At Centro Médico Teknon, we have professionals specialized in learning disorders, experts in child psychology, neuropsychology, child psychiatry and educational and learning support re-education.

Many children and adolescents with school difficulties do not present a lack of capacity or effort. On numerous occasions, behind low academic performance, demotivation, school blockage, or emotional suffering, there are specific learning difficulties that require a specialized assessment and appropriate intervention.

Early detection and personalized treatment are crucial to prevent school failure, low self-esteem, and the associated emotional impact.

What are learning disorders?

Learning disorders affect the acquisition and automation of basic academic skills such as reading, writing, or mathematical calculation.

These difficulties usually appear during school age and can significantly interfere with:

• Academic performance.
• Reading comprehension.
• Writing and spelling.
• Mathematical reasoning.
• Organization and school autonomy.
• Self-esteem and emotional well-being.

It is important to understand that specific learning disorders:

• Are not related or intelligence.
• Are not a consequence of lack of motivation.
• Do not appear because of poor education or lack of effort.

Many children and adolescents with these difficulties have average intelligence but require specific learning strategies and specialized support to reach their full potential.

Child and adolescent dyslexia

Dyslexia is one of the most frequent learning disorders and mainly affects reading, writing, and spelling.

It is related to difficulties in the phonological processing of language, that is, in the ability to identify, organize, and relate sounds to letters and words.

Children and adolescents with dyslexia may present:

• Slow reading or reading with frequent errors.
• Difficulty automating reading.
• Reading comprehension problems.
• Persistent spelling errors.
• Reversal of letters or syllables.
• Difficulty remembering verbal sequences.
• Fatigue and frustration with school tasks.

Dyslexia can go unnoticed for years, especially in children with good intellectual abilities or great compensatory effort. In many cases, this generates:

• Low self-esteem.
• School anxiety.
• Academic block.
• Demotivation.
• Constant feeling of frustration or inability.

A specialized neuropsychological assessment allows the real difficulties to be detected, and an intervention plan adapted to each child or adolescent to be designed.

Dyscalculia: difficulties in mathematics and numerical reasoning

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder that affects the understanding of numbers and mathematical processing.

Children with dyscalculia may have difficulties with:

• Understanding quantities and magnitudes.
• Memorize tables or numerical sequences.
• Performing mental calculations.
• Solving mathematical problems.
• Understanding abstract concepts related to time or money.
• Automating basic operations.

These difficulties appear despite adequate schooling and average intellectual capacity. Dyscalculia usually generates:

• Academic frustration.
• Avoiding mathematical tasks.
• Insecurity and school anxiety.
• Low self-esteem is related to academic performance.

Children with dyscalculia often stand out in other areas such as creativity, language or verbal reasoning.

Warning signs in learning disorders

It is advisable to carry out a specialized assessment if the following appear:

• Delay in the acquisition of reading or writing.
• Persistent difficulty reading.
• Very frequent spelling errors.
• Excessive slowness in school tasks.
• Significant difficulties in mathematics.
• Ejection of school.
• Low academic self-esteem.
• Anxiety about exams or homework.
• Excessive fatigue is related to learning.

Early detection is key to preventing academic difficulties from impacting the emotional and social development of the child or adolescent.

Specialized assessment of learning difficulties

At Centro Médico Teknon, we carry out complete and individualized assessments to understand the cognitive, emotional and academic profile of each patient.