Introduction to Learning Disabilities

Prepared by:Cicilia Evi GradDiplSc, M. Psi

Brief History

• Foundation phase: 1800s• 1920-1930 Samuel Orton called it: dyslexia• 1930s Helen Davidson found a persistent letter

‘reversals’ b, d, p, q, g• The term Learning Disabilities was introduced by

Prof. Sam Kirk at a meeting of parents and professionals in Chicago on April 6, 1963

• Marianne Frostig: if visual perception enhanced improve reading abilities could NOT be validate

Definition

• Hard to reach agreement …• Learning disabilities describes a condition of

unexpected underachievement – in which academic performance significantly below what would be predicted from the individual’s talents and potential shown in other areas (Smith & Tyler, 2009)

• The official name: specific learning disabilities

LD?

• Different with difficulties that we have in daily situation which is infrequent

• For LD, the difficulties are common situations• Therrien & Kubina (2006) particular

difficulties including:– achieving reading fluency (able to read quickly and

correctly)– developing reading proficiency (reading efficiently

with understanding)

Points of Similarity

1. Neurological dysfunction to some extent, other factors at school/home may exacerbate this condition

2. Difficulty in academic tasks reading, writing, math or spelling, or listening, speaking or thinking

Points of Similarity (2)

3. Discrepancy between achievement and potentials normal intelligence, but having academic problems 2 years behind expected grade level

4. Exclusion of other causes mental retardation, emotional disturbances, hearing/visual impairments, or social/cultural disadvantage

IQ/Achievement Discrepancy

• Students have to wait sometimes for years. Usually diagnosed at 3rd grade

• Reliance on IQ score • Size of special education category it is still

large, due to education service • Uniqueness and individual patterns of learning

heterogeneous group of learners no single treatment, explanation or accommodation is uniformly effective

Unexpected Underachievement

• Problems not due to their intelligence capacity• Can’t achieve academically like their classmates

without disabilities • Face challenges in almost every academic area• Key features of LD: cognitive problems, poor

motivation, along with insufficient instructional response to instruction

• LD reflects deficits in the ability to process information or remember it (Torgensen, 2002)

Reading/Learning Disabilities

• Student’s reading ability are significantly below those of classmates without disabilities

• Significantly below what is expected on the basis of the student’s other abilities

• Also have written communication problems• Called dyslexia • Started with difficulties to decode words and gain

information from printed pages• Complexity of tasks ↑ - harder to keep the pace

They are dyslexic …

Math/Learning Disabilities

• 5-8 percent of all students (Kunsch, Jitendra & Sood, 2003)

• Many students who have reading disabilities, also have math disabilities both have their roots in an inability to master core, foundation skills during preschool (Chard, dkk, 2008)

• Solving multistep problems (borrowing and long division) and solving word problems

Resistant to Treatment

• Called as ‘nonresponders’ (Fuchs & Deschler, 2007)

• Do not profit from typical instruction used in the general education classes

• Require intensive, individualized instruction

Characteristics

• Holding negative attributions• Being nonstrategic• Being unable to generalize or transfer learning• Processing information inefficiently or

incorrectly• Possessing poor social skills

Negative Attributions

• Motivation inner drive to be succeed• Attributions self-explanations about the reasons

for one’s success or failures • Years of being unsuccessful convince them that

there is nothing they can do learned helplessness • Stop asking Qs, seek help, read materials believe

in external power: luck, others• Need to have understanding of effort and

accomplishment

Nonstrategic

• Being organized efficient and effective learning

• Thinking skills : – Chunking by groups – Associating using relationships among and

between facts, ideas, different knowledge bases– Sequencing sequencing units or information

along a dimension

Inability to Generalize

• Difficulty to transfer their learning to novel situations or extend their learning of one skill to similar skills

• Borrowing vs Zero in the tens coloumn

Faulty Information Processing

• Human brain = computer (Janet Lerner)• Input processing output• LD have difficulty in either one of the process

or simply, they do it differently than typical learners

• Identify the differences on how students can understand the task to improve academic performances

Poor Social Skills

• 75% of LD influence self-concept, ability to make friends, interactions, schoolwork

• Why?– Relationships: among LD language impairments

social competence (ability to perceive and interpret social situations, generate appropriate social response and interact with others)

– Downward spiral: academic failure positive peer relationships

Causes and Prevention

• Still hard to document • One assumptions: neurological, may be brain

damage caused by lack of oxygen before, during, after birth

• Many LD reports they have relatives with similar problems genetic link

• Prevention?

Overcoming Challenges

• Effective instruction (example of DB cases)• Target the right skills, set goals and

expectation high, use validated instructional procedures, and support their LD students to meet their goals

• Educators have to be creative!

Homework

• Find an article from magazine, internet or any kind of sources that you can find about the family of children with LD.

• Make sure that you read the article• Identify the problems, difficulties, strategy and

intervention that they have• Share with the class next week