learning disability (LD) refers to a group of disorders that affect a broad range of academic and functional skills including the ability to speak, listen, read, write, spell, reason and organize information
Types of Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia A language and reading disability
DyscalculiaProblems with arithmetic and math concepts
DysgraphiaA writing disorder resulting in illegibility
Dyspraxia (Sensory Integration Disorder)
Problems with motor coordination
Central Auditory Processing Disorder
Difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks
Non-Verbal Learning Disorders
Trouble with nonverbal cues, e.g., body language; poor coordination, clumsy
Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit
Reverses letters; cannot copy accurately;
Language Disorders (Aphasia/Dysphasia)
Trouble understanding spoken language; poor reading comprehension
Suspected Etiologies of Learning Disabilities
NO real causes Might be caused by:
HereditaryTeratogenicMedicalEnvironmental
ASSESSMENT PROCESS & TOOLS
Types of assessment: Informal assessment Formal psycho educational assessment
Learning disabilitiesTesting for learning disabilities usually involves three primary
types of assessment:• Testing of intellectual or cognitive potential;
• Testing of information processing or sensory motor abilities that are indicative of a learning disability;
• Assessment of current educational achievement.
INFORMAL ASSESMENT• such as classroom assessments,
• systematic observation,
• file review and interviews• These are as important as administering formal instruments to determine levels
of academic skill .
• For development and identity of strengths and weaknesses in learning processes.
• Because it is so important to intervene as early as possible, teachers should not wait for formal assessment to occur before they put strategies in place.
• Assessment to identify a learning disability should integrate information from a number of sources, including the
• family,• teachers,• counsellors (if involved), • learning assistance or other records, • and any relevant medical reports
• Once a student has been referred for a formal assessment, a teacher or principal will need to obtain parent permission and assist the student and their parents in understanding what will occur during the formal assessment process.
Formal assessment
• It is done by psychologists
• It involves the usage of different instruments(tools)
• psycho-educational assessments reveal difficulties in the areas of
• perceptual and information processing,
• language and auditory processing,
• attention and other areas of executive function,
• motor abilities and/or social skills as well as reading, written language,
or mathematics,
Tests for Dyslexia
o Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test
o Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test
o Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals
o (Subtests of) Woodcock Johnson Psycho educational Battery—III
o (Subtests of) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
o Wechsler Objective Reading Dimension (1993),
o Wechsler Objective Numerical Dimension (1996),
oWoodcock Reading Mastery Test
oGray Oral Reading Test
oComprehensive Test of Phonological Processing
oTest of Word Reading Efficiency
oRapid Automat zed Naming Tasks
oPeabody Individual Achievement Test
oTest of Early Reading Ability
Tests for Dysgraphia
• Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Drawing
• Berry Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration
• Test Of Written Language-III (1996).
Tests for dyscalculia
• (Subtests of) Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery—III
• Wide Range Achievement Test
• Key Math Diagnostic Assessment
• Test of Mathematical Abilities
• (Subtests of) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
Assessment of reading:oIdentification of alphabets and knowing the sounds of letters in the early years
oWords in isolation i.e. analysis of the kind of difficulties present while reading a word including decoding strategies, these could include substitution, omission or addition of consonants or vowels,.
oReading for meaning from a sentence or passage.
o Fluency in reading i.e the child reading the text in a word by word, phrase by phrase manner with pauses that do not contribute to the meaning of the text.
oDoes the child ignore punctuation while reading
o Understanding written directions
o Middle school and high school students should be assessed for reading rate.
Assessment of writing •Proper pencil grip
•Ability to retrieve alphabets representing sounds
•The formation and legibility of letters or numbers
•A mixture of print and cursive the appearance of upper case in the middle of a word should also be noted.
•Spelling as part of comprehension or essay writing, •Punctuation
•Use of vocabulary and synonyms in a piece of free writing,
•Ability to present ideas in an understandable sequence,
•Ability to plan and organize a written text for a particular audience or purpose
• Organization of writing and the mechanics of writing a paragraph or essay. •Speed of writing
Assessment of mathematical skills•The ability to recall basic math facts, procedures, rules, or formulas
•Ability to maintain precision during mathematical work
•Ability to sequence and carry out successfully multiple steps
•Understanding of the final goal of the math problem
•Ability to identify salient aspects of a mathematical situation, particularly in word problems or other problem solving situations where some information is not relevant
•Ability to remember and understand the vocabulary and language of math
•Ability to know when irrelevant information is included or when information is given out of sequence
•Ability to explain and communicate about math, including asking and answering questions
•Ability to read texts to direct own learning
•Ability to remember assigned values or definitions in specific problems
Educational ConsiderationsAccording to IDEA
STATISTICS
43% of LD - living at or below the poverty level
1 out of every 5 people in the U.S. has a learning disability.
