children and Ld's and low self esteem and depession and anxi

Children and “learning disabilities”
Dr. Beverly Bleidt talks about diagnosis and treatment

by Anne Maron

Having a “learning disability” is tough enough for any youngster. But did you know that the single most damaging and difficult aspect of having a learning disability is the loss of self-esteem, clinical depression and anxiety that almost always accompany it?

That was one message delivered at a St. Francis School parenting seminar led by Beverley Bleidt, a psychologist from the Louisville area.

Speaking to a group of parents in our library, Dr. Bleidt said children with learning disorders should be treated first for those other issues — self-esteem, depression and anxiety — and improved learning will almost always follow.

That means diagnosis and treatment at an early age is important, Dr. Bleidt said. Even the youngest children with learning difficulties are aware of their deficits, and they develop symptoms of anxiety and depression.

First grade is not too early to investigate signs of problems.

Diagnosis requires that a child be tested and observed for certain characteristics — characteristics listed in a diagnostic manual used by physicians nationwide.

This is true particularly in regard to Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (which can exist with or without hyperactivity).

If some of this terminology seems confusing, it’s because it is confusing, Dr. Bleidt said.

But the diagnostic manual lists six criteria for recognizing ADHD, and that diagnosis enables a child to be eligible for treatment for a variety of learning problems.

What about the use of drugs to treat young children for anxiety and depression? Dr. Bleidt cited two reasons why she supports the use of medications.

First, she said these medicines should be judged by one criteria: Do they make the child feel better? Since there are few or no side effects, she sees no reason not to make use of the medications.

Second, she said, most of the drugs used for such treatment help the brain to produce more serotonin — a biochemical “neurotransmitter” whose absence is linked to depression and other ailments. Dr. Bleidt believes the rush and pressure of modern life has left many of us serotonin-depleted.

It may seem as if more children than ever are being diagnosed with ADHD and then are being given drugs. Dr. Bleidt believes that more of us than ever are showing the ill effects of pressure and overscheduled, competitive lifestyles — and so are more children.

Her last observation about children with learning difficulties, especially ADHD, was that those children often miss or misread social cues.

Their behavior doesn’t “fit” because they don’t modify their behavior based on these cues — cues that other children perceive and respond to unconsciously.

At the time of her presentation, Dr. Bleidt and a teacher from the DePaul School had begun a therapy group for children ages 8 to11, to help them build self-esteem and social skills. Another group for younger children was in the works.