Goals

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Goals

• Understanding of Learning Disabilities
• Why do we want to help?
• How can we help?
• Potential pitfalls
• Specific task needs of children with a LD

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Hierarchy of Neurodevelopmental Status
Variation Leads to a developmental weakness
(Ex. Expressive language) Dysfunction Interfer
es with acquisition of a particular skill (Ex.
Writing) Disability The impaired skill is
integral to productivity and acquisition of
reasonable gratification in our
society Handicap
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Affect the ability to listen, think, speak, read,
write, spell, or do math calculations
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Impact

• Social behavior and interactions, Home
  environment, Critical life events, Mood,
  Health,etc.
• Resilience, Malleability
• Learning process
• Academic performance, Skill, Interest,
  Self- esteem, etc.

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Kids dont outgrow LD, they may improve, but they
are at continued risk for underachievement.
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Assessment

• Complete medical history and examination
• Tests
• IQ
• Academic achievement
• Informal classroom observation
• Psychological assessment as indicated

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Assistive Technology

• Bypass strategy it Helps to get the job done.
• vs.
• Instructional software
• Develops specific academic skills

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ComputersHow do they help?

• Tool to expand a childs access to the
  curriculum, not purely for remediation
• Increase interest and motivation
• Immediate feedback
• Dont give negative comments
• The Great Equalizer for kids with writing
  difficulties

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Potential Pitfalls

• Too much information can be counterproductive
• The less clutter on the screen, the better
• Make programs modifiable (speed, number of
  problems, instructional level)
• Make small increments between levels (dont get
  too hard too fast)
• Allow limited number of attempts at a response to
  discourage guessing

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More Pitfalls

• Provide clues to the correct answer when the
  student makes an error
• Need good record keeping capability, so students
  can track their progress and set goals
• Offer built-in instructional aides (particularly
  in math programs), such as number lines, fraction
  strips, etc.
• Use real life scenarios (esp. for math)

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What else?

• Frequently need to look at the curriculum and
  then ask how tools might assist the student in
  the learning process/ achieving outcomes

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Types of Computer-based AT Interventions

• Spell checks
• Word prediction
• Word processing
• Proofreading programs
• Outlining
• Graphic organizers
• Speech recognition
• Screen readers
• Calculators and electronic math worksheets

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Important Questions

• What are the specific needs to be met?
• What abilities/strengths are required to use the
  AT?
• What setting will it be used in?
• Age-group targeting
• Need simple operating instructions
• What system will it work in?
• Technical support

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Signs of Weak Language Skills

• Asks to have things repeated
• Difficulty following instructions
• Uses the wrong words or gets mixed up
• Difficulty telling a story

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Basic Tasks in Reading

• Phonemic awareness Hear speech sounds and tell
  them apart
• Phonics Match sounds to letters and make them
  into words
• Semantics Word knowledge
• Syntax Sentence comprehension
• Fluency/Discourse processing Ability to read
  quickly and fluently to remember and understand
  what has been read

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Reading Comprehension Tasks

• Increasing vocabulary
• Understanding word parts and changes in the
  inflections of words (present)
• Understand meanings and relationships between
  words
• Know the rules for putting words into sentences
• Having background knowledge

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Spelling

• Phonology
• Segmentation
• Visual recall (grapheme)
• Rule recall
• Morphology/Semantics
• Reading skill

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Writing Tasks

• Concept development/Ideation
• Expressive language Communication
• Organization Sentence structure, Paragraph
  structure
• Memory functions
• Long term--Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling,
  Beginning and ending
• Short-termCopying, Note-taking
• Fine motor coordination

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The Wrath of Math

• Effective memory functions (factual recall,
  procedural recall, pattern recognition,
  multi-tasking)
• Accurate spatial processing
• Concept formation
• Language ability
• Problem-solving skills

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Broader Tasks

• Accessing the web to learn

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Summary

• Understanding of Learning Disabilities
• Why do we want to help?
• How can we help?
• Benefits and Pitfalls of AT
• What are the underlying tasks that children with
  LD struggle with?

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Resources

• www.schwablearning.org
• www.ldonline.org
• Educational Care by Mel Levine, M.D.