Learning Disabilities

Definition

IDEA Definition-

“Specific Learning Disability” means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations.

Learning Disability

The term includes such conditions as:

• perceptual handicaps,
• brain injury,
• minimal brain dysfunction,
• dyslexia,
• developmental aphasia.(loss of power to use or understand speech)

The term does not include children who have learning problems which are the primarily the result of:

• visual impairments
• hearing impairments
• motor handicaps
• mental retardation
• emotional disturbance
• environmental disadvantage
• cultural disadvantage
• or economic disadvantage.

Prevalence:

5% of School-Aged Population

52.4 % of All Students with Disabilities, Ages 6-21

Boys Outnumber Girls Four to One

Etiology

No Single Cause has Been Identified

Genetic and Hereditary Influences:

Chromosomal abnormalities

Structural brain differences

Prenatal and Perinatal

Prenatal:

• teratogens (e.g..., maternal smoking, alcohol, and/or drug abuse)
• Perinatal:
• prolonged labor
• Anoxia (severe loss of oxygen in bodily tissues)
• premature
• use of forceps

Postnatal and Environmental

Postnatal:

• accidental (e.g.., head trauma)
• diseases (e.g.., high fever, encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, diabetes)
• malnutrition or poor postnatal health care

Environmental:

• lead poisoning
• neurochemical imbalances

Potential Strengths & Deficits

Academic Deficits

reading

mathematics

written expression

Language Deficits

Oral Expression

Listening Comprehension

Pragmatics

Memory

Cognition

Metacognition

Social - Emotional Problems

social competence

learned helplessness

depression

self-image

Attention Deficits & Hyperactivity

Perception

Motor Skills & Coordination

Learning Disabilities Eligibility Criteria in Tennessee :

• The child does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability level.
• The child displays observable characteristics, which indicated deficits in basic psychological processing.
• The team finds a child has a severe decrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas.
• A severe discrepancy is defined as 1.5 standard deviation discrepancy between cognitive and academic areas.
• Basic reading skill
• Reading comprehension
• Written expression
• Mathematics calculation
• Mathematics reasoning
• Listening comprehension
• Oral expression

The student exhibits intra-individual differences or uneven growth patterns. This element of the eligibility criteria refers to an uneven or irregular development of the various components of mental processes. (attention, memory storage, retrieval organization strategies for learning and expressing what is learned and executive control)

The child, through formal and informal assessment, has a severe discrepancy even though the deviations do not fall below the criterion range. In such cases, sufficient data must be presented in the evaluation report to document the existence of a severe discrepancy.

The child’s discrepancy and processing deficits are not PRIMARILY the result of: (it is important to rule out poor attendance, etc. prior to provision of services)

• Visual, hearing, or motor impairments
• Cognitive disability
• Emotional disability
• Environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage

Curriculum and Instructional Strategies

Preschool

Developmental Model

Cognitive Model

Behavioral Model

Curriculum and Instructional Strategies

Elementary

Instruction in Basic Academics

Strategy Instruction

Cooperative Learning

Computers and Other Technology

Self-Esteem/Concept Enhancement

Social Skills

Meaningful Presentation of Content

Curriculum and Instructional Strategies

Secondary and Adulthood

Learning Strategies

Individualized Instruction

Self-Concept and Social-Emotional Concerns

Self-Advocacy

Motivation Enhancement

Transition Skills

Study Skills

Coping and Compensatory Strategies

Accessing Resources

Learning Strategies

Self-Questioning

Verbal Rehearsal & Review

Organization

Using Prior Knowledge

Memory Strategies

Predicting and Monitoring

Advance Organizers

Cognitive Behavior Modification

Self-Monitoring

Guidelines for Teaching, Bender, 1995; Deiner, 1993; Mercer, 1997

• Be consistent in class rules and daily schedule of activities.
• State rules and expectations clearly. Tell children what to do - not what not to do.
• Promote advance organizers.
• Eliminate or reduce visual and auditory distractions when students need to concentrate. Help students focus on the relevant aspects of the task.
• Give directions in clear, simple words.
• Begin with simple activities focused on a single concept, and build to more abstract ideas, as the student appears ready.
• Use concrete objects or demonstrations when teaching a new concept. Relate new information to previously known concepts.
• Teach the students strategies for remembering.
• Present information visually, auditorially, and through demonstration to address each child’s preferred learning style.
• Use a variety of activities and experiences to teach or reinforce the same concept. Repetition can be provided without inducing boredom.
• Use activities that are short or that encourage movement.