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Emotional abuse, also known as psychological abuse, is a pattern of behavior perpetuated by a parent that causes a child to experience emotional distress, harms their sense of self-worth, and affects their emotional development. It can include rejection, constant criticism, threats, or emotional neglect.

This article discusses the types of emotional abuse, the signs to look for in children, and the impact it has on those who have had this experience.

Child Abuse Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Getting Help

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), child abuse and neglect are entirely too common in the United States, with 1 in 7 children being a victim. While any child can be a victim of emotional abuse, the CDC notes that children living in poverty are at greater risk of abuse.

While emotional abuse doesn’t leave scrapes or bruises, it can leave severe emotional scars and be just as damaging to a child as physical or sexual abuse. However, because it doesn’t leave physical marks, it can be harder to recognize and more difficult to prove, so people and law enforcement authorities may be less likely to intervene and help the child.

Nonetheless, it’s important to note that child abuse by parents or legal guardians of children below the legal age of 18 is a crime, punishable under the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

Types of Emotional Abuse by Parents

These are some of the types of emotional abuse children may experience from their parents:

• Constantly criticizing the child 
• Blaming the child for adult problems
• Rejecting the child repeatedly
• Dismissing the child’s feelings
• Deliberately causing the child emotional pain
• Ridiculing the child or mocking them
• Humiliating or publicly shaming the child
• Talking down to the child
• Calling the child names
• Getting angry at the child often
• Yelling or swearing at the child
• Threatening to abandon the child
• Threatening to harm the child or their family members, friends, or pets
• Intimidating or scaring the child
• Coercing or manipulating the child
• Gaslighting the child
• Frequently harassing or picking on the child
• Ignoring the child or using silence to control their behavior
• Withholding love, support, and guidance
• Neglecting to care for the child and their needs
• Allowing the child to witness domestic violence and abuse

Emotional abuse can be perpetuated in person or online, through text messages, emails, social media, and other digital apps or platforms.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Signs of Emotionally Abused Children:

• Sudden changes in behavior or academic performance
• Watchful demeanor, as though waiting for something bad to happen
• Nervousness around certain people
• A tendency to avoid being around certain people
• Withdrawn or unresponsive demeanor
• Overly passive or compliant behavior
• Early arrival and late departure from school or other activities
• Reluctance to go home
• Lack of adult supervision
• Emotional distress or agitation
• Aggression or rage

Signs of Emotionally Abusive Parents:

• Rarely touching the child or showing affection
• Stating that they do not like the child
• Describing the child as a burden
• Showing little concern for the child and refusing others’ help
• Demanding academic results and sporting performances the child cannot achieve
• Berating the child in front of their friends, teachers, or neighbors
• Denying that there are any problems at home or school
• Telling teachers and other caregivers to discipline the child harshly if they misbehave

Impact of Emotional Abuse By Parents

Children who grow up with abusive parents may not be able to recognize the abuse, since that’s all they know. They may blame themselves for their parent’s actions and grow up believing that they are not worthy of love or respect.

Emotional abuse can be deeply damaging to children and have lifelong consequences that persist well after the abuse stops. These are some of the negative effects a child may experience as a result of emotional abuse:

• Cognitive difficulties, such as difficulty paying attention, learning, and remembering
• Academic issues, such as lower attendance in school, poor academic performance, and disciplinary issues
• Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and low self-esteem
• Emotional difficulties, including difficulty interpreting, communicating, processing, and regulating emotions
• Substance use, such as doing alcohol, nicotine, or drugs at an early age
• Behavioral issues, such as acting out, behaving bizarrely, or trying hard to please others
• Changes in weight and appetite, which could result in eating disorders, nutrition deficiencies, and malnourishment
• Sleep issues, such as insomnia or nightmares
• Physical aches and pains, that have no other discernible cause and don’t seem to get better with treatment
• Career issues, as a result of lower educational attainment, limited employment opportunities, and an increased risk of delinquency
• Relationship issues, due to mostly unhealthy dynamics being modeled

Children who have been emotionally abused are more likely to be abusive to others or to seek out people who are abusive, because this is the relationship dynamic they grew up with. Therefore, they may become victims or perpetrators of abuse in the future. This is known as the intergenerational cycle of violence.

