Neuropsychological Patterns of Learning - Essay Example

Learning disabilities have remained uniquely linked to individual theoretical models. The methodology of assessing learning disabilities utilizes several factors in explanatory models and various levels of analysis. The objective of this analysis is to review the patterns of variations in learning for children with learning disabilities. The purpose for this analysis is to provide a scholarly critique regarding the patterns of learning of children with disabilities. According to a research conducted by Robert-Jay Green (1990, p. 145), he formulated two hypotheses in investigating the impact of family interaction and structure on information processing deficits of children with learning disabilities.

The first hypothesis by Green seeks to research into the relationship between thought orders of schizophrenic children and parental communication. The study employed the use of a scoring manual designed to measure nonconformity in communication. The study highlighted the parent’s interpersonal linguistic skills in categorizing, naming, directing shared attention, and explaining world concepts to the children of different age groups and different chores. Green, however, indicates that family communication would have minimal effect on the long run on the child.

Further, an environment based on uneven and unstructured communication styles would experience persistent cognitive disorientation and confusion. Hence, this leads to the impairment of a child’s ability to process and keep new information at school. The findings proposed a strong and reliable relationship between deviations in parental communication and diagnosis of schizophrenic and marginal conditions of children. This relationship would be associated to families with cognitively confused schizophrenic children.

The analysis revealed a high rate of communication deviance for 87% of parents with children of learning disabilities (Green, 1990, p. 145). The second hypothesis focused on how an under organized family structure would enhance or maintain the attention deficits of children with learning disabilities. It utilized the method of interviewing families of children with learning disabilities and rating them. These children also labeled as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Conduct Disorder displayed an inability to maintain a focused attention.

Clinical research indicated that certain features of families hinder a systematic flow of ideas in communication. For instance, erratic and unfocused parental control styles, abrupt topic changes, conflict resolution through threats, deficient communication in words and reasoning, and disciplinary based on moods. These families would be considered chaotic, under organized and detached. Thus, the two hypotheses established an association between family characteristics and children with learning disabilities (Green, 1990, p. 146). However, these two studies failed to establish the direction of impacts between parent and child characteristics, and the role of environment and heredity in the emergence of these family patterns.

Hence, the findings do not provide any results on the four etiological models; the genetic, environmental, ecosystem and stress models. Their research assumes that each model would fit only certain subtypes of learning disabilities. It would be recommended that further large-scale longitudinal research be conducted on parents diagnosed as learning disabled