It depends I guess. Autism is not considered a mental health issue. It is more neurological. I don't know about dyslexia but I will definitely look it up. To be honest I would have thought it would be considered neurological. There is just not enough awareness in Nigeria. I am pretty sure that many autistic children are left at a church somewhere for someone to cast out their demons and maybe even starved to death to exorcise these so called demons. I think when we start to delve into this thing we would need to start takng prozac or something to cope with what is going to unfold. It is just a world that we have not really gotten into in Nigeria.

Outstrip:

It depends I guess. Autism is not considered a mental health issue. It is more neurological. I don't know about dyslexia but I will definitely look it up. To be honest I would have thought it would be considered neurological. There is just not enough awareness in Nigeria. I am pretty sure that many autistic children are left at a church somewhere for someone to cast out their demons and maybe even starved to death to exorcise these so called demons. I think when we start to delve into this thing we would need to start takng prozac or something to cope with what is going to unfold. It is just a world that we have not really gotten into in Nigeria.

Autism and learning difficulties like Dyslexia are all grouped together from what I know.

snowdrops:

It has everything to do with mental health. Dyslexia [ better known as specific learning difficulty] is grouped amongst disorders of psychological development in ICD 10. Mental health is not just about people running unclothed in public.

A quick google shows that it isn't. But it would be interesting to see your explanation further on this.

What do you mean ICD? "International Statistical Classification of Diseases" Again, a quick read shows it have less to do with mental health.

Erm, I never made the assumption or said anything about mental health issues = Running around wearing nothing.



Perhaps, this is your field and what not, please shed more light if you can.

snowdrops:

It has everything to do with mental health. Dyslexia [ better known as specific learning difficulty] is grouped amongst disorders of psychological development in ICD 10. Mental health is not just about people running unclothed in public.

This may be of interest to you.

Dyslexia, which affects about 10% of the population, regardless of intelligence, race or social class, may offer a more striking example. The problems associated with dyslexia focus mainly on difficulties with reading, writing and spelling, but other 'mental problems' such as short-term memory, concentration and personal organisation can also be affected. It is well accepted that dyslexia is biological in origin and runs in families, suggesting some genetic influence. However, no one would dream of calling dyslexia a mental illness. Like 'learning disability' dyslexia can be, and often is, a complex problem of human living

People with experience of dyslexia need understanding, support and practical help in learning to live with or overcome their problem. They do not need to see a psychiatrist. Although having serious problems in reading, understanding and concentrating could potentially be lethal - the person with dyslexia is not a candidate for detention under the mental health act and forcible psychiatric 'treatment'.

www.psychminded.co.uk/news/news2005/sept05/Buchanan-Barker">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:m7FM8Kj2ECIJ:www.psychminded.co.uk/news/news2005/sept05/Buchanan-Barker%2520comment.htm+is+dyslexia+a+mental+disorder&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&source=www.google.co.uk

Many successful ppl have dyslexia

IK aka wildchild of rhythm 93.7 is dyslexic

@ Elrazur

You are right cause its my field. Accept what i told you. Mental illness is different from Mental disorder which is what we are referring to here.

However in managing this condition, you need a multiagency approach. So the focus is not only mental health services, but social services, education, General practitioner and other allied bodies. There is a dire lack of investment in these in Nigeria. And again most of the society is un [or mis] informed about this condition. We surely have a long way to go.

GenBuhari:

Many successful ppl have dyslexia

yeah but not here in Nigeria, most of them would have been written off as dullards very early in their lives.

checkout this blog Ulearnmyworld. i find it useful and hopefully if everyone who has issues concerning autism/ADHD can come together on thos blog.

snowdrops:

@ Elrazur

You are right cause its my field. Accept what i told you. Mental illness is different from Mental disorder which is what we are referring to here.

However in managing this condition, you need a multiagency approach. So the focus is not only mental health services, but social services, education, General practitioner and other allied bodies. There is a dire lack of investment in these in Nigeria. And again most of the society is un [or mis] informed about this condition. We surely have a long way to go.