Final Thoughts

Emotional abuse can be difficult and traumatic for children to experience, leaving behind deep emotional wounds and severe negative consequences. Therefore, it’s important to recognize the signs and get help for children who might be at risk.

Quetiapine, also known by its brand name Seroquel, belongs to a class of medications called antipsychotics. It is widely prescribed for a variety of approved and off-label uses including anxiety, psychosis, insomnia, and depression. It has mood-stabilizing properties, so it is sometimes used for the treatment of bipolar disorder or mood lability.

If you stop taking Seroquel abruptly, it is important to know that there have been rare reports of mild or severe withdrawal symptoms. Some of these symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, or restlessness. In rare cases, people have experienced abnormal movements known as withdrawal dyskinesia.

This article discusses Seroquel withdrawal symptoms, including how long they last and what you can do to cope. It also covers why withdrawal happens and warnings you should be aware of before you quit taking Seroquel.

What Is Withdrawal?

Withdrawal is a term used to describe a collection of symptoms that occur as a result of a substance abruptly leaving your body. The symptoms are unique to the substance but may be similar to the withdrawal symptoms of other substances in the same class.

The impact of withdrawal symptoms depends on the substance you are withdrawing from, as well as how heavily you used the substance and for how long. Withdrawal symptoms from caffeine, for instance, might be unpleasant, but they usually do not lead to serious medical consequences.

In some cases, though, withdrawal from a substance might be dangerous or even lethal. Withdrawal from drugs such as benzodiazepines requires medical supervision.

Withdrawal Does Not Mean Addiction

Withdrawal is a biological response that results from stopping the use of a substance to which your body has become accustomed. The term withdrawal is often stigmatized because of its association with addiction. Withdrawal implies that your body has become physiologically dependent on something, but does not automatically imply the disease of addiction.

Just because you are able to withdraw from a substance does not automatically mean that it is addictive. It should be noted, however, that there are reported cases where Seroquel does have the potential to be misused.

Seroquel Withdrawal Symptoms

Studies have indicated that abrupt discontinuation of Seroquel can result in withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include:

Some people experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, or muscle rigidity. Other psychological features of withdrawal include irritability, agitation, and restlessness.

A rare consequence of suddenly stopping Seroquel is withdrawal dyskinesia which is characterized by abnormal, involuntary movement of the upper body or facial muscles.

How Long Do Seroquel Withdrawal Symptoms Last?

Symptoms can last anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. Those symptoms that last beyond six weeks are classified as persistent post-withdrawal symptoms.

In a study looking at reactions related to stopping a wide variety of psychotropic medications currently on the market, 48% of participants experienced some withdrawal symptoms, even if some were quite mild. Seroquel withdrawal is thought to be considerably rarer than this percentage.

Efforts to quantify the prevalence of Seroquel withdrawal are limited by the fact that it is uncommon. It becomes difficult to conduct in-depth studies about Seroquel withdrawal when there are so few cases to study. Additionally, it’s hard to determine how likely Seroquel withdrawal will occur for any given person.

Seroquel Withdrawal Timeline

Seroquel withdrawal can be divided into three main categories based on when the phases are likely to appear following abrupt interruption of use.

New Withdrawal

New withdrawal symptoms typically set in approximately one to four days after a person’s last usage of Seroquel or other psychotropic medications.

These symptoms can include nausea, abdominal pain, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms mentioned above. The intensity of the symptoms depends on the individual, the length of time the drug was used, and the dosage.

These symptoms are short-lasting and reversible. Typically the person is mostly recovered within a week. However, some symptoms may persist, perhaps with less intensity, for up to six weeks. 

Rebound Withdrawal

Rebound withdrawal symptoms can also occur within the one to four-day period. However, these symptoms may not actually be “withdrawal,” but a rebound or re-emergence of the underlying symptoms the medication was treating.

Sometimes, the rebound symptoms are more severe than the original symptoms present.

Persistent Post-Withdrawal Disorder

Persistent post-withdrawal disorder is when the symptoms of withdrawal persist past the six-week mark.

Coping With Seroquel Withdrawal Symptoms

Sometimes, other medications can be used to ease potential withdrawal symptoms. You should discuss strategies to manage any withdrawal symptoms with a doctor.

