1. Students with Learning Disabilities
Chapter 5
Students with Learning Disabilities
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

2. The federal law states that a student has a learning disability if he or she
(1) does not achieve at the proper age and ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences, and
(2) has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas: (a) oral expression, (b) listening comprehension, (c) written expression, (d) basic reading skill, (e) reading comprehension, (f) mathematics calculation, and (g) mathematics reasoning.

3. Learning Disabilities and Academic Performance
Reading is the most difficult skill area for most students with learning disabilities.
Language arts, especially spelling, written language, and spoken language, are closely tied to reading and also very difficult for many students with learning disabilities.
Mathematics can also present problems in understanding size and spatial relationships, concepts of direction, place value, fractions, decimals, and time, and remembering math facts.

4. Characteristics of LD

5. Essential Dimensions of a Definition of Learning Disabilities
Heterogeneous group of disorders
Have a neurological basis
Characterized by unexpected achievement
Not the result of other disorders or problems but may occur with other disabilities

6. The Prevalence of LD
Growth in this category has decreased by approximately 24% in recent years
Largest disability category (~2.6 million)
Prevalence remains higher for boys
than girls

7. Physiological Causes of LD
Brain injury
Prenatal
Perinatal
Postnatal
Heredity
Chemical imbalance

8. Curriculum and Environmental Contributors
Poor nutrition
Adverse emotional climate at home
Toxins or severe allergies
Poor teaching
Lack of stimulation
Poverty
Poor instruction

9. Cognitive Characteristics
Average or above average intelligence
Weaknesses in one or more areas:
Attention
Perception
Memory
Thinking/processing

10. The Normal Curve

11. Disability in Reading Word analysis skills
Phonological awareness difficulties, dyslexia
Word recognition errors
Omissions, insertions, substitutions, reversals
Oral reading
Insecurity, loses place

12. Phonological awareness
Skill that include identifying and manipulating units of oral language – parts such as words, syllables, and onsets and rhymes.
Children who have phonological awareness are able to identify and make oral rhymes, can clap out the number of syllables in a word, and can recognize words with the same initial sounds like 'money' and 'mother.‘
Students at risk for reading difficulty often have lower levels of phonological awareness and phonemic awareness than do their classmates.

13. Word Decoding and Phonics
Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words.
Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before.
Although children may sometimes figure out some of these relationships on their own, most children benefit from explicit instruction in this area.

14. Comprehension The understanding and interpretation of what is read.
To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read.
One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of enough words.
Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read – what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.

15. Oral Language Phonology—use of the correct sounds
Morphology– smallest units of the language
Syntax– correct use of grammar
Semantics– meaning of words
Pragmatics– proper use of language

16. Written Language
Dysgraphia-- deficiency in the ability to write primarily in terms of handwriting, but also in terms of coherence
Spelling
Omission or substitution of letters
Auditory memory and discrimination difficulties
Handwriting
Absence of fine motor skills
Lack of understanding of spatial relationships
Composition
Sentence structure
Paragraph organization
Complexity of stories

17. Disability in Mathematics—Dyscalculia
Computation skills
Word problems
Spatial relationships
Writing or copying shapes
Telling time
Understanding fractions/decimals
Measuring

18. Disability in Memory Short-term memory
Recalling in correct order, of either orally or visually presented information shortly after hearing or seeing the items
Working memory
Retaining information while simultaneously engaging in another cognitive activity
Success in reading and math depend on this ability
Crucial for word recognition and reading comprehension

19. Disability in Metacognition
Lack of awareness of strategies and resources needed to perform effectively
Inability to monitor, evaluate, and adjust performance to ensure successful task completion

20. Disability in Attributions
Students may attribute success to situations beyond their control such as luck rather than to their own efforts
Chronic failure makes success seem unattainable
Learned helplessness
Passive learners
Deficits in strategic learning behaviors

21. Social and Emotional Characteristics
Problems with:
Social perception
Social competence
Nonverbal learning disabilities
Motivation

22. Behavior Characteristics
Types of Behavior Problems
Out-of-seat behavior
Speaking-out
Physical or verbal aggression
Problems may be caused by:
Communication difficulties
Frustration with academics
Attention difficulties or hyperactivity

23. Criteria for LD Eligibility
Does a significant gap exist between the student’s ability and academic achievement?
Is the learning problem the result of a disorder in an area of basic psychological processing involved in understanding language?
Can other possible causes of the learning problem be eliminated?

24. A New Approach: Response to Intervention (RTI)
Permitted, not required by IDEA 2004
Three-Tiered Model
All students participate in tier 1, and educators use proven instructional methods
Students who don’t succeed in tier 1 receive supplemental instruction
Students who don’t succeed in tier 2 receive more intensive interventions

25. Tiers of Services in Academic Response to Intervention
Source: RTI Action Network

26. Eligibility Under RTI
Is the student still exhibiting significant gaps in learning even though research-based, individually designed, systematically delivered, and increasingly intensive interventions have been provided?
If the team decides that a student is nonresponsive to intervention, the team may decide the student has a learning disability.

27. Research on Inclusive Practices
Higher student self-confidence, higher expectations, improved academic progress
Higher grades, comparable scores on achievement tests, better attendance
Better social outcomes when students attend regular education classes part-time rather than full-time

28. Common Outcomes for Students with LD
High dropout rate
Less postsecondary education
Part-time employment
Lower occupational status
Lower wages

29. Model Transition Practices
Include career awareness and exploration
Teach problem-solving, organization, self-advocacy, and communication skills
Work experiences are valuable
Linkages between students and community services
Teach students self-advocacy skills

30. Planning for Other Educational Needs
Transition Success Skills for College
(in priority order)
Understanding their disability
Understanding their strengths and limitations
Learning to succeed despite their disability and what accommodations facilitate learning
Setting goals and learning how to access resources
Problem-solving skills
Self-management skills
Forming relationships with university personnel, peers, and mentors

31. Guiding Principles of Direct Instruction
Well-organized, sequenced lessons
Short review of previously learned skills
Clear statement of lesson goals
Presentation of new material in small steps
Frequent opportunities for practice
Questions to check for understanding