Learning Disabilities

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Learning Disabilities

• Chapter 4

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Definition of Learning Disability

• P.L. 94-142 A disorder in one or more of the
  basic psychological processes involved in
  understanding or in using language, spoken or
  written, which disorder may manifest itself in
  imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, write,
  spell, or do mathematical calculations.

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Definition of LD (cont.)

• The term includes such conditions as perceptual
  handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain
  dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
  
• The term does not include children who have
  learning problems which are primarily the result
  of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of mental
  retardation, of emotional disturbance, or
  environmental, cultural, or economic
  disadvantage.

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Classification Criteria

• Inclusionary must demonstrate severe
  discrepancy b/t perceived potential and actual
  achievement.
• Exclusionary the disability may not result
  primarily from visual or hearing impairment,
  mental retardation, serious emotional
  disturbance, or cultural differences.
• Need manifest need for special education
  services.

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Bell Curve
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General Characteristics

• perceptual and information processing
• problems
• memory
• emotional liability
• impulsivity
• attentional problems
• failure to develop and mobilize cognitive
  strategies for learning
• poor motor abilities

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Academic characteristics

• language difficulties
• reading difficulties
• written language difficulties
• mathematics difficulties
• inappropriate social behavior

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Reading

• Most significant problems
• Phonological difficulties
• Word recognition
• Word or passage comprehension
• Severe reading often called dyslexia

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Dyslexia

• Learning disability characterized by problems in
  expressive or receptive, oral, or written
  language.
• May manifest itself as difficulty in reading,
  spelling, writing, speaking, or listening.

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Written Language

• Overwhelmed with getting started
• Struggle to organize, pre-writing and fluency
• Trouble with mechanics of writing
• Difficulty spelling
• Often illegible
• Very brief
• Overly simplistic

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Mathematics

• Visual perception
• Memory
• Motor functions
• Language
• Abstract reasoning
• Metacognition

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Metacognition

• Knowing a large numbers of strategies fro
  acquiring, storing, and processing information.
• Understanding when, where, and why these
  strategies are important
• Selecting and monitoring the use of these
  strategies.

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Causes of Learning Disabilities

• Neurological factors (central nervous system
  dysfunction)
• Genetic factors ( 35 to 45 first-degree
  relatives..parents and siblings..reading dis)
• Environmental factors (Home and School)
• Teratogenic factors (agents that can cause
  malformations or defects in developing fetus).

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Prevalence

• Most prevalent of all disabilities
• B/t 5-6 of students age 6-16.
• Nearly one half of all students with disabilities
  served under IDEA have specific learning
  disabilities.
• The size of the learning disabilities category
  has more increased by 2 to 3 times since 1976-77
  when prevalence information started.

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Nonverbal learning disabilities

• Term used to refer to individuals who have a
  cluster of disabilities in social interaction,
  math, visual-spatial tasks, and tactual tasks.

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Locus of Control

• Motivational term referring to how people explain
  their successes or failures people with an
  internal locus of control believe they are the
  reason for success or failure, whereas people
  with an external locus of control believe outside
  forces influence how they perform.
• Learned helplessness.a condition in which a
  person believes that no matter how hard he/she
  tries, failure will result.

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Educational Considerations

• Cognitive training.group of training procedures
  designed to
• Change thoughts or thought patterns
• Providing strategies for learning and
• Teaching self-initiative

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Self-instruction

• Requires individuals to talk aloud and then to
  themselves as they solve problems.
• 1.) Problem definition What do I have to do?
• 2.) Planning How can I solve this problem?
• 3.) Strategy Use The five-step strategy will
  help me
• look for important words.
• 4.) Self-evaluation How am I doing?
• 5.) Self-reinforcement Good job. I got it
  right.

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Scaffolded Instruction

• A cognitive approach to instruction in which the
  teacher provides temporary structure or support
  while students are learning a task the support
  is gradually removed as the students are able to
  perform the task independently.
• Think who will read this and why am I writing it?
• Plan what to say using TREE (topic sentence, note
  reasons, examine reasons, note ending).
• Write and say more.

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Reciprocal Teaching

• Involves interactive dialogue b/t the teacher and
  the students relationship is like
  expert/apprentice and roles change.
• Teacher models and then encourages and prompts
  the four strategies, predicting, questioning,
  summarizing and then clarifying.

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Direct Instruction

• Method of teaching academics, especially math and
  reading emphasizes drill and practice and
  immediate feedback, lessons are precisely
  sequenced, fast-paced, and well-rehearsed by the
  teacher.

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Task analysis

• Involves breaking down academic problems into
  their component parts so that teachers can teach
  the parts separately and then teach the students
  to put the parts together in order to demonstrate
  the larger skill.

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Successful Transition into Adulthood

• Perseverance
• Goal setting
• Realistic acceptance of weaknesses coupled with
  building on strengths
• Supportive social network
• Intensive and long-term educational intervention
• Ability to take control of ones life

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Teaching Students with LD

• Model and teach organizational strategies
• Establish a structured, predictable environment
• Use familiar experiences to teach concepts
• Provide experiences to increase concept
  development
• Provide visual and auditory cues
• Provide tutorial support
• Teach memory aids (acronyms, acrostics)
• Teach concepts and info in meaningful ways

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Teaching (cont.)

• Provide two sets of instructional materials (Home
  School )
• Modify materials to reduce visual distractions
• Monitor student progress frequently
• Break large assignments into smaller steps
• Reduce expectations for remembering details
• Tape all written materials
• BE SUPPORTIVE OF STUDENTS DESPITE THEIR DEMEANOR!