I'm sorry, but in a debate and things that are science related, you just do not expect people to "accept what you say as the biblical truth"

You made a very bold claim and a quick check showed that you were off the mark. I don't know about you, but perhaps explaining to all of us as to how "Mental health comes into Autism and Dyslexia" would be the next thing to do?

I heard someone asking for a cure, THERE IS NO CURE, it's not a diseases it's a learning disorder. People can learn to deal with it with certain skills. Am actually going to college studying special education and communication now. Ofcourse my mum doesn't understand why i would do this, since she doesn't see the money i'll be earning from it, but the children in Nigeria that are underrepresented is sickening, even with Autism, we call the Imbeciles. Before i left Nigeria, i though that they were just deformed children, SMH. Anyways i hope to make an impact on this soon in Nigeria. Note - the diagnosis for Learning disabilities is not very specific, so it can be mistaken, if someone doesn't pay close attention. Usually teachers are the first to notice in kids,, so if your a parent don't feel bad you dint catch the symptoms on time. Try breaking down the step for them in bits, and let them accomplish little at a time. Having a learning disability doesn't mean they CAN'T learn, they just will learn at a slower pace.

^^^ well said. but its what percentage of our teachers know about these disorders? i don't know if there's anything related to learning disorders in education courses in our universities.

Try breaking down the step for them in bits, and let them accomplish little at a time. Having a learning disability doesn't mean they CAN'T learn, they just will learn at a slower pace.

that's exactly how i take lessons with my young friend. patience is the key.

Try breaking down the step for them in bits, and let them accomplish little at a time. Having a learning disability doesn't mean they CAN'T learn, they just will learn at a slower pace.

Actually, that is not entirely true as there is not enough known about this condition (due to covering a large spectrum)

Some inventors, physicists, chemists and what not that made contribution to science and medicine are said to have shown symptoms that may be described as learning disorder, yet this people have shown learning capabilities that are faster and above the capabilities of "normal" (most).

Outstrip:

It depends I guess. Autism is not considered a mental health issue. It is more neurological. I don't know about dyslexia but I will definitely look it up. To be honest I would have thought it would be considered neurological. There is just not enough awareness in Nigeria. I am pretty sure that many autistic children are left at a church somewhere for someone to cast out their demons and maybe even starved to death to exorcise these so called demons. I think when we start to delve into this thing we would need to start takng prozac or something to cope with what is going to unfold. It is just a world that we have not really gotten into in Nigeria.

maybe i can help a bit.
the WHO published a list of all the disease entities or health conditions they recognize to aid documentation and communication internationally. each condition is identified by up to five characters including numbers and letters.
in the united states doctors charge insurers by supplying a code for each condition that they treat. the list has other uses and is in the process of being updated now. it has a lot of shortcomings but there is nothing better now. the list is divided into several chapters. chapter six is called the mental and behavioural disorders. dyslexia and autism are in this chapter.
dyslexia sometimes exists alongside other learning difficulties and even mental disorders. i am not able to give any figures here. but not always. quite often the only help people with dyslexia need is with schooling from the educational service. in the case of autism it may be accompanied by some degree of learning difficulty or low IQ which may imply an impaired ability to look after one's basic needs e.g.dressing toiletting  thus needing care for life and in other cases being able to live independent lives with some degree of support or supervision. some people with these conditions also have serious behavioural problems and often require input from a psychiatrist.
here in the UK there are dedicated LD services within NHS trusts and they tend to work with other professional such as language therapists psychologists and the educational system. until quite recently the NHS played a lead role in funding for these individuals especially the more severe cases. now budgets have moved to social services but teams work closely together often housed in the same building. it is important to note that these services are delineated from mainstream psychiatry service and quite often an individual turns up who needs help and there is a lot of fighting about who is responsible. this is usually about money, who is going to pay?
having said all that. there is no doubt that these conditions are mental disorders though they may not be what some call mental illnessnes. i think the stigma attached to the word mental is problematic for some but that is the current  thinking is .

