An Introduction to Diversity

1
An Introduction to Diversity Disability

• Presenters
• Nipissing Staff Nipissing
  Students
• Dan Pletzer, Manager of Counselling
  Disability Services Kathryn Wood
• Daralynn D'Angelo, Learning Strategist
  Marc Summerville
• Mark Giddens, Adaptive Technology
  Technician Margaret Leppek
• Mike Walker, Learning Strategist
• Presented for the Historica Fair, May 2006

2
Diversity

• Our presentation is about diversity the
  differences between us that make us all unique
  and special.
• Particularly we want to focus on one aspect of
  diversity
• disability

3
Disability

• disability
• By definition, the thing or lack that prevents
  ones doing something
• Many kinds of disabilities physical, medical,
  developmental, mental health, and learning.
• Today we want to describe some of these
  disabilities and

4
Fairness

• We want to you to experience
• how disabilities can make life and learning more
  difficult
• why some people with disabilities need special
  tools, treatment or opportunities in order to
  overcome these disabilities
• and why this special help is needed and fair!

5
Success

• We also want to show you that people with
  disabilities can be very successful, despite the
  challenges that their disabilities present

6
Disabilities around YOU

• You may know someone with a disability
• You may have a disability yourself
• Did you know that 12 to 14 of elementary and
  high school students are exceptional? (MoE,
  2001-02)
• The average class of 25 students may have 3
  exceptional students
• Half of these exceptional students will have
  physical, medical, mental health or multiple
  disabilities
• The other half are students with LDs or AD/HD

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Hands-on Activities

• Perspectives of various disabilities
• Introducing Nipissing students
• Kathryn
• Marc
• Margaret
• As you go through each activity, try to guess
  what type of disability you are experiencing

8
So what is a Learning Disability?

• There are many different kinds we will
  demonstrate just a few.

9
Can you see the object in this picture?

• Put up your hand if you recognize the object in
  this picture.
• You can see the picture.
• But can you perceive the object in the picture?
• Lets get you some help!

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Can you see the dog now?

• Learning disabilities are caused by perceptual
  problems -- problems processing (sorting out) the
  information that comes from our senses.
• Therefore, learning disabilities are information
  processing deficits
• This demonstrates a visual processing deficit
• visual ground figure

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How Do We Learn? Processing Information
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Information enters through our

• Senses
• Vision
• Hearing
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell

Primary Senses used in Learning
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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) may occur here

• Senses
• If one fails to attend to the information so it
  does get picked up by the senses
• or if one attends to everything and the senses
  are overloaded with too much information

14
Information is processed in the brain

• Senses
• Processing
• Decoding
• Encoding
• Transferring
• Calculating
• of auditory, visual, tactile kinesthetic
  information

15
Memory is used in processing

• Senses
• Processing
• Memory
• Short term storage
• Long term storage
• Factual
• Procedural

16
Expression is the final stage

• Senses
• Processing
• Memory
• Expression
• Speaking
• Writing
• Doing

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A learning disability occurs

• when there is a breakdown in any of these three
  stages of information processing
• Senses
• Processing
• Memory
• Expression

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So a learning disability

• is an information processing deficit which causes
  problems with perception.
• another example

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What is this object?
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What letter is this?
21
What letter is this?
22
What letter is this?
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What letter is this?

• A learning disability may involve difficulty with
  perception and symbolic processing

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Can you read this?

• Myle arn in gdisa bi LI tyma kesit dif Ficu
  ltform eto re Adi tslo wsm edo wnwh eniha veto re
  AdmYte xtbo Ok sbu twhe nius Eboo kso Nta peo rco
  mpu Teri zedsc ree nrea Din gsof twa Reto lis
  tent Om yte xtbo ok sith elp sal Ot.
• A learning disability may involve visual,
  symbolic and/or phonological processing deficits
  causing a spelling or reading disability.

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Accommodation for Reading

• Reader
• Books on tape
• Kurzweil 3000 reading software scanner

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Cant you write this?

• Copy this Ill time you put your hand up when
  youre done
• Can you copy? Its not hard.Look, Im
  finished already!
• Now, please copy this using your
  non-dominant hand?!
• A LD may involve Grapho-Motor processing deficits
• and a LD may involve Memory deficits
• This example also demonstrates role of Working
  Memory
• causing a writing disability.

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Accommodation for Writing

• Scribe
• Note sharer
• Tape or digital recorder
• Word processor
• Dragon Naturally Speaking voice to text software

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Living with a learning disability (video
clip - 307)
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Questions?

• Thank You for your time attention?