The Genetic Factors of Learning Disabilities Essay

The National Institute of Neurologic Disorders defines learning disorders as a; condition that either prevents or significantly hinders somebody from learning basic skills or information at the same rate as most people of the same age. It is important to note that this does not mean that the individual has less intelligence; it means that their brain or body is wired in a way that hinders or prevents development of a certain tasks. Many people often confuse learning disabilities with mental retardation but while both words describe similar conditions, the term learning disability and learning disorder are used to describe conditions that affect development in certain cognitive areas in otherwise healthy developed individuals. Millions of†¦show more content†¦This is a very real problem and one in which educators of today and tomorrow will have to face day in and day out. The roots of learning disabilities have been debated for ages. There is a general consensus that both genetics and environment play hand in hand in learning and general temperament formation but the extant of each is debatable. This led me to my central question of what extent has current genetic research proved regarding the role of genes in the development of learning disorders. I am interested in what genetically linked disorders are most prevalent in school aged children and plan to detail the signs and symptoms of the three most prevalent disorders and the current believe about their causes at molecular level. The first learning disorder that I would like to discuss is Fragile X syndrome. Fragile X, often called Martin-Bell syndrome for it’s the man who discovered it is a trinucleotide repeat disorder that is found on the sex chromosome X. Fragile X was discovered by Bell in 1943 after he examined a family in which all the boys showed signs of mental retardation. He disc overed that the boys X chromosome he found that the long arm had become thin and fragile looking. Fragile X affects the genders separately due to its location on a sex linked chromosome. The disorder affects 1 in every 3600 males but only 1 in 4000-6000 females. (World Health Organization) As true with other sex-linkedShow MoreRelatedCharacteristics Of Learning Individuals With Learning Disabilities810 Words   |  4 Pages Learning disabilities is a general term to describe a group of learning problems. Students with LD are highly represented in general education classes. LD is the largest single disability area. The cause of learning disabilities remains unknown but are believed to have been associated with some kind of brain function. Organic, genetic, and environmental are three major factors that have been hypothesized as possible causes. 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