Medication

Generally, doctors will advise over-the-counter (OTC) treatment for symptomatic relief. They may suggest that you take ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen to treat symptoms like headaches. For significant cases of nausea, a doctor may prescribe a stronger medication such as Zofran (ondansetron).

Natural Remedies

Natural remedies like ginger extract can help relieve the nausea and vomiting that often occur during withdrawal. Some people experience side effects from ginger including upset stomach and indigestion.

Checking in With Your Doctor

In some cases, psychotic symptoms may return after stopping antipsychotic medication. Your prescribing doctor or psychiatrist will likely check in with you regularly after you discontinue your medication to be sure any psychological symptoms are managed.

Seroquel Withdrawal Warnings

Because of the potential implications of stopping Seroquel abruptly, the process should always be overseen by a medical professional. Ideally, the medication should be tapered with a planned, incremental lowering of the dosage taken over the course of months. There should also be periodic assessments of what you experience as your Seroquel dosage is lowered.

There is now consensus among clinicians that if used for longer than several weeks, most psychotropic medications can potentially lead to some form of withdrawal.

This should not rule out the use of these medications, but it does mean that careful consideration and frank discussions with a doctor should be part of the process of initiating treatment of medications like Seroquel.

Long-Term Treatment for Seroquel Withdrawal

If you are struggling with what feels like problematic use of Seroquel or another medication, you should know that many rehabilitation and supervised detoxification facilities accept patients who are withdrawing from prescribed medication.

Some facilities also help offer emotional and medical support for those who are biologically dependent on Seroquel and wish to safely come off of it.

Withdrawal Resources

If you think you may be having any symptoms of withdrawal, express your concerns to a medical professional.

If you’re struggling with negative feelings such as guilt or shame regarding your withdrawal symptoms, a mental health professional can help your process those feelings and help you cope with them in a healthy way.

If you’re experiencing severe depression symptoms, having thoughts of harming yourself or others, or your current treatment just isn’t helping, you may consider checking yourself into a hospital. Although this can be a frightening thought, you may find it less intimidating if you know what to expect from the process.

This article discusses how to know when to admit yourself to a psychiatric hospital and what you can expect during your stay. It also covers your rights as a patient and how to manage the transition to outpatient care.

When You Should Go to a Hospital

How do you know when it is time to admit yourself to a mental health hospital? There are a few important signs that can indicate a need for inpatient treatment.

You may choose to be hospitalized if you’re having symptoms that are putting you or others at risk, including:

“Other acute reasons might be if a person hears voices, especially voices that tell them to commit violence, or they need to detox from drugs or alcohol. The development of psychotic thinking that takes someone away from reality is a good indicator of the need for psychiatric hospitalization,” Dr. Anixter explains.

Hospitalization can also be helpful if you’re finding yourself too ill to eat, bathe, or sleep properly. In addition, your doctor may recommend hospitalization when you’re making significant changes in your treatment plan that require close supervision.

Before You’re Admitted

Because you’re probably feeling overwhelmed right now, you may want to ask a friend or family member to help you through the process of checking into the hospital and filling out paperwork.

If possible, you or they should call ahead of time to learn about the hospital’s rules and procedures and ask about what items you should bring with you. Information about visiting hours and telephone access will also be helpful.

When You’re Admitted

One of the first things that will happen is that a psychiatrist will evaluate you to determine an appropriate treatment plan to meet your specific needs.

Dr. Anixter also explains that attending to an individual’s basic needs, including food, hygiene, and sleep, is essential. During this critical time, the admitted person can get the help they need in a safe and protected environment.

Your treatment plan will likely involve working with a variety of mental health professionals, including:

You will most likely participate in individual, group, or family therapy during your stay. In addition, you will probably receive one or more psychiatric medicines. If you are being treated for a substance use problem, an addiction professional will supervise the detoxification process.

Hospital staff will also take care of getting approval for your stay from your insurance provider. Your insurance company will periodically evaluate your progress during your stay to determine if you need additional time in the hospital.

Your Rights as a Patient

Note that the criteria and rules surrounding voluntary hospitalization (when you check yourself in) differ greatly from involuntary hospitalization (when someone else checks you in). If you sign yourself into a hospital, you also have the right to sign yourself back out.

