Cognitive Disabilities

A person with a cognitive disability has greater difficulty with one or more types of mental tasks then the “average” person. There are too many types of cognitive disabilities to list here. Most cognitive disabilities have some sort of basis in the biology and mental processes is most obvious in the case of traumatic brain injury and genetic diseases, but even the more subtle cognitive disabilities often have basis in the structure or chemistry of the brain.

Frequently Reported Problems

• Concentration and Attention 
• Perception 
• Planning and Organizing 
• Written and Oral Communication
• Memory: Short and Long Term 
• Judgment 
• Sequencing 
• Orientation

Types of Cognitive Disabilities

• Learning Disabilities
  
  Dyslexia
  Reading disabilities, such as dyslexia, are the most common type of learning disability. In fact, an estimated 15-20% of the population has some sort of language based learning disability. Among these, dyslexia is the most common. Evidence suggests that dyslexia is an inherited condition found among both male and females of all ethnic backgrounds.
  
  “Dyslexia is one of several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing abilities. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disability or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is manifest by variable difficulty with different forms of language, often including, in addition to problems reading, a conspicuous problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling.”
  
  -The definition of dyslexia as adopted by the research Committee of the International Dyslexia Association, May 11, 1994 and by the National Institute of Health, 1994.
  
  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  Attention difficulties represent one of the most pervasive behavioral disturbances in educational and mental health settings. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that consists of combinations of three primary problems.
  
• Brain Injury
  Some causes of brain injury include traumatic head injury, stroke, and illness, such as meningitis or brain tumors. Every brain injury is different, and there is no reliable way to predict how a person’s brain will be affected. After a person receives an injury to the head, medical professionals perform a series of neurological and psychological examinations to determine what areas of the brain were damaged. Some brain injuries result in behaviors that are hardly noticeable at all, whereas others are immediately obvious. The severity of the damage will determine how effectively the person will be able to process information.
  
• Generic Diseases
  Genetic sources of cognitive disabilities include Down’s syndrome, autism, and dementia, in order of least to most severe. Some individuals with Down’s syndrome are able to function at a high level, while others are limited in the cognitive capacity. The move severe the cognitive disability, the harder it is for the individual to comprehend.