MOZART

Leonardo Da Vinci

THOMAS EDISON

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

NEWTON

WALT DISNEY

TOM CRUISE

ALBERT EINSTEIN

BILL GATES

LEARNING DISABILITIES

WHAT IS A LEARNING DISABILITY?

1) A learning disability is any of a number of conditions that make the process of learning difficult because of the way the brain processes information.

2) A disorder found in children of normal intelligence who have difficulties in learning specific skills.

3) An extreme difficulty in performing a specific mental skill such as reading or doing mathematical problems. It is inconsistent with the person's overall intelligence and sometimes linked to perceptual or memory problems.

4) A disorder in basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or use mathematical calculations.

5) A variety of disorders, including hyperactivity, dyslexia, and hearing problems, that can interfere with a person's ability to learn

6) A disorder that hinders people's ability to either interpret what they see or what they hear . These limitations are characterized by difficulty in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Causes of SpecificLearning Disabilities

• Physiological:– Brain injury – may occur

prenatally if exposed to toxins, during birth if deprived of oxygen, or postnatally from an accident or illness.

– Heredity – if one or both parents have a learning disability, the chance of the child having one is 30-50%.

– Chemical imbalance – biochemical disorder in the brain.

Causes (cont.)

Curriculum and Environmental Contributors:– Poor nutrition– Adverse emotional climate– Toxins in the environment - lead-

based paint, cigarette smoke– Too little stimulation – Lack of educational materials – English as a second language– Children who live in poverty

Causes (cont)– Lack of medical care– Low parent education and less modeling– Few early learning experiences

In most cases, a single cause is not known, and it is very unlikely that a primary cause is ever identified.However, a combination of one or more of these causes are most often considered. It is not uncommon for SLD to co-occur with social, emotional, or behavior problems.

TYPES • Motor difficulties (Dyspraxia)• Math difficulties (Dyscalculia)• Language

difficulties(Aphasia/Dysphasia)• Reading difficulties (Dyslexia)• Writing difficulties (Dysgraphia)• Auditory and visual processing

difficulties

Dyslexia

A language-based learning disability• Involves a cluster of symptoms resulting in difficulty with

specific language skills, particularly reading. • The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading

fluency, spelling, and writing.

• Dyslexia is diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence.

• There are no known causes of dyslexia.• Most people with dyslexia need help from a teacher, tutor,

or therapist specially trained in using a multisensory, structured language approach.

• Dyslexia occurs in Individuals with normal vision and normal intelligence. Such individuals usually have normal speech but often have difficulty interpreting spoken language and writing.

• Dyslexia seems to be caused by a malfunction in certain areas of the brain concerned with language. The condition frequently runs in families.

Signs and Symptoms of Dyslexia • Dyslexia can be difficult to recognize, but

some early clues may indicate a problem. • problem with new words, • deb• difficulty rhyming• Problems linking letters with sounds• Writing words backwards• Problems following directions with many steps

Dyscalculia

• The word "dyscalculia" means difficulty performing math calculations.

• In other words, it just means "math difficulty". And specifically, it means a learning disability which affects math.

• Sometimes confusion arises when we start dealing with the term "dyscalculia" as it relates to "special education services".

• When a student's math difficulties are severe enough to meet this criteria, special education services are indicated. On the other hand, "dyscalculia" has no clearly defined criteria.

Dyscalculia

• Good at speaking, reading, and writing, but slow to develop counting and math problem-solving skills

• Good memory for printed words, but difficulty reading numbers, or recalling numbers in sequence

• Good with general math concepts, but frustrated when specific computation and organization skills need to be used

• Trouble with the concept of time-chronically late, difficulty remembering schedules, trouble with approximating how long something will take

• Poor sense of direction, easily disoriented and easily confused by changes in routine

• Poor long term memory of concepts-can do math functions one day, • but is unable to repeat them the next

day • Poor mental math ability-trouble

estimating grocery costs or • counting days until vacation

• Difficulty playing strategy games like chess, bridge or role-playing • video games

Dysgraphia• Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can

manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting, and trouble putting thoughts on paper.

• Common signs of dysgraphia include: • Tight, awkward pencil grip and body position • Illegible handwriting • Avoiding writing or drawing tasks • Tiring quickly while writing • Saying words out loud while writing • Unfinished or omitted words in sentences • Difficulty organizing thoughts on paper • Difficulty with syntax structure and grammar • Large gap between written ideas and understanding – demonstrated through speech.

Dyspraxia

• A motor coordination disability (also known as Sensory Integration Disorder).

• Adults with dyspraxia may have difficulty carrying out tasks such as driving, cooking, and household chores or grooming.

• Children with dyspraxia may be late in reaching developmental milestones, such as rolling over, sitting, standing and walking. They may frequently fall over, and when older may avoid PE and swimming lessons at school or any other sporting activity.

Aphasia

• A language disability (the student has difficulty understanding spoken language).

• inability to comprehend language• inability to pronounce, not due to muscle

paralysis or weakness• inability to speak spontaneously• inability to form words• inability to name objects

DYSPHASIA

• A language disability (the student has difficulty with reading comprehension).

