Experts with learning disability degrees specialize in working primarily with children, adults, and families experiencing learning disabilities. A learning disability is a type of disorder interfering with an individual's ability to process certain types of cognitive information despite having no actual intellectual, physical, or mental conditions. There are many types of learning disability degrees, each one focusing on a particular learning problem such as in speech pathology or dyslexia. Degrees in special education train individuals to teach children who have learning disabilities, while school psychologists administer tests to determine the type of learning disability that a child has and provide help to parents and teachers working with them.
Learning disability degrees in speech therapy are done at the graduate level, usually a Master of Science degree is necessary for employment followed by licensing and credentialing. Speech language therapists help those affected by various speech-related pathologies which are usually the result of developmental deficits or neurological conditions. Obtaining a degree in speech-language pathology includes finishing courses in phonetics, communication disorders, and neurology. Degree programs also tend to have a clinical internship that provides experience and training in typical work settings helping actual speech-language clients.
Certain learning disability degrees permit individuals to work with children diagnosed with learning disabilities of various types, such as dyslexia and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in an educational setting. Depending on the region of employment, special education teachers usually may enter the field by finishing a bachelor's degree in education first and then taking an additional year to focus on a particular area such as reading disabilities, ADHD, or non-verbal learning disability (NLD). Special education teachers can be found educating children of all ages, even infants and those of preschool ages.
Also qualified to assist children of varying ages in educational environments, an educational psychologist's career involves the assessment of students who have learning disabilities. They consult with teachers and parents to help to design effective educational plans in order to decide upon the most beneficial approach for a particular child. A Master of Science degree in education (M.Ed) is required and, in some regions, this field mandates a special license permitting the diagnosis of learning disabilities as well as the interpretation of the evaluations related to them. The type of licensing for school psychologists is not to be confused with that of a clinical psychologist, which requires completion of a Doctorate (PhD) in psychology. Educational psychologists are also frequently referred to as school psychologists.
