Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment in reading, written expression, and mathematics. The government provides several educational and social benefits to students with SLD, hence, an accurate assessment of the prevalence of SLD is important. This study is an attempt to find the prevalence of SLD and its determinants among the school-going children in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. METHODS: School-going children from the fourth standard to the seventh standard were included in the study. Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used. The screening for SLD was done using the LD screening tool, and confirmation of the diagnosis was made using the NIMHANS index for SLD and Malin's Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC). RESULTS: The prevalence of SLD was 16.49% (95% CI =14.59-18.37). The prevalence of impairment in reading, written expression, and mathematics was 12.57%, 15.6%, and 9.93%, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that male gender, low birth weight, presence of developmental delay, family history of poor scholastic performance, and syllabus were independently associated with SLD. CONCLUSIONS: The study found a higher prevalence of SLD (16.49%) and certain modifiable determinants of SLD were identified. It highlights the need for early detection and remedial measures for children with SLD.

BACKGROUND: Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment in reading, written expression, and arithmetic. It can be identified during early school days itself. There is a lack of a screening tool for SLD that is properly validated and easy to administer. This study is an attempt to validate an ultrashort tool for screening SLD. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done at Government Medical College Ernakulam, South India. Children aged 6–16 years attending Psychiatry Outpatient Department were recruited by consecutive sampling. The self-administered screening tool, known as Ernakulam Learning Disorder (ELD) tool, was given twice within a gap of 2 months, and the results were compared with the clinical diagnosis, which was taken as the gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and kappa of the screening tool were calculated. RESULTS: The sample consisted of children aged 8–16 years. The sensitivity and specificity of the tool were found to be 98.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 90.4–100) and 87.5 (CI = 76.8–94.4), respectively. The positive predictive value was 87.3 (CI = 76.5–94.4) and the negative predictive value was 98.2 (CI = 90.6–100). The kappa value was 0.96 (CI = 0.92–1.01). CONCLUSIONS: ELD tool seems highly useful as a screening instrument for detecting SLD; it is simple, easy to remember, and easy to administer.