A Retrospective Study of Specific Learning Disorders and Comparing the Effect on Academic Performances with Online Education among School Children Due to Covid-19 Pandemic Across Bangalore

Abstract

Background: In young school-age children, neurodevelopment illnesses classified as specific learning disorders are frequently diagnosed, though often they may not be discovered until maturity. Problems with these skills can affect learning in subjects like physics, arithmetic, history, and social studies as well as daily life and social relationships learning problems can have an impact on a person’s life in ways other than only their academic performance if they are not diagnosed and treated. These problems include an increased risk of psychological distress, deteriorating overall mental health, unemployment, and school dropout. Objective: To find out how often specific learning disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, are among middle school children and assess the child’s academic performance before and during online education as a result of a specific learning disorder. Methods: Considering the criteria for inclusion and LD checklist, a total of 208 participants were considered for the study. Confirming the diagnosis, the positive children had an additional individual NIMHANS Index evaluation. Teachers were given the APRS questionnaire to assess students’ academic performance and to identify the incidence of dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia based on that scale. Previous student records were also taken to evaluate students’ performances in both online and traditional classroom settings. The data were analyzed using a descriptive method. Results: The prevalence of dyslexia is about 31 per cent, dysgraphia is about 28 per cent, and dyscalculia is about 41 per cent based on the outcomes. The Case Group’s mean APRS score was 43.76, while the control group’s mean score was 187.47. The Chi-Square demonstrates an association between the case and control groups. For the Learning Disorder with p value 0.001 and the academic performance score with p value 0.001. Conclusion: Online Education during Covid-19 Pandemic affected Academic performances among school children and had a significant impact on their Learning Disabilities.