students with learning disabilities. The fast-growing number of students in special education institutions and units is an important indicator of the increase in demand for education by students with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities are seen to co-occur and it is common to find more than one condition in the same person. Mental, neurological, and physical disabilities can cause secondary learning difficulties during a lifetime or can appear as concomitant developmental disorders in childhood.
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References
Patel, K. (2020). Mental health implications of COVID-19 on children with disabilities. Asian journal of psychiatry, 54, 102273.
Grigorenko, E. L., Compton, D. L., Fuchs, L. S., Wagner, R. K., Willcutt, E. G., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). Understanding, educating, and supporting children with specific learning disabilities: 50 years of science and practice. American Psychologist, 75(1), 37.
Andermo, S., Hallgren, M., Nguyen, T. T. D., Jonsson, S., Petersen, S., Friberg, M., ... & Elinder, L. S. (2020). School-related physical activity interventions and mental health among children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports medicine-open, 6, 1-27.
Andermo, S., Hallgren, M., Nguyen, T. T. D., Jonsson, S., Petersen, S., Friberg, M., ... & Elinder, L. S. (2020). School-related physical activity interventions and mental health among children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports medicine-open, 6, 1-27.