Medical problems of learning difficulties in schoolchildren

Background . Learning difficulties among schoolchildren are an important issue in both education and health care. As a rule, the understanding of this problem is ambiguous among different specialists (physicians, teachers, psychologists). Despite the fact that the medical view of these disorders is reflected in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, in the section “Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills” (F81), it often remains outside the field of attention of the pediatric service. The aim . To consider the pediatric component of learning difficulties in schoolchildren and to propose methodological approaches to its possible solution by the efforts of a pediatrician. Materials and methods . A total of 360 literature sources published from 2006 to 2024, indexed in the RSCI, PubMed, Scopus, were analyzed. For the article, 30 literary sources were used. Results and discussion . The review presents modern ideas about learning difficulties in schoolchildren and the medical and biological causes of their formation. It is shown that the main causes of learning difficulties are hereditary polymorphisms of various genes responsible for the development and functioning of the body, which exhibit their altered function against the background of social and biological risk factors. The role of different specialists in the treatment and correction of these disorders is reflected. It is shown that currently known treatment methods are symptomatic and ineffective. Conclusion . For the effective treatment, it is necessary to find out the cause of the formation of disorders associated with learning difficulties in schoolchildren. An important role in their diagnosis should be played by a pediatrician who has the opportunity to observe the growth and development of the child from the moment of his birth.