ElRazur:


Actually, that is not entirely true as there is not enough known about this condition (due to covering a large spectrum)

Some inventors, physicists, chemists and what not that made contribution to science and medicine are said to have shown symptoms that may be described as learning disorder, yet this people have shown learning capabilities that are faster and above the capabilities of "normal" (most).

Umm you know for them to be placed under the category - learning disability, they have to have a lower IQ than normal and have not responded to Intervention. I really don't know what you mean by they have shown faster and above normal? THAT IS A MYTH.
Please for the parent that said her children have LD, Here --> www.idonline.net --> it could help you with some skills to help your children with.

SNOWDROPS IS SPOT ON ABSOLUTELY[/b]snowit is true the saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. some people think they can google stuff and become an expert on a subject that other devotes their entire lives to. [b]they are menaces beware

.

My Fiancé may be suffering from this disorder. She finds spelling and word pronunciation very difficult. What do I do?

baeyy:

Umm you know for them to be placed under the category - learning disability, they have to have a lower IQ than normal and have not responded to Intervention. I really don't know what you mean by they have shown faster and above normal? THAT IS A MYTH.

Smh.

Again, saying people with learning difficulties have lower IQ than normal is just an absurd thing to say. One of the spectrum that learning difficulties covered is Asperger syndrome. Some of the people with this type of difficulties have very High IQ. Can you please explain this to me?

Julian Asange (the guy behind wikileaks) has been suggested to have learning difficulties, yet using his intelligence (which is clearly within or above normal) and skills, he's been able to hold the powerful nations to ransom with impunity. Again do you mind explaining that?

A guy in the UK hacked into Pentagon computers and it was later revealed he had learning difficulties too. Here is a link to his story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8458004.stm Clearly, you and I most likely do not have the sort of High IQ he possess to pull off such a feat. Yet you are here associating learning difficulties with low IQ. Jesus flipping Christ.

I work in a clinical setting part time and doing my Second degree part time too. I bet using your views and some of those in here, my IQ must be pretty much zero, simply because I have learning difficulty like dyslexia?



My original point that you have missed was that, if you look back on people who made big contribution to the field of Science, Medicine et al, some of them do display symptoms that are readily associated with people with learning difficulties. There are suggestion that even the man regarded my many as having one of the highest IQ DO HAVE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES - EINSTEIN. (See link http://www.ldail.org/einstei.cfm) So for you to make such claims is just absurd.


You see, the examples I gave so far flies in the face of your claims.



On a more common ground, I do agree some people with learning difficulties may be impeded by their disability and as a result have low IQs. Same way people without no disablity or learning difficulties do have low IQ.

However, to put forward the notion or the very idea that people with learning difficulties have low IQ is just inaccurate.

aribisala0:


SNOWDROPS IS SPOT ON  ABSOLUTELY[/b]snowit is true the saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. some people think they can google stuff and become an expert on a subject that other devotes their entire lives to. [b]they are menaces beware

You are supposed to be someone who was trained in the UK, and as such have a bit of class.  To see you post such utter non-sense like this is disappointing.

Your comment is clearly directed at me after I pointed out your misleading claims in another thread here  - https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=636873.msg8036996#msg8036996

You see, this is not politics but a science debate. Fact is paramount and as such, should not be afraid of challenge. Clearly, you would rather bicker over some non-sense than debate or post facts.

Mind set like yours is not healthy.

soulsynger:

My Fiancé may be suffering from this disorder. She finds spelling and word pronunciation very difficult. What do I do?

It is hard for anyone to give you a diagnosis over the internet. You would need to see someone who knows what they are talking about - an Expert.

Your fiance may be having minor speech impediments or something totally unrelated to learning difficulties.   Seek an expert advice, and with these kind of things, please do not take with your read here and use it to "self diagnose" it is a very dangerous thing to do.

