The Influence of Silent Learning Disorders on the Lives of Women

Abstract

Longstanding neurocognitive deficits such as learning disorders greatly influence development of a woman's personality, relationships, and educational and vocational attainment. In our clinical practice, we increasingly see women with previously undiagnosed “silent learning disorders.” Educational and career milestones, problems in the workplace, parenting a child with a learning disorder, and normal aging along with common medical conditions can exacerbate these “silent learning disorders.” As a result, neurocognitive deficits might appear more pronounced as former ways of compensating for learning problems no longer are adequate. When such learning disorders are not detected, women and their therapists might not avail themselves of interventions that can help to treat the reading, visual-spatial, organizational, or other neurocognitive deficits, and indirectly help with patterns of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. In the present paper, we characterize women with silent learning disorders, discuss implications if disorders remain undetected, and present case examples. A model and strategies for detecting silent learning disorders also are presented.