• Difficulty remembering words• Difficulty naming objects and/or people• Difficulty speaking in complete and/or

meaningful sentences• Difficulty speaking in any fashion• Difficulty reading or writing• Difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings• Difficulty understanding spoken language

Central Auditory Processing Disorder

A sensory disability related to processing sounds.

• have trouble paying attention to and remembering information

presented orally, and may cope better with visually acquired information

• have problems carrying out multi-step directions given orally; need to hear only one direction at a time

• have poor listening skills• need more time to process information• have low academic performance• have behavior problems• have language difficulties (e.g., they confuse syllable sequences

and have problems developing vocabulary and understanding language)

• have difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary

Sign and symptoms of Central Auditory Processing Disorder

Visual Processing Disorder

A sensory disability related to processing images.

Some symptoms of Visual Processing Disorder

• Mixing up letters (i.e. ‘d’ and ‘b’)• Mixing up words by changing letters around (i.e.

‘saw’ and ‘was’)• After reads a story they cannot always tell the

detail what the story was about.• Skipping words, letters or paragraphs when

reading.• Learner would get headaches during and after

reading.

Non-Verbal Learning Disorder

A visual-spatial disability related to body control.

Sign and symptoms of Non-Verbal Learning Disorder

• delay in understanding or using spoken language; • difficulty understanding simple instructions; • lengthy pauses before naming objects and colors; • limited awareness or interest in books; • difficulty coloring or drawing; • short attention span (won't sit through one storybook). • difficulty understanding and following instructions;• trouble remembering what someone just told them; • lacking motor coordination when walking, playing sports,

holding a pencil or trying to tie a shoelace; • frequently losing or misplacing homework, schoolbooks or

other items; • unable to understand the concept of time (confused by the

difference between “yesterday,” “today,” and “tomorrow.”

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Observe child for “ATENTION” features• Annoying• Temperamental• Energetic• Noisy• Task incompletion• Inattentive• Oppositional• Negativism

ADHD cont.

• average onset 3 yr old• identification upon school entry• rule out developmental delay, genetic syndromes,encephalopathies or toxins (alcohol, lead)• risk of substance abuse, particularly cannabis and cocaine, depression, anxiety, academic failure, poor social skills, risk of comorbid CD and/or ODD, risk of adult ASPD• associated with family history of ADHD, difficult temperamental characteristics

Clinical Picture as a Whole. • Difficulty learning new skills, relying on memorization

• Trouble learning about time

• Difficulty remembering facts

• Confusing basic words (dog, cat, run)

• Poor coordination, 'accident prone', unaware of physical surroundings • Having a hard time learning the connection between letters and sounds • (Phonetics) • Spelling and reading errors such as substitutions (house/home), letter • reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w) and transpositions (felt/left)

• Problems with planning

• Impulsive behavior

• Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs

• The occupational therapy evaluation is an important component of the multidisciplinary assessment process. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify the areas of strengths and weakness of individuals with learning disabilities in performing various activities and occupations and analyzing the tasks these individuals need to perform.

• The process of evaluation starts with an interview with the person and /or his/her family in order to gather information about the person’s occupational history, wishes and needs, routines and habits, areas of interest and values.

• This information helps identify the individual’s strengths, weaknesses and list of priorities regarding the person’s various activities.

• The occupational therapist then chooses a standardized assessment tool to assess the underlying causes of the individual’s difficulties and the various demands of the environment in which he/she functions.

• The source of the difficulties may lie in various deficits in sensory, motor, cognitive functions, as well as other areas.

• The process is completed by integrating the findings of the interview, observations and standardized assessments to form a comprehensive picture of the individual's capacities, the source of his/her difficulties and the manner in which the person copes with the environmental demands.

DIAGNOSIS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES

Diagnosis of learning disabilities is highly sophisticated and nobody other than well-trained personnel can diagnose it

• History • Clinical picture • Assessments in reading, including word recognition,

fluency, and comprehension; mathematics, including computation and problem solving; and written expression, including handwriting, spelling and composition.

Management

• Learning: Evaluating and improving the individual's ability to cope with the demands of different academic settings through efficient information processing, improving organizational abilities, developing strategies, improving writing skills, and so forth.

• Play and leisure: The evaluation of play skills and leisure patterns, the cultivation and development of leisure opportunities, fostering internal control and satisfaction from play and leisure activities (e.g., guidance regarding adapting activities/clubs to suit the needs and strengths of the individual)

• Cognitive skills: Training and improvement of attention, perceptual and memory processes, information processing as well as training and improvement of ability to classify and generalize.

• Development of specific skills necessary for learning: These include the development and improvement of writing skills – developing the ability to write within a reasonable amount of time without investing unnecessary energy, such that the written document is legible and comprehensible. Writing skills are needed for writing tasks that include copying, dictation, preparing homework, and the like. Intervention includes direct intervention as well as recommendations for adaptation to the school’s requirements and of various accessories (e.g., type of pencil, notebook, laptop computer and accompanying accessories), as well as teaching keyboarding skills.