Learning disabilities need prompt action<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If your child has to repeat a year at school, it
\nis possible that he or she suffers from a learning disability, an
\nexpert says.<\/p>\n
Learning disabilities should be treated properly and promptly
\nbefore they hamper the child's future, Ika Widyawati of the
\nChildren and Adolescent Psychiatry Division of Cipto Mangunkusumo
\nHospital said Saturday.<\/p>\n
Learning disabilities are one of the major reasons why many
\nelementary school students fail to pass their year, Ika said,
\nadding that the average failure rate was 9 percent a year.<\/p>\n
It is normal for children to have difficulties reading,
\nwriting, spelling and calculating in the first two years at
\nschool, she said.<\/p>\n
But if the problems persist, the child may have a learning
\ndisability, she said in a seminar on the handicap.<\/p>\n
The seminar was sponsored by PT Astra CMG Life to mark its
\nfifth anniversary. Proceeds from the seminar will be donated to
\nthe Pantara Foundation, which has just opened a school for
\nchildren with learning disabilities in the Mayestik area, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The foundation is chaired by Atie Wardiman, the wife of
\nMinister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro.<\/p>\n
Learning disabilities include dyslexia (a disturbance of the
\nability to read), dyscalculia (an inability to calculate) and
\ndysgraphia (an inability to write, as a result of brain
\ndysfunction), Ika said.<\/p>\n
Psychological and social factors, as well as physical factors
\ncontribute to the condition, she said.<\/p>\n
The condition could develop as a result of the child having
\neither above or below average intelligence.<\/p>\n
Children who start school before turning six years old were
\nprobably not ready and could develop learning disabilities.<\/p>\n
Parental pressures, and abnormal relations with peers,
\nteachers or parents can also trigger problems.<\/p>\n
A child with learning disabilities should be treated by a team
\ncomprising education, psychological and medical experts.<\/p>\n
"With the establishment of Pantara foundation, we are now
\nmoving to the direction of one-roof service to help students with
\nlearning disability," Ika told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Pantara school, the first in the country that specializes in
\neducating children between six and 12 years old with learning
\ndisabilities, was scheduled to begin classes on Aug. 1. The
\nfoundation has waived tuition fees for the 1997\/1998 school year.<\/p>\n
Ika, who has been hired by the school as a consultant, sensed
\nparents' hesitation in sending children to a special school.<\/p>\n
Attendance at the school is temporary and children will be
\nable to return to ordinary schools once they overcome their
\nindividual problems, she said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian bureaucracy however could make it difficult for
\nchildren to switch schools.<\/p>\n
"In Indonesia, there are too many procedures, and the student
\nwill have to pay an entrance fee again," Ika said. "In some
\nforeign countries, students can easily return to an ordinary
\nschool after treatment," she said. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/learning-disabilities-need-prompt-action-1447893297",
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