Sunday 11 April 2021

Understanding the difference between learning disability and mental health






 What is a learning disability?  A learning disability can happen before, during, and after birth. Al this can vary to what the disability is, maybe when and how it happens and how it affects the person's life. People can struggle with either maybe either one of these things, some or all. household tasks, socializing, shopping, managing money, etc, depending on the person, applying and getting a job, finding and enrolling in a course, depending on the person, their ability, and disability.  

These days in the term of support, there are such things as support aids, easy read information, large, etc, may make it easier for people to live independently but it's not always possible in everything then people who need support have to go and find if they haven't got it. 

This means they could take longer than other people to learn new skills and many may even need support in most areas of life, which may mean understanding information and interacting with people etc. More information is on this website  link https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/what-learning-disability

Now sorry to confuse like mental health it's possible that learning difficulties can be without or link to learning disabilities this can be such difficulties as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD. https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/learning-difficulties

This can affect how we learn and achieve everyday skills such as Dyspraxia motor skills and coloration problems, gripping, etc. Cooking, tieing shoelaces, cleaning teeth fully, etc, the link is full as you will see on this dyspraxia link. https://www.healthline.com/health/dyspraxia

Dyslexia reading, writing, and spelling difficulty, which means the person can read, write and spell they just face difficulties, which could mean for example words saying. A dog barks They may write bog instead of dog. letters me may be the wrong way round in a word or words in the wrong places in a sentence, on a form, etc.  Miss words out of sentences etc. The surname may even be written in the first name part on the form, which the person may or may not notice, if not it may be sent back to them, which is why it is important to support is in place. Most people may fill in the form in pencil then it's easy to rub. However' when important forms are sent out places could make it easy for themselves to make them inaccessible format, large print easy read because no one always knows the needs and difficulties if any of those receiving them. These little difficulties can cause people to fail in exams etc if the right support isn't possible, which is not good because no one is hopeless, useless thick, etc. People who face these problems have as many rights to achieve in life as much as everyone else, they just need the right support in place. There are not all negative sides in people with Dyspraxia or people who face other problems, they have gifts, talents, strengths, etc as much as everyone else. https://kathleendunbar.net/blogs/kathleen-s-blog/posts/for-dyslexics-you-are-amazing


ADHD 

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

In my view, ADHD can vary from person to person. I won't say there have been rows but debates and maybe confusement what ADHD is. This is not about me being right or wrong but what I have faced in my own life as a child when I faced the side - effects of my Epliespy medication Pheobarotone. This made me restless at night time, over tried, not able to sleep, and not able to pay attention in school in the day, etc, made me a danger out and about to roads, etc and no sense of direction to a point I used to easily get lost. This wasn't known at the time that the medication was the cause and in a few years after coming off the tablets my life started to improve, I was able to learn, etc and I even started to calm down going from this little girl with too much engry to a woman with no engry, which either way isn't good. However' I still have difficulty with concentration and needing support in say education and work getting things done and correct to time limits. Going by my experience please accept ADHD to varying and I do not say it should all go by what I have faced. Even though I have said what I face and faced, I will put links on to help to help others who face ADHD. https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/add-adhd/what-is-adhd  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/

Many people who face ADHD may or may not relate to this. Throughout my life things have I guessed not so much improved but calmed down. I used to have a lot of meltdowns during childhood and even in my teen years, which may have been down to Autism. This was down to certain situations like going to my Grans when my Mum needed a break. Going back to Boarding school on a Sunday night when I had a great weekend.

All my life I have faced concentration difficulties, time management. losing, forgetting things, getting things done right to time limits for education and work, which is where I have always needed support, which has sometimes been possible and sometimes not. My dyslexia and Dyspraxia is another learning difficulty that can affect those sorts of skills too. 

I believe behaviours is a hard one because no one can help to face ADHD  but the feelings and thoughts of people around people who face ADHD matter to me, which is where I feel and hope there is the right treatment and support out there for them. 

When I was a child, there was a lot of colouring, sugars etc in food and drink, nothing was sugar or sault free etc When things changed I went along with it without thinking about it so that may have helped me improve a bit as well as coming off pheabarotone but I may be wrong but it's not all good to a point through my adulthood I have had no engry yet when I was a child no one got any peace. 

However' during my mental health research, I found out that ADHD these days can be classed as a Mental health condition, which I would honestly say I agree as from my experience it has been very much misunderstood. Like said in the terms of behaviour and I know when I was a child etc I was a handful for my Mum and family to a point Mum sent me to Boarding school, which I can understand but I don't want to go into it but they weren't happy days of my life, although it wasn't all black and white. To cut a long story short ADHD can have a huge effect on the person and others around and I will have to say at least I don't want to upset others on purpose, which I think I did without being aware when I was young and neither I wouldn't have thought anyone else whose facing the same if not similar. If you are made aware when carm etc, I know I didn't anyway, you feel very good about yourself even though it's ADHD, not you but that still doesn't even though say so myself excuses the behavior, which is why I hope all the treatment and support there can be but I guess as well the person needs to help themselves to help others as well. Another reason for treatment and support to help with having as equal life as possible such as career, social life, home even family life, etc. 

Here some things what to except in ADHD but this may vary from one person to the other. 

Anxiety

Depression

Conduct disorder

https://www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/new-guidelines-on-child-antisocial-behaviour/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/addiction-and-dependency/

Sleep problems

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/adhd-and-mental-health/

Finding it hard to concentrate

Struggling with time management in education, work, etc, support needs to be put in place

Forgetting, losing things, etc. 




No comments: