Children ‘At Risk’ of Developing Specific Learning Disability in Primary Schools

Objectives To study the proportion of children of age 5 to 7 y at risk of specific learning disability (SLD) and to analyse the socio-demographic risk factors. Methods A school based cross-sectional study was conducted in six schools in Puducherry. Four hundred eighty students were enrolled and study was conducted in a triphasic approach. Phase I- Screening by teachers using SLD-SQ (Specific Leaning Disability – Screening Questionnaire); Phase II- Vision, hearing, and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) assessment were done in students screened positive with SLD-SQ and those with vision or hearing impairment and subnormal intelligence were excluded; Phase III- Remaining children were subjected to NIMHANS SLD index (Level I profile). Results Of the 480 enrolled students 109 were screened positive with SLD-SQ. Twelve students were excluded in Phase II. Remaining 97 evaluated were evaluated with NIMHANS SLD index and 36 (7.5%) were screened positive. Boys (9.6%) were significantly more affected than girls (4.9%). Similarly, risk was significantly higher in students of government schools (12.1%) than private schools (2.2%). Ignoring punctuation and capitals was the commonest problem in SLD-SQ whereas, dysgraphia was most common in NIMHANS index. Conclusions The present study shows though SLD is highly prevalent and remains undiagnosed due to lack of awareness among teachers and parents. Since early intervention leads to better outcomes, Universal screening should be made mandatory and remedial teaching centres made available, accessible and economical.