Understanding the impact of diagnosis: emotional well-being, peers and teachers.

In this contribution we focus our attention on the impact of the diagnosis of learning disability, with particular attention paid to dyscalculia. First we look at the individual level by reviewing findings showing the impact of diagnosis on the child's emotional well-being and self perception of competence. The focus will then be enlarged to the child's social context , by considering relationships with both peers and adults within there school environment. Th impact of diagnosis on the child's social status will be reviewed and we will highlight the critical role teacher can play, both as role models communicating the child's likeability to their peers and mediators in sharing the diagnosis with the classroom. Last, at a large environmental level, we will stress the importance of a collaborative network consisting of specialist, the family and the school environment in order to share information and plan intervention. in the final part of the chapter, possible future research direction in the area of dyscalculia will be discussed