However, the exception to this rule is if the hospital staff believes you are a danger to yourself or others. If you are not a danger to anyone, the hospital must release you within two to seven days of your formal request, depending on the laws in your particular state.

While you are at the hospital, you also have the right to:

• Be completely informed about all tests and treatments you will be receiving, including the risks and benefits
• Refuse any tests or treatments that you feel are unnecessary or unsafe
• Refuse to participate in experimental treatment or training sessions involving students or observers

Except for your insurance company, no one will be told about your hospitalization without your permission.

After You’re Discharged

When you’re discharged, knowing how to continue your treatment after you leave the hospital is essential. Be sure to consult with your healthcare providers regarding your discharge plan.

“Ideally, the patient has a treatment team before entering the hospital and can transition back to that team. Patients don’t always have treatment teams before hospitalization, so they will get a referral for a provider after discharge,” Anixter explains.

If you feel comfortable and need the help, enlist the help of friends, family, or trusted loved ones to help you follow through with your plan. Their assistance can involve everything from taking you to appointments to providing a listening ear. You can also point them to tips on how to help someone with depression.

According to the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the transition from inpatient to outpatient is critical for reducing suicide risk, and there are many steps your providers can take. Generally, it’s important to have inpatient and outpatient providers work together and enlist the support of friends and family.

Results from a 2021 Danish study suggest that a follow-up home visit after discharge could be vital in identifying and supporting people who may be at increased risk of suicide after hospitalization.

Continuing Your Recovery

Treatment for depression doesn’t end with hospitalization. Steps that you can take to ensure your continued recovery include:

• Keeping all your doctor appointments
• Taking your medications as prescribed
• Finding a support group
• Taking care of yourself by eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep
• Learning techniques to reduce stress
• Being gentle with yourself and realizing that you, like everyone else, are a work-in-progress

Not having the structure and routine that the hospital provides can be nerve-racking. Establishing a regular routine, such as going to bed, waking up, and exercising at certain times, could be beneficial.

Crisis Plan of Action

Because depression tends to be a chronic illness, it’s wise to have a plan and compile necessary information in one place should you ever need to be hospitalized again. This information should include the following:

• Your doctor’s name and contact information
• Contact information for trusted friends, family, or support group members
• Information about other health issues you might have
• A list of all medications that you take (and cannot take)
• A list of any allergies
• Your insurance information
• The name of the hospital where you prefer to receive treatment

You may also have an advance directive and medical power of attorney prepared for you if you wish to give a trusted person the authority to act on your behalf in making medical decisions. This step will ensure that your will is carried out should you become too ill to make your own decisions.

The male gaze describes a way of portraying and looking at women that empowers men while sexualizing and diminishing women.

From early adolescence on, we are biologically driven to look at and evaluate each other as potential mates—but the male gaze twists this natural urge, turning women into passive items to possess and use as props.

Overview

The term “male gaze” was first popularized in relation to the depiction of female characters in film as inactive, often overtly sexualized objects of male desire. However, the influence of the male gaze is not limited to how women and girls are featured in the movies. Rather, it extends to the experience of being seen in this way, both for the female figures on screen, the viewers, and by extension, to all girls and women at large.

Naturally, the influence of the male gaze seeps into female self-perception and self-esteem. It’s as much about the impact of seeing other women relegated to these supporting roles as it is about the way women are conditioned to fill them in real life. The pressure to conform to this patriarchal view (or to simply accept or humor it) and endure being seen in this way shapes how women think about their own bodies, capabilities, and place in the world—and that of other women.

In essence, the male gaze discourages female empowerment and self-advocacy while encouraging self-objectification and deference to men and the patriarchy at large.

Learn more about what the male gaze is as well as its larger impact on both a personal and societal level.

History

British feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey described the concept of the “male gaze” in her 1973 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” which was published in 1975 in the film theory magazine Screen. In the article, Mulvey, who is a professor of film and media studies at Birkbeck, University of London, explained the way that mainstream media objectifies women, showing the female body through a heterosexual male lens as a passive non-actor secondary to the active male characters.

