Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) and Associated Psychosocial Difficulties in Emerging Adolescents: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT
The present study is concerned with the psychosocial problems associated with adolescents having a specific learning disorder. The data for the present study was collected from fifty SLD-diagnosed adolescents aged 11-17 years. The participants were recruited through purposive sampling from five mainstream schools in Islamabad. The learning disabilities of the participants were evaluated using the Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (LDES) (McCarney & Arthaud, 2007), and the strength and difficulties scale (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997) was used to check the psychosocial difficulties that SLD participants faced. Data was acquired by considering the inclusion criteria of adolescents enrolled in an educational institution between the ages of 11 and 17 (WHO, 2013) and who meet the criteria for mild to moderate severity of specific learning disorder. The statistical social sciences program SPSS24 was used to evaluate the data. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and the independent sample t-test were all used to analyze the collected data. The results indicate that dyslexia with reading issues is more prevalent and with which men are more likely than women to encounter psychosocial challenges because they are more likely to experience emotional signs, behavior issues, and peer issues. The study comes to the conclusion that children diagnosed with SLD have both internalized problems, such as low self-esteem and social impairments, and externalized concerns, such as trouble making friends, socializing, and engaging in criminal activity. To help children with SLD overcome their related issues, it is advised to implement inclusive education and therapeutic interventions.