Learning Disabilities

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Chapter 11

• Learning Disabilities

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• Learning disabilities relatively new diagnostic
  label. Problems were likely mistaken for signs
  of low intelligence, which is incorrect.

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• The term first used in 1963 by Dr. Samuel Kirk
• used the term to describe a group of problems
  that had been previously recognized and studied,
  but had never been given sufficient organized,
  formal attention
• children with these problems did not fit neatly
  into any major category of disability condition
  recognized at the time

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• Most current definitions of learning disabilities
  include academic performance problems
• in recent years, concept of learning disabilities
  has had an extremely important influence on
  special education
• Today, children with learning disabilities are
  the largest group of children with disabilities
  in the United States

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Prevalence of Learning Disabilities

• What is the current estimated prevalence range
  for learning disabilities, and what does that
  mean in numbers of children?

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• Imprecise use of the label learning disabilities
  has made it difficult to determine how many
  children actually do have these disabilities

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• Definitions of learning disabilities varied
  greatly over time and between geographical
  locations
• In addition, the estimated prevalence of learning
  disabilities has always varied greatly, with some
  estimates being so high as to be alarming and
  questionable

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Defining Learning Disabilities

• Why have definitions of learning disabilities
  varied?
• Children with wide variety of problems labeled as
  having learning disabilities
• Definitions often either very loose and vague or
  tailored to cover those who were already being
  served in order to justify their special treatment

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Rapid Growth

• The growth of the field of learning disabilities
  so rapid, undisciplined
• No solid, systematic program of scientific
  investigation on which to base programs of
  teacher and therapist preparation
• Individuals pressed into service frequently had
  little or no training
• Classes for students with learning disabilities
  quickly became dumping grounds for children with
  all types of difficulties

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Definitions

• Most widely accepted legal definition
• General. The term means a disorder in one or more
  of the basic psychological processes involved in
  understanding or in using language, spoken or
  written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect
  ability to listen, think, speak, read, write,
  spell, or to do mathematical calculations,
  including conditions such as perceptual
  disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
  dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia

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• Disorders not included
• The term does not include learning problems that
  are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or
  motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of
  emotional disturbance, or of environmental,
  cultural, or economic disadvantage

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• The general term learning disabilities is
  insufficiently specific for research and
  instructional purposes
• The term can be effectively used only as a
  generalized referent or umbrella term, since it
  encompasses a variety of specific types of
  problems

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Describing and Classifying Learning Disabilities

• Characteristics attributed to those with learning
  disabilities

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Hyperactivity

• Frequently one of the first behavioral
  characteristics mentioned
• often reported that such children cannot sit
  still for more than a very short time, fidget a
  great deal, and are, in general, excessively
  active
• one of the soft signs (indirect indicators) of
  neurological dysfunction

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Academic Achievement Problems

• Individuals with learning disabilities encounter
  significant problems in academic achievement
• emergence of learning disabilities as a
  recognized type of exceptionality driven by the
  continuing academic problems that such youngsters
  experience.
• accompanied by a number of related problems that
  may also contribute to poor performance
• Academic achievement difficulties are typically
  the reason why children with learning
  disabilities are identified in the primary grades

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Reading

• 8590 of students with learning disabilities
  have reading disabilities
• In some cases, children lack basic word knowledge
  and have difficulties with word recognition
• Many can read only slowly and laboriously when
  they can accomplish it at all
• students can often be taught the necessary skills
  through specific training

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Writing and Spelling

• Handwriting may be very labored and slow,
• may have problems with forming and spacing
  letters
• poor spelling skills and rather immature
  compositional ability
• Some researchers connect the handwriting
  proficiency of students with learning
  disabilities to their reading ability

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Mathematics

• problems with simple counting, writing numbers,
  and mastering fundamental math concepts
• Some students omit numbers when counting,
• while others can count but do not grasp what the
  numbers mean (their values)
• many arithmetic problems are word problems that
  require significant reading skills

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Perceptual Problems

• interpreting incoming stimuli incorrectly or not
  perceiving all of the stimulus features.The
  notion that perceptual disorders are related to
  learning disabilities enjoyed considerable
  popularity over the years
• Interest in this view has diminished somewhat
• No clear connection between perceptual problems
  and neurological dysfunction