This concept extends from film to any medium in which women are portrayed as well as, generally, to their experience in real life. For example, think about how women are often shown in advertisements, magazine covers, and social media compared with men, as well as how their bodies are typically framed by the camera. Consider the emphasis typically placed on how women look, dress, and comport themselves—even on their expressions—as opposed to for men.

Since its inception, the male gaze has reached beyond the silver (or iPhone) screen to encompass how the female sex is portrayed and viewed in any context, from being catcalled while walking down the street to being dismissed as golddiggers or for having “hissy-fits.” By extension, simply worrying about your appearance, relative attractiveness, seeming “too smart,” or how you will be “seen” can also fall under the guise of living under the male gaze.

Additionally, the male gaze also dictates specific characteristics (as the voyeur, the actor, the peruser, the active doer, the dominator) to men—and may even contribute to the stereotype that men are more intelligent than women. In fact, studies on gender bias and implicit assumptions show that many people (without realizing it) assume that men are smarter than women and that negative depictions of women in media are partly to blame.

The argument is that the male gaze controls the narrative, which is that women are not equal actors in the world. Instead, their agency is reduced to that of an erotic or supporting object, with their value as a female form (and person) reduced to how it appeals to the male viewer and/or to how threatening (or not) it is to the stereotypical male perspective. Likewise, this viewpoint also confines the male persona to their specific role as the protagonist, aggressor, sexual pursuer, and consumer of women.

Understanding the Male Gaze

In order to understand the male gaze, you need to recognize it. Typical examples are female film characters whose main purpose in driving the plot seems to be to be attractive, sexy, and/or to feed the sexual interest or agenda of the male characters. They wear heels and tight dresses (even if they are police detectives who may need to pursue a suspect) and while they may be shown in a variety of contexts, their primary motivation rests on being the helper, eye candy, or romantic interest.

Think also of beer (or just about any other product) advertisements with models in bikinis. Female singers tend to perform showing lots of skin, while their male counterparts show up in jeans or a suit.

The bodies of these women are used to sell and attract (predominantly heterosexual male) attention. Female celebrities pose provocatively on the covers of magazines, male stars (usually fully dressed) pose alongside minimally-dressed models or simply on their own. The message is that men are provocative enough without showing a lot of skin.

The Effects of the Male Gaze

To get a sense of the full ramifications of the male gaze, it’s vital to recognize how the representations of women within film and various other forms of media filter out from those movies, magazine layouts, and pinup images to inform how women are viewed by society-at-large.

When women, men, girls, and boys routinely see women and girls depicted in this limited, sexualized manner, it’s no surprise that this objectified view informs your expectations, culture, and personal identities.

Consider how the other characters within the movie, ad, or social media post react to and see these passive, often nearly-naked women as well as the experience of the people taking it in as viewers. Continually seeing girls and women serve as prizes for men and acting without much agency of their own except to jockey for male attention, influences male and female perceptions of female value, purpose, sexuality, and power.

Is It Harmful?

Certainly, there are many viewpoints on the impact and relevance of the male gaze and how it may or may not have morphed over the nearly 50 years since Mulvey first brought the concept into the public consciousness. However, many would agree that the underpinnings of the male gaze are deeply sexist, patriarchal, and misogynistic and that its influence continues to be pervasive.

Additionally, for people in traditionally marginalized groups, the male gaze is an added burden. For example, Black women have historically been depicted as being hypersexual by the male gaze, which adds another facet of stereotype to the pervasive racism they face.

Similarly, the male gaze also fetishizes Asian (and lesbian women, as long as the man can watch or participate), portraying them as exotic, erotic specimens for male enjoyment. The blonde bombshell (also known as the ditzy blonde or airhead) is another common trope.

On a larger scale, it works to maintain the patriarchal structure, which elevates the White, male experience at the expense of women, people of color, and other historically underserved groups. Seeing women and girls continually portrayed in this way by the male gaze perpetuates this vision.

Particularly salient examples are images of little girls on dance teams or pageants dressed in revealing outfits, faces in full makeup, dancing in a sexualized manner. Instagram is full of posts by tween and teen girls in very short skirts, midriff tops, or bikinis posing with arched backs, pouty lips, and blank or come-hither expressions, often with a group of them all pressed up against each other.

