ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Neurological Disorders and Cognitive Perceptual Problems in Children

Introduction

Children with cognitive-perceptual deficits often have difficulty understanding what is happening, making decisions, and performing tasks. Parents may notice that their children are not paying attention or seem confused about things such as time or place. In addition to these problems, children with cognitive-perceptual deficits may have academic difficulties as well. It’s important for parents to understand the difference between normal childhood development and a neurological disorder or learning disability so they can get help for their child quickly if necessary

Factual Content

a. What is a neurological disorder?

A neurological disorder is an illness or condition that affects the function of one or more parts of the nervous system. It can be caused by external factors such as infections, injuries and toxic substances; but it often results from genetic factors.

b. What is a cognitive perceptual problem?

c. What is a visual perception problem?

d. How do you evaluate children with cognitive perceptual problems?

Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorders are conditions that affect the brain and nervous system. Some examples of neurological disorders include autism, cerebral palsy (CP), epilepsy, and Tourette syndrome (TS).

Neurological disorders can have a wide range of symptoms; however, they are usually characterized by changes in behavior or physical abilities.

Cognitive Perceptual Problems

Cognitive-perceptual problems are a type of learning disability that can affect a child’s ability to understand, interpret, and use information from their senses. These children often have difficulty organizing their thoughts into coherent sentences or paragraphs; they may also be unable to make sense of the complex information the teacher gives them at school.

Cognitive-perceptual problems are not related to intelligence level or any other factor you might think would influence your child’s ability to learn.

Visual Perception Problems

Visual perception problems are a common occurrence in children, and can be caused by a number of things. They include:

• Brain injury or stroke

• Tumor (either benign or malignant)

• Infection (including meningitis)

Auditory Perception Problems

• What is Auditory Perception?

Auditory perception is the ability to hear sound. It’s different from hearing, which refers to how well you can understand spoken words. When we talk about auditory perception problems in children, we’re usually talking about problems with any part of this process: perceiving sounds or noises, discriminating between similar sounds and distinguishing one type of sound from another (such as recognizing different types of footsteps).

• Causes of Auditory Perceptual Problems in Children

The causes behind these kinds of issues are varied: some kids have them because they’ve had ear infections; others may be born deaf or hard-of-hearing. In some cases, it could also stem from hereditary conditions or other medical issues that affect hearing sensitivity or acuity (ability to hear).

Evaluating Children with Cognitive-Perceptual Problems

• Consider the child’s age.

• Ask about the child’s developmental history.

• Consider the child’s family history, including birth order and genetic testing for specific disorders such as Down syndrome or fragile X syndrome (FXS).

• Review medical history, including previous surgeries and procedures that may have been done on the brain or spinal cord (e.g., craniotomy).

• Ask about educational history; if appropriate, talk with teachers at school and ask them to complete a brief report on your child’s current cognitive function so you can see whether there are any improvements since last year’s assessment was completed by an educational professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in evaluating children with learning disabilities such as ADHD/ADD

Understanding IQ Scores

IQ scores are not the same as grade levels. Children with learning disabilities or other physical or mental health problems may have low IQs, but these children still have a normal level of intelligence that can be measured by their cognitive perceptual problems.

IQ is a relative measure of ability, not an absolute one. It doesn’t measure intelligence or personality—it only reflects how well an individual performs on tasks that require reasoning and problem solving. Over time and across different environments, people may show different abilities in the same area (for example: some people are better at math than others). The same goes for each person’s general understanding of the world around them; for instance, some people may know more about science than others do but still score lower on tests because their knowledge isn’t detailed enough yet!

The Importance of the History in the Evaluation of Cognition-Perceptual Deficits

The history is very important in the evaluation of cognition-perceptual deficits. The history should include information about:

• the past exposure to toxins, chemicals and drugs

• head trauma or other injuries

• nutritional deficiencies (e.g., iron deficiency anemia)

Differential Diagnoses of Cognitive-Perceptual Deficits

The differential diagnosis of cognitive-perceptual deficits is a complex process that requires a thorough history and physical examination. A thorough developmental assessment should be conducted in order to determine whether the child has any developmental delays or problems. Additionally, an evaluation for learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be warranted if these symptoms persist despite adequate interventions.

Neuropsychological tests can help identify whether specific areas of cognitive function are affected by neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, head injury, stroke or other brain disorders. Educational testing provides information about academic achievement levels at school age as well as measures for reading comprehension skills that might be lacking due to poor reading comprehension skills due either lack of language exposure during early development or intellectual disability later on in life.”

Interventions for Cognitive-Perceptual Deficits

• Teaching strategies to improve cognitive-perceptual skills. Learning disabilities and other neurological disorders can affect a child’s ability to process information, especially if they are not getting the support they need from their parents or teachers. This may include:

• Teaching your child how to study more effectively, such as by scheduling breaks during exams or studying at different times of day.

• Helping your child manage his or her emotions while studying so that he or she can focus on the task at hand without distractions (e.g., talk with friends).

You will also want to teach strategies for social interactions within school settings if possible—for example, how not interrupting others while they are speaking doesn’t mean being disrespectful towards them; this concept is often difficult for children with ADHD but can be easily explained using simple examples such as pointing out something interesting around town instead of asking someone else about it first!

Conclusion

The evaluation of children with cognitive-perceptual deficits is an important part of the care plan. The findings should be interpreted in light of the child’s history and developmental milestones. It is also important to remember that cognitive-perceptual deficits may be caused by neurologic disorders, learning disabilities, or other health problems. Treatment for these conditions may include medication changes or behavioral interventions such as occupational therapy or speech therapy. The sooner you treat a child with a cognitive-perceptual problem, the sooner they will learn how to manage their condition and succeed in life!