Cognitive Functions for Students with Learning Disabilities: Practical Implications

Abstract

Learning disabilities (LD) are neurological disorders that impair the cognitive capacity to process information necessary for the development of skills, such as reading, writing, and mathematics. This narrative review examined the cognitive functions underlying different types of learning disabilities, mainly dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD, from 2014 to 2024. This review discusses deficits in academic performance based on hampering cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and executive functions. The evidence demonstrates that with children with cognitive deficits, sensory and metacognitive strategies to enhance learning are found to be successful. For instance, dyslexic learners rely on phonological processing, whereas dyscalculic learners rely on visual-spatial reasoning. The invaluable personal and integrative approaches in which cognitive and sensory interventions are combined in the review to cater to the needs of children with these conditions. Longitudinal studies should be the focus of in-depth research to understand the long-term effects of these customized interventions and examine the role of environmental factors in cognitive development.