While some aspects of these portrayals may be seen by some as powerful, sexual, or beautiful, they also stem from centuries of visual objectification of women for the pleasure of men.

Is There a Positive Side?

Ultimately, the question is not whether or not girls and women should be able to wear, pose, or represent themselves in whatever way they want—the answer to that is a resounding, yes. There should be no shame in dressing provocatively and owning your sexuality. Plus, it can be argued that there can be an element of reclaiming their own bodies when girls and women purposefully choose to take on this guise. Particularly, when they are doing so intentionally while fully aware of the history.

However, what critics of the male gaze may wonder is why do they want to pose and dress in this manner? Maybe it’s just for fun, or to experiment with their burgeoning sexuality or identity or trying on a role.

But what is the underlying motivation? Who are they dressing for? Who is consuming these images and what do they see when they look at them? Does it reinforce or challenge the idea of the female form as an object to be had or as a stepping stone? What do the girls and women in the pictures and videos (and in real life) envision and who do they imagine watching them?

Mental Health Impacts

These are big questions that often don’t get much attention. However, that doesn’t mean that these issues aren’t at play—whether it’s consciously or subconsciously. But the accumulated impact of living under the male gaze does more than simply alter how a girl poses for the camera, the types of characters they see in their favorite TV shows, or how it feels to them to be seen out in the world.

In fact, the objectification of women and girls has profound mental health impacts—and social media has become a particularly potent method of disseminating the reach of the male gaze.

Studies show that increasing incidences of depression, anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation are related to female objectification.

Interestingly, a 2014 study entitled “Fathers, daughters, and self-objectification: does bonding style matter,” found a strong link between negative eating patterns and body shame in girls who grew up with highly attentive and overly protective fathers. The researchers point to the added attention these dads placed on their daughter’s changing bodies and sexuality as an explanation for the girls’ added struggles with healthy eating and body image.

Changing the Gaze

Awareness of the influence of the male gaze is key to freeing yourself of its power. Simply considering its pervasiveness and influence may offset a significant amount of its impact, allowing you to see yourself and function in the world simply as you are, without relegating yourself to the supporting role.

Focusing on and seeking out depictions of women and girls that run counter to the stereotypes of the male gaze also may help to shatter its hold on our collective psyches. Ultimately, discarding the weight of worrying about being seen, who is watching, or fitting into the prescripted “female” role, lets you instead be the person you want to be.

Learning disabilities are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that can significantly hamper a person’s ability to learn new things. As a result, the person may have trouble with tasks such as speaking, reading, writing, paying attention, understanding information, remembering things, performing mathematical calculations, or coordinating movements.

Types of Learning Disabilities

“Learning disability” is an umbrella term that encompasses many types of specific learning disorders, including:

• Dyslexia: Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, accounting for 80% of all learning disability cases. It is a language processing disorder characterized by difficulty with speaking, reading, writing, or understanding words. This can cause the person’s vocabulary to develop at a slower pace and lead to issues with grammar, reading comprehension, and other language skills.
• Dysgraphia: People with dysgraphia may have difficulty putting their thoughts into writing due to issues with vocabulary, spelling, grammar, memory, and critical thinking. This condition is characterized by poor handwriting, as the person may struggle with letter spacing, spatial awareness, and motor planning. Dysgraphia can make it hard for the person to think and write simultaneously.
• Dyscalculia: Sometimes known as “math dyslexia,” this condition includes learning disorders related to mathematics, such as difficulty with numbers, concepts, and reasoning. People with dyscalculia may struggle to count money, read clocks and tell time, perform mental math calculations, identify number patterns, and apply mathematical formulae.
• Auditory processing disorder (APD): People with APD may have difficulty processing sounds because their brain misinterprets auditory information received by the ear. As a result, they may confuse the order of sounds in certain words, or they may not be able to distinguish between sounds such as the teacher’s voice and the background noise in the classroom.
• Language processing disorder (LPD): This is a subset of APD, characterized by difficulties with processing spoken language. The person may have difficulty attaching meaning to sound groups representing words, sentences, and stories.
• Nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD): NVLD is characterized by difficulty interpreting nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and other nonverbal signals.
• Visual perceptual/visual motor deficit: People with this condition may have difficulty with hand-eye coordination and motor activities. They may frequently lose their spot while reading, demonstrate unusual eye movements while reading or writing, confuse similar-looking letters, have difficulty navigating their environment, and struggle to manage items like pens, pencils, crayons, glue, and scissors.

