Learning DisabilitiesLearning DisabilitiesLearning DisabilitiesLearning DisabilitiesAccording to the National Advisory Committee on According to the National Advisory Committee on

Handicapped Children in 1967, a learning disability is a Handicapped Children in 1967, a learning disability is a “disorder of one or more of the basic psychological “disorder of one or more of the basic psychological

processes involved in understanding or in using processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself

as an as an imperfect abilityimperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. spell or do mathematical calculations.

Including

• Perceptual disabilities• Dyslexia (reading)• Dyscalculia (math)• Dysphasia (language)

Does not include problems resulting

from• Hearing (Deaf)• Vision (Blind)• Motor disabilities• Mental retardation• Emotional disturbance• Autism

OR– Environmental– Cultural– Economic disadvantage

Learning Disabilities 1987

In 1987, the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities defined learning disabilities as “a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance: or environmental influences (e.g., cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors), it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences.”

Learning Disabilities: Statistics

• Affects 1 in 7 people (14%)• Affects children and adults• Range from relatively mild to severe• Often runs in families• Are not cured and do not go away, but

individuals can learn to compensate for and even overcome areas of weakness.

Learning Disabilities: Statistics

• 2.3 million students currently receive special education services for LD in the U.S. (5% of all school-aged children in public schools)

• Approximately 85% of all LD individuals have difficulty with READING.

Learning Disabilities• One of the most consistent features of

LDs is unevenness in development. These differences are most pronounced in preschool and school-aged children with LD.

Auditory vs. Vision• About 80% of learning disabilities

are associated with auditory processing deficits while about 20% are associated with visual processing deficits.

Visual processing deficits resulting in classroom difficulties

• An child with LD may have visual information processing deficits.

• Poor laterality and directionality– Difficulties with letters, spelling, and reading– Difficulty with left-right concepts– Makes consistent reading and spelling errors

including letter reversals (b/d, p/q), inversions (m/w), transpositions (felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)

– Transposes number sequences & confuses arithmetic signs (+,-,x,/,=)

Visual processing deficits resulting in classroom

difficulties

• Visual perception problems– Visual discrimination

• Confuses likenesses and differences• Mistakes words with similar beginnings

or ending• Difficulties with alphabet recognition

Visual processing deficits resulting in classroom

difficulties

– Visual figure-ground• Difficulty completing work• Difficulty discriminating relevant from irrelevant• Works slowly compared to peers

– Visual closure• Ignores details of visual tasks

– Visual memory and sequencing• Poor spelling skills• Difficulty with math concepts• Difficulty visualizing what is read• Poor recall of visually presented tasks

Visual processing deficits resulting in classroom

difficulties

• Visual-motor integration problems cause– Difficulty completing written work in

allotted time– Poor spacing and inability to stay on

lines– Poor writing– Difficulty producing answers on paper

Visual processing deficits resulting in classroom

difficulties

• Auditory-visual integration– Poor spelling ability– Difficulty learning to read

phonetically– Difficulty relating symbols to their

sounds

Assessment of Learning Disabilities

• Discrepancy Model– Intelligence– Academic Achievement

• Response to Instruction

Example of Intelligence TestWechsler Intelligence Scales IV

• Verbal– Similarities– Vocabulary– Comprehension– (Information)– (Word Reasoning)

• Perceptual Reasoning– Block Design– Picture Concepts– Matrix Reasoning– (Picture Completion)

• Working Memory– Digit Span– Letter-Number

Sequencing– (Arithmetic)

• Processing Speed– Coding– Symbol Search– (Cancellation)

Block Design

Block Design

Block Design

Picture Concepts

Picture Concepts

Picture Concepts

Matrix Reasoning

Matrix Reasoning

Matrix Reasoning

Matrix Reasoning

Matrix Reasoning

Symbol Search

Symbol

Search

Cancellation

Cancellation

Example of Achievement Test

Woodcock-Johnson III

• Letter-Word Identification• Reading Fluency• Calculation• Math Fluency• Spelling• Writing Fluency• Passage Comprehension• Applied Problems• Writing Sample• Word Attack

Letter-WordIdentification

Reading Fluency

MathCalculation

s

WritingFluency

Passage Comprehension

WritingSample

Word Attack