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Visual Perception Problems

• Children with learning disabilities often display
  difficulties in visual perception
• Children with visual perception problems may
  exhibit a variety of specific deficiencies
• may see a visual stimulus as unconnected parts

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Auditory and Haptic Perception Problems

• Difficulties in four components of auditory
  perception often been reported, singly or in
  various combinations
• discrimination may not be able to distinguish
  between the sounds of certain syllables or words
• auditory blending may be unable to blend the
  phonic elements of a word together into a
  consolidated whole as they say the word
• auditory memory may not be able to recall
  information that is presented verbally

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Attention Problems

• Children may have an attention problem that
  limits their information-processing abilities
• selective attention ability to focus attention
  on important stimuli and screen out or ignore
  irrelevant stimuli (incidental learning)
• some children having learning disabilities do not
  employ selective attention to the same degree
  that normal children do

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Social and Emotional

• learning difficulties seemingly contribute to
  emotional difficulties and low self-esteem,
  which, in turn, may affect motivation and
  academic efforts
• Such students may also have difficulty
  interacting with others because of misperceived
  social cues and problems in discriminating some
  of the subtle nuances of interpersonal
  interaction.

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Developmental Factors

• Theories of human development have played an
  important role in the study of learning
  disabilities for many years
• theories regarding developmental delays have been
  involved in researchers frustrated attempts to
  derive a single, comprehensive theory about the
  causation of learning disabilities
• Developmental theory has been appealed to because
  performance of children with learning
  disabilities often resembles that of younger
  normal children
• It has been suggested that youngsters with
  learning disabilities show differences and delays
  in neurological development

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Etiology of Learning

• Three causes thought to be involved in learning
  disabilities
• Neurological Damage
• Genetic Influences
• Environmental Influences

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Neurological Damage

• Opinions regarding this explanation vary greatly.
  In most cases, the existence of neurological
  damage as a cause is presumptive, and credible
  supportive evidence is lacking
• Until technologicy permits more precise
  assessment, determination of a specific
  neurological problem for children remains
  unlikely
• Most likely, some children labeled as having
  learning disabilities whose problems are based on
  neurological damage

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Genetic Influences

• Some evidence that genetic factors may play a
  role since learning disabilities tend to run in
  families
• However, it is unlikely that any genetic cause
  can be identified for most or all learning
  disabilities

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Environmental Influences

• Environment must be viewed as a potentially
  important contributor to learning disabilities
  (conceived quite broadly)
• Certain maternal activities are significant
  during the prenatal period
• poverty, neglect, food additives, ingestion of
  lead, inappropriate or poor school instruction
• Deficient general sensory stimulation has also
  been implicated as a cause

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Treatment of Learning Disabilities

• 3 types of interventions or treatments
• Medications
• Behavioral Treatment
• Instructional Interventions

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Developmental Considerations

• Conceptual and explanatory problems associated
  with learning disabilities serve as a constant
  reminder to behavioral scientists that it is
  probably not useful to search for a single theory
  or a single treatment for use with a diverse
  group of individuals
• Careful consideration of the age of the person
  being treated is required

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Medications

• Medication is effective in some areas, such as in
  improving childrens classroom behavior
• Not as effective in others, such as enhancing
  academic achievement or social adjustment on a
  long-term basis
• Further, medication may have unfavorable side
  effects, and potential for abuse exists

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Behavioral Treatment

• Used extensively
• May be aimed at enhancing academic skills or
  modifying other behavior in some fashion
• In many cases, used to supplement medical
  treatment, although they are also widely used as
  a primary therapy tool
• Learning strategy interventions may be packaged
  in formats that have considerable appeal to young
  students

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Instructional Interventions

• Most empirically based treatment approach
  involves the use of applied behavior analysis
  principles
• precise use of specific stimuli and consequences
• permits identification and modification of a wide
  range of behaviors, but is best suited to simple,
  easily observed, and countable behaviors
• great appeal in educational settings since its
  specific format can be modified

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Prognosis for Children with Learning Disabilities

• How are the services and supports for adolescents
  and adults with learning disabilities different
  from those used with children?

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• The prognosis for those with learning
  disabilities as adults is brighter than ever
  before
• research literature on adults with learning
  disabilities is increasing
• the literature on learning disabilities has
  historically focused more on childhood than on
  adolescence and adulthood.
• Now research on learning disabilities is
  increasingly investigating long-term outcomes in
  adulthood (postsecondary schooling)