Specific Learning Disabilities Created By: Suad, Nawal, Bora, and Drew

Overview: Specific Learning Disability Causes SLD Determination Dyslexia Disgraphia Dyscalulia

Looking through a different lens Dyslexia Looking through a different lens

Back Ground What is Dyslexia? In 1878 the German neurologist Adolph Kussmaul first coined the term "word blindness" to describe his findings of patients who could not read and regularly used words in the wrong order. The term "dyslexia" was first introduced by the ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin in 1887 to replace "word blindness"; however, the switch in terminology did not become common usage until some years later. Dr. W. Pringle Morgan was one of the first to publish about the phenomenon of word blindness. In his article "A Case of Congenital Word Blindness," published in 1896 in The British Medical Journal, Morgan reported on a 14- year-old boy named Percy, with notable intelligence, who was continually making unnatural and strange mistakes when reading.

In 2002 The IDA adopted the following definition for dyslexia: Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

Very Common, more than 3 million cases per year How common is Dyslexia? Very Common, more than 3 million cases per year It is the most common of all diagnosed learning disability 3-7% of the world’s population

How Do People “Get” diagnosed with Dyslexia? The causes for dyslexia are neurobiological and genetic. Individuals inherit the genetic links for dyslexia. Chances are that one of the child’s parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles has dyslexia. Dyslexia is not a disease. With proper diagnosis, appropriate instruction, hard work, and support from family, teachers, friends, and others, individuals who have dyslexia can succeed in school and later as working adults.

Can Individuals Who Have Dyslexia Learn To Read? Testing shows that people with dyslexia are no more or less intelligent than the population at large. Having dyslexia makes reading, and sometimes other skills, more difficult to acquire, but having dyslexia is not necessarily a barrier to success. In fact, many individuals with dyslexia have not only been successful, they have changed the world. Yes! If children who have dyslexia receive effective phonological awareness and phonics training in Kindergarten and 1st grade, they will have significantly fewer problems in learning to read at grade level than do children who are not identified or helped until 3rd grade.

Strategies We Can Use • Provide a quiet area for activities like reading, answering comprehension questions • Use books on tape • Use books with large print and big spaces between lines • Provide a copy of lecture notes • Don’t count spelling on history, science or other similar tests • Allow alternative forms for book reports • Allow the use of a laptop or other computer for in-class essays • Use multi-sensory teaching methods • Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory • Present material in small units

Do you see, what I see? Cher Gen. George Patton Nolan Ryan Richard Branson

Dysgraphia Where you at?

What is Dysgraphia Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing, which requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills. Dysgraphia makes the act of writing difficult. It can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting thoughts on paper. People with dysgraphia can have trouble organizing letters, numbers and words on a line or page.

Dysgraphia Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremely poor handwriting. Each State has its own criteria which determine if a student has a learning disability as it is defined by special education guidelines. When a student's writing or graphing difficulties are severe enough to meet these criteria, special education services are indicated. Problems arise because "dysgraphia" has no clearly defined criteria. A student with any degree of handwriting difficulty may be labeled "dysgraphic" by some educational specialists, but may or may not need special education services. Most learning disabled students experience difficulty with handwriting and probably could be considered "dysgraphic". However, the term is seldom used within public schools because of the lack of any generally recognized or measurable criteria.

Underlying Causes Students with dysgraphia often have sequencing problems. Studies indicate that what usually appears to be a perceptual problem (reversing letters/numbers, writing words backwards, writing letters out of order, and very sloppy handwriting) usually seems to be directly related to sequential/rational information processing. These students often have difficulty with the sequence of letters and words as they write. As a result, the student either needs to slow down in order to write accurately, or experiences extreme difficulty with the "mechanics" of writing (spelling, punctuation, etc.). They also tend to intermix letters and numbers in formulas. Usually they have difficulty even when they do their work more slowly. And by slowing down or getting "stuck" with the details of writing they often lose the thoughts that they are trying to write about.

Dysgraphia Students with an attention deficit disorder (especially with hyperactivity) often experience rather significant difficulty with writing and formulas in general and handwriting in particular. This is because ADHD students also have difficulty organizing and sequencing detailed information. In addition, ADHD students are often processing information at a very rapid rate and simply don't have the fine-motor coordination needed to "keep up" with their thoughts. Some students can also experience writing difficulty because of a general auditory or language processing weakness. Because of their difficulty learning and understanding language in general, they obviously have difficulty with language expression. Recall that written language is the most difficult form of language expression. Although most students with dysgraphia do not have visual or perceptual processing problems, some students with a visual processing weakness will experience difficulty with writing speed and clarity simply because they aren't able to fully process the visual information as they are placing it on the page.

Strategies Encourage students to outline their thoughts. It is important to get the main ideas down on paper without having to struggle with the details of spelling, punctuation, etc Have students use a pencil grip Have students draw a picture of a thought for each paragraph. Encourage student to talk aloud as they write. This may provide valuable auditory feedback. Allow more time for written tasks including note-taking, copying, and tests. Outline the particular demands of the course assignments/continuous assessment; exams, computer literacy etc. so that likely problems can be foreseen. Give and allow students to begin projects or assignments early.

Living with Dysgraphia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZFQUBpAXC8

References http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967123.pdf

Dyscalculia

What is it? Is difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as a difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, and learning facts in mathematics.

Signs and Symptoms: Shows difficulty understanding concepts of place value, and quantity, number lines, positive and negative value, carrying and borrowing Has difficulty understanding and doing word problems Has difficulty sequencing information or events Exhibits difficulty using steps involved in math operations Difficulty understanding fractions Difficulty in making change and handling money.

What we know: It is generally seen as a specific developmental disorder. some groups are at greater risk of dyscalculia than others. People with Turner syndrome, epilepsy, and Fragile X syndrome are more likely to have Dyscalculia. You are also at greater risk for dyscalculia if you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If your mother drank during her pregnancy, or if you were born prematurely.

It can be tough to diagnose. What we know cont. It can be tough to diagnose. One of the challenges with Dyscalculia is that it doesn't get enough attention. Often people with dyscalculia have multiple difficulties with other things as well.

Accommodations: Allow use of fingers and scratch paper Use diagrams and draw math concepts Provide peer assistance Suggest the use of graph paper Use colored pencils to differentiate problems Work with manipulatives Draw pictures of word problems Use mnemonic devices to learn steps of a math concept Use rhythm and music to teach math facts and to set steps to a beat Schedule computer time for the student for drill and practice.

Activity https://www.understood.org/en/tools/through-your-childs- eyes/player?simq=d7e339d7-7c55-4fd0-bef6- 94b1a640d9dc&standalone=true&simulation=true

Resources https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning- disabilities/dyslexia/is-there-a-certain-font-that-works-best-for-kids-with-dyslexia https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning- disabilities/dyslexia/understanding-dyslexia https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/test-for-dyslexia-37-signs Images from http://rotaryglobaleagles.org/famous-people-with-dyslexia/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3748433/pdf/fpsyg-04-00516.pdf