Research has found as many as 75% of children with LD have difficulties with social relationships.  Why?  Social interactions are quite complex.  Some children with LD are socially rejected by their peers leading to feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem and even depression.  Because these children have limited academic achievement, poor oral language skills, nonverbal communication deficits, secondary psychological problems, or attention/memory difficulties, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to navigating the complex landscape of the social world.

Sometimes these social difficulties can be more debilitating than the academic struggles.  Specifically, children with LD are vulnerable to the social demands of their peer group.  To be successful in one's peer group, the child needs to be able to accurately process incoming social information.  There are six components to this skill:

1. Pay attention to social cues and remember key information, including complex emotions
2. Accurately interpret the social cues
3. Be aware of what you want to achieve in this social situation
4. Formulate response options, using past experience as a guide
5. After imagining the probable outcomes of your options, decide on your response
6. Act out your selected response and monitor its effects, adjusting your response based on its effects.

All these steps take place in the brief time frame of a social exchange.  A recent study (Bauminger, Edelzstein and Morash 2005) showed that children with LD generally had major difficulties processing and appropriately responding to social cues resulting in a lower social status than their non-LD peers.  This study did not determine the cause of these social difficulties, but suggested three possible causes that future research may clarify (developmental delay, a "core" emotional social deficit, or the result of these children's limited social experience with peers).  See Learning Disabilities Association of Washington.

 Educational therapists are trained to be attuned to these social complications and are able to develop interventions to help the child unravel the mysteries of the social world.

Reference

*Bauminger, N., Edelsztein, H.S., and Morash, J.  (2005)  Journal of Learning Disabilities.  Vol 38 #1, pg.45-61