ACADEMIC
SKILLS DISORDERS
Developmental
Arithmetic Disorder
The essential feature of this disorder is
marked impairment in the development of
arithmetic skills that is not explainable by
Mental Retardation, inadequate schooling, or
hearing or visual defects. The diagnosis is
made only if this impairment significantly
interferes with academic achievement or with
activities of daily living that require
arithmetic skills.
There are a number of different types of
skills that may be impaired in Developmental
Arithmetic Disorder. These include:
"linguistic" skills (such as
understanding or naming mathematical terms,
understanding or naming mathematical
operations or concepts, and decoding written
problems into mathematical symbols);
"perceptual" skills (such as
recognizing or reading numerical symbols or
arithmetic signs, and clustering objects into
groups); "attention" skills (such
as copying figures correctly, remembering to
add in "carried" numbers, and
observing operational signs); and
"mathematical" skills (such as
following sequences of mathematical steps,
counting objects, and learning multiplication
tables).
Associated features.
Various associated features have been
reported, including:
- Developmental Receptive Language
Disorder,
- Developmental Reading Disorder,
- Developmental Expressive Writing
Disorder,
- Developmental Coordination Disorder
and
- Memory and attention deficits.
Age at onset. This
disorder is usually apparent by the time the
child is eight years old (third grade). In
some children the disorder is apparent as
early as six years (first grade); in others
it may not occur until age ten (fifth grade)
or later.
Course. No information.
Prevalence. The
prevalence is unknown, but the disorder is
less common than Developmental Reading
Disorder.
Familial pattern. No
information.
Differential diagnosis. In
Mental Retardation, deficits in arithmetic
achievement are commensurate with the general
impairment in intellectual functioning.
However, in unusual cases of Mild Mental
Retardation, arithmetic skills may be
significantly below the expected level, given
the person's schooling and level of Mental
Retardation. In such cases the additional
diagnosis of Developmental Arithmetic
Disorder should be made, since treatment of
the arithmetic difficulties can be
particularly helpful to the child's chances
for employment in adulthood.
Inadequate schooling can result in poor
performance on standardized arithmetic tests.
In such cases, however, there is likely to be
a history of many school changes or absences,
or most other children in the school are
likely to have similar difficulty.
Diagnostic Criteria for
Developmental Arithmetic Disorder
A. Arithmetic skills, as measured by
a standardized, individually administered
test, are markedly below the expected level,
given the person's schooling and intellectual
capacity (as determined by an individually
administered IQ test).
B. The disturbance in a
significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living
requiring arithmetic skills.
C. Not due to a defect in
visual or hearing acuity or a neuralgic
disorder.
Developmental
Expressive Writing Disorder
The essential feature of this disorder is
marked impairment in the development of
expressive writing skills that is not
explainable by Mental Retardation or
inadequate schooling and that is not due to a
visual or hearing defect or a neuralgic
disorder. The diagnosis is made only if this
impairment significantly interferes with
academic achievement or with activities of
daily living that require expressive writing
skills. The impairment in the ability to
compose written texts may be marked by
spelling errors, grammatical or punctuation
errors within sentences, or poor paragraph
organization.
Associated features. Common
associated disorders are Developmental
Reading Disorder, Developmental Expressive
and Receptive Language Disorder,
Developmental Arithmetic Disorder,
Developmental Coordination Disorder, and
Disruptive Behavior Disorders.
Age at onset. In severe
cases, the disorder is apparent by age seven
(second grade); in less severe cases, the
disorder may not be apparent until age ten
(fifth grade) or later.
Course and prevalence.
Little attention has been given to
Developmental Expressive Writing Disorder
until recently. Consequently, there is no
systematically collected information about
course and prevalence. However, it is
estimated that the disorder is probably as
common as Developmental Reading Disorder and
has a similar course.
Familial pattern. A history
of Developmental Language Disorders and
Academic Skills Disorders in first-degree
biologic relatives is common.
