Cognitive abilities in children with learning disorders

Razumevanje same prirode smetnji u ucenju zahteva uvid u rani razvoj- ni milje deteta, jer na ovu grupu poremecaja znacajan uticaj imaju, kako genetski, tako i rani razvojni faktori u domenu jezickih i kognitivnih spo- sobnosti. Podaci iz velikog broja istraživanja u oblasti kognitivnih deficita kod dece sa smetnjama u ucenju ukazuju na to da ova deca mogu ispoljavati citav spektar teškoca u kojem dominiraju deficiti radne memorije, auditiv- nog procesiranja i brzine obrade informacija. Pored navedenog, podaci iz literature novijeg datuma ukazuju na cesto prisustvo deficita vizuo-spaci- jalnih i egzekutivnih sposobnosti kod dece sa smetnjama u ucenju, nezavisno od specificnog poremecaja. Sa druge strane, u literaturi je prisutan opsežan korpus dokaza koji ukazuje na znacajnu povezanost deficita kognitivnih sposobnosti na predškolskom uzrastu sa teškocama u ovladavanju školskim u kasnijoj dobi. Na osnovu navedenog, može se zakljuciti da procena kogni- tivnih sposobnosti na predškolskom uzrastu može biti vrlo znacajna u ranoj detekciji riziko dece za pojavu nekog od poremecaja iz ove grupe. Pored toga, adekvatna stimulacija kognitivnih sposobnosti na ranom uzrastu može pre- venirati, ili barem ublažiti, teškoce koje ova deca imaju tokom ovladavanja akademskim veštinama.Understanding the nature of learning disabilities requires insight into the early developmental milieu of the child, because this group of disorders is signi%cantly in)uenced by both, genetic and early developmental factors in the domain of language and cognitive abilities. Data from a large number of studies in the %eld of cognitive impairment in children with learning disabilities indicate that these children may exhibit a full range of di/culties, dominated by de%cits in working memory, auditory processing and information processing speed. In addition, recent literature indicates the common presence of visual-spatial and executive abilities de%cits in children with learning disabilities, regardless of the speci%c disorder. On the other hand, there is a body of evidence in the literature that indicates a signi%cant correlation of cognitive impairment in preschool-age children with di/culties in mastering school skills at a later age. Based on the above, we can conclude that an extensive assessment of cognitive abilities at preschool age can be very important in the early detection of risk children for learning disorders. In addition, adequate stimulation of cognitive abilities at an early age can prevent, or at least alleviate, the di/culties that these children have during mastering academic skill