Hearing Impairment or Learning Disability?

Do symptoms such as lapses in concentration, declining academic performance, and distracting behavior in the classroom signify a learning disability? Not necessarily, maintains Jacqueline Z. Mendelsohn, a clinical psychotherapist specializing in children's issues and a consultant for the Middle-Ear Children's Foundation, Minneapolis, Minn.

Youngsters who face the world with a hearing impairment occasionally are classified as learning disabled as they begin and continue their education. Many times, the designation is incorrect. In some cases, hearing aids are all a child needs for a return to the educational mainstream, she notes. "Communication skills, including language and speech development, are often taken for granted, and most parents do not realize...