Symptoms of Learning Disabilities

These are some of the symptoms of learning disabilities:

• Poor memory
• Difficulty focusing
• Short attention span
• Difficulty with reading or writing
• Inability to distinguish between sounds, letters, or numbers
• Difficulty sounding out words
• Tendency to put numbers or letters in the wrong sequence
• Difficulty telling time
• Confusion between right and left
• Tendency to reverse letters
• Difficulty grasping certain words and concepts
• Disconnect between words and meaning (i.e.. saying one thing but meaning another)
• Difficulty expressing thoughts and emotions
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Delayed speech development 
• Disorganization
• Trouble with listening and following instructions
• Inappropriate responses
• Restlessness and impulsiveness
• Tendency to act out
• Difficulty with discipline
• Resistance to change 
• Inconsistent performance on a daily or weekly basis

According to the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD), frustration is a hallmark of this condition, since people with learning disabilities often excel at some things but do very poorly in other areas, and are often acutely aware of the gaps between what they can and cannot do.

The NILD notes that people with learning disabilities often find themselves failing in certain academic or professional areas due to reasons beyond their control, or having to put in tremendous amounts of effort in order to succeed. This experience can be difficult, confusing, and demotivating, often causing the person to feel sad and disappointed.

Causes of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are caused by differences in the neurological functioning of the person’s brain. These differences can occur before the person is born, during their birth, or in early childhood, and may be caused by factors such as:

• Maternal illness during pregnancy
• Birth complications that block the flow of oxygen to the baby’s brain
• Certain genes that can make the person more genetically predisposed to developing a learning disability
• Injury or illness, such as meningitis, in early childhood 
• Health conditions such as cerebral palsy and Down’s syndrome often involve some extent of learning disability

However, it’s important to note that learning disabilities should not be mistaken for learning problems that arise due to other factors such as:

• Visual, hearing, verbal, or motor handicaps
• Intellectual disability
• Emotional disturbances
• Economic, cultural, or environmental disadvantages

Diagnosing Learning Disabilities

A healthcare professional can diagnose learning disabilities. The diagnostic process might involve:

• Academic testing: The healthcare provider may administer a standardized achievement test that checks the person’s reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, as well as an intelligence quotient (IQ) test. If the person performs well on the IQ test but has a lower score on the achievement test, it could indicate that they have a learning disability.
• Performance review: The healthcare provider may review and evaluate the person’s academic, professional, social, and developmental performance.
• Medical history: The healthcare provider will likely ask questions about the person’s personal and family medical history.
• Physical and neurological exam: The healthcare provider may conduct a physical and neurological exam to check for other health conditions such as brain diseases, mental health conditions, and developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Every learning disability has different symptoms, and everyone’s experience of the condition is unique. The signs, frequency, and intensity of symptoms can vary considerably. Some people may have a single, isolated learning difficulty that doesn’t cause issues in day-to-day life; others have overlapping learning disabilities that make it difficult for them to function without support.

Learning disabilities typically develop at a young age and are often diagnosed during the person’s school years, since the primary focus at school is learning. An estimated 8% to 10% of American children younger than 18 have learning disabilities.

However, some people are not diagnosed with learning disabilities until they attend college or get a job; others never receive an official diagnosis, so they go through life without knowing why they have trouble with academics, work, relationships, or day-to-day tasks.

Treating Learning Disabilities

Treatment for learning disabilities may involve:

• Special education: Children with learning disabilities may benefit from education by specially trained teachers who perform a comprehensive evaluation of the child’s abilities and then help the child build on their strengths while compensating for their disabilities. 
• Medication: Some people may need to take medication to improve their ability to focus and concentrate.
• Therapy: Psychotherapy can help people with learning disabilities deal with emotional issues and develop coping skills.
• Other interventions: People with learning disabilities may also benefit from other interventions such as speech and language therapy.
• Support groups: People with learning disabilities as well as parents of children with learning disabilities may benefit from support group meetings that help them connect with others who have similar experiences. Learning difficulties can often lead to tension, misunderstandings, and conflicts among the family, particularly among families where the condition is hereditary.

