They may confuse different meanings of the same word used in different ways. They find it difficult to understand jokes, puns, or idioms. Students with an organization disability find it difficult to make bits of information cohere into concepts. They may learn a series of facts without being able to answer general questions that require the useof these facts. Their lives in and outside of the classroom reflect this disorganization.
Disabilities also develop at the third stage of information processing, memory.
Short-term memory retains information briefly while we attend to it or concentrate upon it. For example, most of us can retain the 10 digits of a long distance telephone number longenough to dial, but we forget it if we are interrupted. When information is repeated often enough, it enters long-term memory, where it is stored and can be retrieved later. At the fourth stage, output, there are both language and motor disabilities. Demand language occurs when someone else creates the circumstances in which communication is required.