The consequences of learning disabilities are rarely confined to school or work.

Many areas of life are affected, including the role of the person with learning disabilities in their family, relationships with friends, non-academic functioning such as sports or dancing, self-esteem and self-confidence to handle daily situations. Individuals who have learning disabilities may be less observant in their social environment, may misinterpret the social behavior of others at times, and may not learn as easily from experiences or social cues as their friends. Some children may exhibit an immaturity and social ineptness due to their learning disability. While seeking acceptance, their eagerness may cause them to try too hard in inappropriate ways. Common behavioral characteristics of individuals with learning disabilities:

Inability to interpret environment and social cues Poor judgment; little thought about logical consequences Poor impulse control Need for immediate gratification Inability to set realistic priorities and goals Inappropriate conclusions due to deficient reasoning ability Illogical reasons for actions Inability to develop meaningful relationships with others Immature and bossy behavior Low frustration tolerance resulting in disruptive behavior

Direct instruction in social skills training is highly recommended to help individuals with learning disabilities cope with their innate lack of social perception. Professional help from a variety of disciplines on an ongoing basis may be necessary.

Social adjustment and self-esteem in remitted patients with mood disorders.

Serretti A, Cavallini MC, Macciardi F, Namia C, Franchini L, Souery D, Lipp O, Bauwens F, Smeraldi E, Mendlewicz J.

Source
Istituto Scientifico Ospedale San Raffaele, Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, University of Milan School of Medicine, Via Luigi Prinetti 29, 20127 Milan, Italy.

Abstract
Mood disorders are characterized by manic and depressive episodes alternating with normal mood. While social function is heavily impaired during episodes of illness, there are conflicting opinions about inter-episode function. The present paper focuses on self-esteem and social

adjustment in remitted mood disorders patients. Patients with mood disorders (99 bipolar and 86 major depressive subjects, in remission) were compared with a group of 100 control subjects. The self-esteem scale (SES) and the social adjustment scale (SAS) were used to measure selfesteem and social adjustment, respectively, in both groups of subjects. Patients with mood disorder exhibited worse social adjustment and lower self-esteem than control subjects. These results strongly confirm previous observations of poor inter-episode function in patients with mooddisorder.