Differential diagnosis. In
Mental Retardation, difficulty composing
written texts is commensurate with the
general impairment in intellectual
functioning. However, in some cases of Mild
Mental Retardation, expressive writing skills
may be significantly below the expected
level, given the person's schooling and level
of Mental Retardation. In such cases the
additional diagnosis of Developmental
Expressive Writing Disorder should be made,
since treatment of the writing difficulties
can be particularly helpful to the child's
chances for employment in adulthood.
Impaired vision or hearing may affect
expressive writing ability, and should be
ruled out through audiometric or visual
screening tests. Impairment in motor
coordination, observed in Developmental
Coordination Disorder and certain physical
disorders, may produce illegible handwriting,
but spelling and expression of thoughts in
writing may not be affected.
Inadequate schooling can result in poor
written expression abilities. In such cases,
however, there is likely to be a history of
many school changes or absences, or most
other children in the school are likely to
have similar difficulty.
Diagnostic Criteria for
Developmental Expressive Writing Disorder
A. Writing skills, as measured by a
standardized, individually administered test,
are markedly below the expected level, given
the person's schooling and intellectual
capacity (as determined by an individually
administered IQ test).
B. The disturbance in a
significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living
requiring the composition of written texts
(spelling words and expressing thoughts in
grammatically correct sentences and organized
paragraphs).
C. Not due to a defect in
visual or hearing acuity or a neuralgic
disorder.
Developmental
Reading Disorder
The essential feature of this disorder is
marked impairment in the development of word
recognition skills and reading comprehension
that is not explainable by Mental Retardation
or inadequate schooling and that is not due
to a visual or hearing defect or a neuralgic
disorder. The diagnosis is made only if this
impairment significantly interferes with
academic achievement or with activities of
daily living that require reading skills.
Oral reading is characterized by omissions,
distortions, and substitutions of words and
by slow, halting reading. Reading
comprehension is also affected. This disorder
has been referred to as "dyslexia."
Associated features. Deficits
in expressive language and speech
discrimination are usually present, and may
be severe enough to warrant the additional
diagnosis of Developmental Expressive or
Receptive Language Disorder. Developmental
Expressive Writing Disorder is often present.
In some cases there is a discrepancy between
verbal and performance intelligence scores.
Visual perceptual deficits are seen in only
about 10% of cases. Disruptive Behavior
Disorders may also be present, particularly
in older children and adolescents.
Age at onset. The disorder
is usually apparent by age seven (second
grade). In severe cases, evidence of reading
difficulty may be apparent as early as age
six (first grade). Sometimes Developmental
Reading Disorder may be compensated for in
the early elementary grades, particularly
when it is associated with high scores on
intelligence tests. In this case, the
disorder may not be apparent until age nine
(fourth grade) or later.
Course. With reading therapy, if the disorder
is mild, there often are no signs of the
disorder in adulthood. If the disorder is
severe, even with treatment many signs of the
disorder remain for life.
Prevalence. Estimates of the
prevalence of the disorder in school-age
children have ranged from 2% to 8%.
Familial pattern. The
disorder is more common among first-degree
biologic relatives than in the general
population.
Differential diagnosis. In
Mental Retardation, reading difficulty is
commensurate with the general impairment in
intellectual functioning. However, in some
cases of Mild Mental Retardation, the reading
level is significantly below the expected
level given the person's schooling and level
of Mental Retardation. In such cases the
additional diagnosis of Developmental Reading
Disorder should be made, since treatment of
the reading difficulties can be particularly
helpful to the child's chances for employment
in adulthood.
Inadequate schooling can result in poor
performance on standardized reading tests. In
such cases, however, there is likely to be a
history of many school changes or absences,
or most other children in the school are
likely to have similar difficulty.
Impaired vision or hearing may affect reading
ability, and can be ruled out through
audiometric or visual screening tests.
Diagnostic criteria for
Developmental reading Disorder
A. Reading achievement, as measured
by a standardized, individually administered
test, is markedly below the expected level,
given the person's schooling and intellectual
capacity (as determined by an individually
administered IQ test).
B. The disturbance in (A)
significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living
requiring reading skills.
C. Not due to a defect in
visual or hearing acuity or a neuralgic
disorder.
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