3 million children (ages 6 through 21)
10% - 15% of the school-age population. With ADHD OR
LD
SLD Have increased 22% Over past 25 YEARS
48% of those with LD are unemployed.
25 – 40% OF LD Are on government assistance programs
ACCORDING TO IDEA THE DISABILTY ESTIMATION
TRENDSAccording to(The National Center for Learning Disabilities)
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
o The number of school-age children with learning disabilities has declined by 14% during the last decade.
o 2.5 million public school students – about 5% of all students in public schools – were identified as having learning disabilities in 2009;
o Graduated students with LD (64%) Than a decade ago (52%) .
o dropping out of school (22%) than in 1999 (40%).
o Only 10% of students with learning disabilities enrolled in a 4-year college within 2 years of leaving high school.
o Males comprise almost two-thirds of school age students with LD who receive special education services;
Contd…o The cost of educating a student with LD is 1.6 times the
expenditure for a general education student
o In 2008, 62% of students with LD spent 80% or more of their in-school time in general education classrooms
o The high school dropout rate among students with LD was 22%in 2008, down from 40% in 1999;
o Students with LD go on to postsecondary at lower rates than their non-disabled peers;
o In 2005, 55% of adults with LD were employed compared to 76% of those without LD
Facts of Learning Disabilities
Persons with learning disabilities are not “lazy” or “dumb.”• In fact, they usually have average or above average intelligence. Often
they fall within the range or “gifted.” Their brains just process information differently.
• Attention disorders, such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and learning disabilities often occur at the same time, but they’re not the same.
• Children with dyslexia use “almost five times as much brain area as other children while doing a simple language task” (Silverstein et al., 2001, p. 22
• Learning disabilities are not the same as autism, hearing or visual impairment, physical disabilities, or emotional disorders.
contd….• Learning disabilities aren’t caused by lack of educational opportunities,
such as frequent changes of schools, poor school attendance, or lack of instruction in basic skills.
• A learning disability is not a disease, so there is no cure, but there are ways to overcome the challenges it poses through identification and accommodation.
• Because many people with dyslexia are right-brained thinkers, they may be more artistic and creative, becoming poets, actors, inventors, and artists.
• Dyslexia does not mean that the person sees words “backwards
EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Students with learning disabilities may suffer from emotional problems/depression, and/or low self-esteem. This may cause students to withdraw from social interaction.
These same students may turn to drugs or alcohol for relief from feelings of low self-worth.
As many as 35% of students with learning disorders, drop out of High School (Girod, 2001, p. 31).
“Teenagers with dyslexia …[are] more likely to…think about and to attempt suicide than other young people their age”
(Landau, 2004,).
Technology and Individuals with Learning Disabilities
• The use of technology has been a great benefit to people with disabilities including those with learning disabilities.
• Students with learning disabilities are increasingly making use of technology to assist them in achieving academic success including word processing, the internet, videodiscs, CD-ROMS, and hypermedia.
TECHNOLOGY USED
COMPUTERS: For writing assignments, students with LD should
be allowed to use a computer (if available) so that they can get spelling support through the spell check program.
Students with dyslexia may find that writing assignments are more easily completed on a computer.
Consider trying computer software, like Kurzweil 3000, which reads textbooks and other materials to students.
OTHER ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY Teachers may:
Allow students to use calculators during Math, when the goal is concept attainment (and not automaticity of math facts)
Allow students to tape record lectures and/or tape notes for students.
Allow students who cannot speak clearly to use a speech synthesizer
Assessment: Allow for alternate forms of assessment by allowing
students to demonstrate learning through such things as portfolios, slide presentations, photographic essays, or taped interviews.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
• IDEA
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization
IDEA• Provides free and appropriate public education in the
least restrictive environment Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Reauthorization• A host of issues will be examined in the next IDEA
reauthorization process.
• Organizations representing the interests of the LD population will need to be solidly united behind a set of
• principles and recommendations so as to show a face of
unquestionable unity to policymakers.
Section 508 and 504 - Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• No individual with disability should be denied or rejected from school participation and from receiving programs
• Section 508- concentrates on accessibility of assistive technology to learning disability children.
• A revised version of Section 508 was approved in August, 1998 which makes strong recommendations for web accessibility
• Only covers federal agencies or state agencies that receive Tech Act funding
Americans with Disabilities Act
The 2008 Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act made significant changes to
Section 504, providing expanded coverage for students with disabilities not in need of
specially designed instruction as well as those with serious health conditions.
Widespread understanding of new rights and responsibilities by both school officials
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)• Involve threats to students with disabilities. Most prevalent among
these is the perception that students receiving special education are persistently low performing and should not be Expected to perform at grade level.
• The accountability framework of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) – the current version of ESEA –
• has provided substantial improvements for students w/ LD in terms of access to the general
• curriculum at their enrolled grade level and accountability for proficiency on state assessments.
• NCLD has led the way in documenting these advancements with groundbreaking reports.
Thank you