Takeaways

Every human being is equipped with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses that enable them to do some things effortlessly but struggle in other areas. Although people with learning disabilities have some challenges with learning, they are not in any way inferior to anyone else. Special education, treatment, support, kindness, and patience can help them achieve success.

The Little Albert experiment was a landmark study that demonstrated that fear can be classically conditioned in humans. Conducted by behaviorist John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, it involved conditioning a young boy, Little Albert, to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud, frightening noise. Over time, this fear generalized to similar objects, revealing how emotional responses can be learned.

What Happened in the Little Albert Experiment?

The experiment’s participant was a child that Watson and Rayner called “Albert B.” but is known popularly today as Little Albert. When Little Albert was 9 months old, Watson and Rayner exposed him to a series of stimuli, including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, and burning newspapers, and observed the boy’s reactions.

• Initial testing: At the experiment’s outset, the little boy showed no fear of any objects he was shown. What Watson did next changed everything.
• Conditioning: The next time Albert was exposed to the rat, Watson made a loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer.
• Results: Naturally, the child began to cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Albert began to expect a frightening noise whenever he saw the white rat. Soon, Albert began to cry simply after seeing the rat.

It’s a textbook example of how classical conditioning works. In some cases, these frightening experiences can cause a lasting fears, such as with phobias.

How Watson Used Classical Conditioning on Little Albert

The Little Albert experiment is a great example of how classical conditioning can be used to condition an emotional response. Here’s how the stimuli and responses are defined:

• Neutral stimulus: A stimulus that does not initially elicit a response (the white rat).
• Unconditioned stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a reflexive response (the loud noise).
• Unconditioned response: A natural reaction to a given stimulus (fear).
• Conditioned stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a response after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the white rat).
• Conditioned response: The response caused by the conditioned stimulus (fear).

Why Little Albert Feared More Than Just White Rats

In addition to demonstrating that emotional responses could be conditioned in humans, Watson and Rayner also observed a phenomenon known as stimulus generalization.

After conditioning, Albert feared not just the white rat, but a wide variety of similar white objects as well. His fear included other furry objects, including Raynor’s fur coat and Watson wearing a Santa Claus beard.

More recent examinations of the film evidence suggest that Watson and Rayner may have exaggerated the extent to which Albert’s fear response generalized to other white, furry objects.

Why the Little Albert Experiment Was So Controversial

While the experiment is one of psychology’s most famous and is included in nearly every introductory psychology course, it is widely criticized for several reasons. First, the experimental design and process were not carefully constructed. Watson and Rayner did not develop an objective means to evaluate Albert’s reactions, instead of relying on their own subjective interpretations.

What Happened to Little Albert?

The question of what happened to Little Albert has long been one of psychology’s mysteries. Before Watson and Rayner could attempt to “cure” Little Albert, he and his mother moved away. Some envisioned the boy growing into a man with a strange phobia of white, furry objects.

Initial Attempts to Identify Albert

In 2009, researchers published the results of their attempt to track down the boy’s identity. As reported in American Psychologist, a seven-year search led by psychologist Hall P. Beck led to the discovery of a child the researchers believed might be Little Albert.

After tracking down and locating the original experiments and the possible identity of the boy’s mother, it was suggested that Little Albert was actually a boy named Douglas Merritte.

Unfortunately, the researchers discovered that Douglas had died on May 10, 1925, at the age of six, of hydrocephalus (a build-up of fluid in his brain), which he had suffered from since birth.

In 2012, Beck and Alan J. Fridlund reported that Douglas was not the healthy, normal child Watson described in his 1920 experiment. Instead, they suggested that Watson may have known about and deliberately concealed the boy’s neurological condition.

More recent evidence, however, suggests that Merritte was incorrectly identified as Little Albert.

The Likely Identity of the Real Little Albert

In 2014, however, Beck and Fridlund’s findings were questioned when researchers presented evidence that a boy named William Barger was the real Little Albert.

Barger was born on the same day as Merritte to a wet nurse who worked at the same hospital as Merritte’s mother. While his first name was William, he was known his entire life by his middle name—Albert.