Description of 19 Learning Dysfunctions - Motor Symbol Sequencing

This capacity is involved in the process of learning and consistently producing a symbolic sequential motor pattern (e.g., writing out the alphabet, or numbers).  All sequential symbolic processes involving input through the eye (e.g., reading), output through the hand (e.g., writing) and mouth (e.g., speaking) are impaired when there is a weakness in this capacity.  Following are some of the features of this problem.

Misreading - Words are misread due to poorly developed patterns of eye fixations.  The person reads "step hall" for a road sign that says "steep hill".  A truck driver misreads road signs and bills of lading thus ending up in the wrong locations and taking much longer to do his job than expected despite superior intelligence.

Handwriting is messy and irregular.  People with this dysfunction frequently print rather than hadwrite.

Writing is not automatic.  The person has to concentrate on the process of writing and as a result has less attention to focus on the content of what is being written.  This also slows down the speed of writing so written assignments and tests often take longer to complete than the allotted time.

Copying material from one location to another (i.e., from the blackboard or a text into a notebook) is slow and often inaccurate.  Clerical work is painful and tedious and the person may have a tendency to put it off.

Spelling - The person can spell the same word several different ways on the same page. 

Speech - The person tends to ramble and have difficulty getting to the point.  There is a tendency to leave out chunks of information which are necessary for the listener to understand what the person is talking about.  The person has this information in his head and thinks he ahs said it but it does not get expressed in speech.  It is difficult to get ideas out in the order of their importance in speech, and the person may go back and forth over several subjects, making his speech difficult for others to follow.

Mathematics - This problem affects accuracy in mathematical computations.  The person makes what appears to be careless errors but which are really motor slips.  For example the person thinks one number in his head and writes down another number.

This is 1 of the 19 dysfunctions that the Arrowsmith Program deals with.  We will be looking at the other learning dysfunctions over the next number of days.

Reprinted with permission:  www.arrowsmithprogram.org
'Arrowsmith Program's Description of Learning Dysfunctions'.