Good luck.

people should note the terms learning difficulty and disability. they are technical terms and do not mean the same thing.
so are not to be used interchangeably.
in the uk people with disability always have a lower IQ and other deficits too this is probably the case elsewhere.
it is not impossible to find people with learning difficulty to be very intelligent but this is not so common
sometimes better not to talk about what you do not know.

aribisala0:

people should note the terms learning difficulty and disability. they are technical terms and do not mean the same thing.
so are not to be used interchangeably.
in the uk people with disability always have a lower IQ and other deficits too this is probably the case elsewhere.
it is not impossible to find people with learning difficulty to be very intelligent but this is not so common
sometimes better not to talk about  what you do not know.

Jesus freaking christ.

Disability and Difficulties are used interchangeably in certain settings. It is not uncommon to see learning difficulties grouped under "disabilities" and vice versa. On most forms in the UK, the section that requires one to explain any present disabilities is also used for learning difficulties.

Again, you appear to be suggesting those with learning difficulties (or disabilities) have low IQ.  Do you have any proof to the effect?

Steve Hawking suffers from a very dilapidating disease (Motor neurone disease), yet he is one of the finest brains to ever come out of UK. Probably not a single person on here can match his level of IQ.


You see, try to post fact and back it up, as oppose to just trying to post things that are irrelevant and 95% attempt at bickering.

Here is a link to up clear up some of the claims and counter claims.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/mentalhealthandgrowingup/learningdisability.aspx

by definition,in medicine in the UK; among other things learning disabilty
implies
1.an IQ lower than 70(intellectual impairment).
2. impaired social/adaptivel function (generally meaning the inability to live independently and survive in society without support or conflict)
3. early onset must start in childhood

these are the three criteria that MUST be present to make a diagnosis of learning disability in the NHS . i do not know about " other settings"
learning difficulties on the other hand does not imply impaired intellectual function in all cases.

[b] all people with learning diasbility have a learning difficulty but not all people with a learning difficulty have a learning disability. that is the short hand summary. [/b] some children with learning difficulties have been found to have hearing or sight problems which when corrected completely removed their learning difficulty because their IQs were normal of even quite high. it is also true that many people with dyslexia have high IQs and if this is recognized early and compensated for they go on to do quite well. these do not, in the medical realm, have Learning disability.

a learning disability on the other hand meaning a confirmed low IQ plus fulfilling the other crieria. it is on the basis of this diagnosis that access to healthcare is accessed.

i will end by supplying a links which i hope is useful to those who want to learn
http://www.bps.org.uk/downloadfile.cfm?file_uuid=1B299259-7E96-C67F-D897734F7251D757&ext=pdf

"My Fiancé may be suffering from this disorder. She finds spelling and word pronunciation very difficult. What do I do? "



I distribute in West Afrida, a set of learning resources by Keda Publications, designed to help people with learning difficulty in the area of Litracy (Reading, Spellings and Comprehension). I plan to start visiting schools this year and organising seminars to bring together all stakeholders (parents, teachers, caregives and experts).

Once more awareness is created, and the right resources are available, these group of children or adults can be helped. I have 3 children, 2 of whom are dealing with mild dyslexia. My frustration and desperation in helping them was what led me to these books. I have since discovered that my 2 dyslexic children are very intelligent, but special. One of them is preparing to go to univerisity next year. Dyslexic children only require a different approach to learning (multi-sensory), often not supported by the general school curriculum.

For information on Keda Publications, please email me on:pcoachlara@gmail.com or visit kedalearning.co.uk

I am just completing presenting a Gift of Dyslexia workshop in Johannesburg(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.453048384743628&type=1), South Africa, where we had a delegation from a Nigerian dyslexia foundation in Lagos.
see further here:
http://www.gifteddyslexic.com

Dyslexia symptoms differ from person to person, each individual with dyslexia will manifest unique strengths and weaknesses. There is no cure for dyslexia, but children with dyslexia can succeed in school with the help of tutoring or specialized education programs. Click on the link below to read more on dyslexia

God bless you poster for coming up with this topic. A lot of Nigerian parents are ignorant of this and should be educated.