Why do some learn more easily than others? What physical factors influence effective learning?

© 2010 Patricia Anne HolleyMany children are identified as having a problem with literacy. This study was designed to look for possible links between learning difficulties and neuro-physiological development, particularly in the areas of basic neurological development, sensory motor integration skills, retention of primitive reflexes and the development of postural reflexes. Forty grade 1 and grade 2 students between the ages of 6:01 and 8:03 years (M = 7:01), their teachers and their parents participated in the study. Of these 40 students, 20 had been identified by the school as needing literacy support (Group 1) and 20 were achieving typically for their age (Group 2). Group 2 students were matched with Group 1 students for gender, age, class and school. Children with English as a second language or those who had been identified as having any intellectual or physical disability or any diagnosed condition were not included in the study. The groups’ neuro-physiological development was tested by using the Quick Neurological Screening Test (QNST), a series of sensory motor integration activities and Goddard Blythe’s reflex tests. Further data was collected from teacher and parent questionnaires and from an interview with the child. This study found that the children in need of literacy support did not perform as well as their ‘typically achieving’ peers in many areas. They did not perform as well in basic neurological testing, they experienced a higher degree of difficulty with sensory motor activities, they had a significantly higher level of retained primitive reflexes and under developed postural reflexes and their teachers also indicated that they had more difficulties in many physical areas. The study provides further evidence that there is a link between learning and neuro-physiological development, and that children struggling with literacy are also often struggling with underlying physical/developmental difficulties. The results suggest that when educating children with learning difficulties, teachers should have a good knowledge of the physiological mechanics of the way a child learns and to be able to identify and address such things as retained reflexes and sensory motor integration issues so that both cognitive and neuro-physiological factors can be addressed. The implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed