Learning Disabilities

SAMANTHA BASILE AND ANTHONY LAWLIS

What are Learning Disabilities

Definitions:
Federal: The term specific learning disability means a

disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes

involved in understanding language, spoken or written.
National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities:
The general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of
disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the
acquisition and use of learning, speaking, reading, writing,
reasoning or in math.

What are Learning Disabilities?

LDs affect the brains ability to receive, process, store,

respond to and communicate information.

LDs are actually a group of disorders, not a single
disorder.
LDs can affect

Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Spelling
Reasoning
Mathematics
Social skills

What are Some Characteristics of LDs?

The perceptual and cognitive difficulties students

with learning disabilities face are assumed to be the

underlying causes of the following characteristics

Reading Problems
Deficits in Written Language
Underachievement in Math
Poor Social Skills
Hyperactivity
Behavior Problems
Low Self-Esteem

Reading Problems
Reading is by far the most common characteristics

with learning disabilities.

About 80% of students with learning disabilities are
referred to special education because of reading
problems.
The most severe reading problems of children with
learning disabilities lie at the word level of processing

-Phonological awareness- knowledge that language is made up

of sound.
-Phonemic awareness- Knowledge that words consist of
separate sounds and the ability to manipulate these sounds.

Writing Deficits
Problems writing and spelling.
Difficulties planning what they are going to write.
Often write what comes to their head first.

As a result, they produce poorly organized

compositions with poorly developed ideas .

Math Underachievement
Numerical reasoning and calculation pose major

problems for many students with learning

disabilities.
As with reading and writing, research shows that
explicit, systematic instruction of thoughtfully
sequenced skills can improve math performances.

Social Skills Deficits

75% of students with learning disabilities exhibit

deficits in social skills.

Lead to rejection, low social status, less positive
interactions with teachers, difficulty making new
friends, and feelings of loneliness.
Sometimes caused by the students inability to
perceive the nonverbal affective expressions of
others.

Hyperactivity
Difficulty attending to a task.

Some children with learning disabilities are also

diagnosed with ADHD.

High degree of comorbidity (2 conditions occurring in the

same individual).

Behavioral Problems
Higher frequency of risk-taking behaviors among

students with learning disabilities.

Smoking, drinking, delinquency, acts of aggression, gambling

Low Self-Esteem
More likely to report lower levels of self-esteem,

mood, effort, and hope than their peers without

learning disabilities.
Notice what they are expected to do and what they
actually can do.

What are some Learning Disabilities?

Dyslexia- Language-based processing disorder can hinder reading, writing, spelling
and sometimes even speaking. Children and adults with dyslexia have a neurological
disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.

Example: Confusing letter names and sounds, difficulties blending

sounds into words, slow rate of reading, trouble remembering after

reading text

Dyslexia Workshop Activities

2 Minutes in Their Shoes
Dyslexia Simulation

Video on Dyslexia
Dyslexia: A Hidden Disability

What are some Learning Disabilities?

Dyscalculia- Math related disability. It can vary from person to person, and it
affects people differently at different stages of life.

Example- Remembering math facts, concepts of time and money,

difficulty learning to count by 2s, 3s, 4s, poor mental math skills,
problems with spatial directions

What are some Learning Disabilities?

Dysgraphia- affects writing, which requires a complex set of motor and information
processing skills. It can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting
thoughts on paper.

People with dysgraphia might have trouble organizing letters, numbers

and words on a line or page.

What are some Learning Disabilities?

Informational Processing Disorders
Auditory Processing Disorder- can cause difficulty in distinguishing the
difference between similar sounds, among other difficulties. Although auditory processing
disorder is not named as learning disability under federal law, it can explain why some
children may have trouble with learning and performance.

Visual Processing Disorder - can cause difficulty in seeing the difference

between two similar letters, shapes, or objects, or noticing the similarities and differences
between certain colors, shapes and patterns.

What are some Learning Disabilities?

Other Related Disorders
Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)- ADHD and LD
are not the same thing, but ADHD certainly can interfere with learning and behavior. About
one-third of people with LD have ADHD.

People with ADHD have trouble sitting still, lose interest quickly, and

daydream.

Prevalence of Learning Disabilities

By far the largest of all special education categories
During the 2009-2010 school year,

nearly 2.5 million students ages 6-21

received special education under the
specific learning disabilities category.
Across grade levels, males with learning disabilities

outnumber females by a ratio of 3:1.

What Causes Learning Disabilities?

In many cases, the cause of a childs learning

disability is unknown.
Just like there are many different learning
disabilities there are many different causes.

Brain Damage or Dysfunction

Heredity
Biochemical Imbalance
Environmental Factors

Identification
One of the common forms of Identification is the

Response To Intervention.
This is a systematic prereferral and early

intervention process
It consists of universal screening and several tiers of

intensive trials of research-based interventions

before referral for assessment for special education
eligibility.

Tiers of Response To Intervention

The three tiers are as follows:
Primary Intervention in the General Education Classroom
Secondary Intervention
Tertiary Intervention

Primary Intervention in the General

Education Classroom
Primary intervention is provided to all students in the

form of evidence-based curriculum and instruction in

the general education classroom.
Students are considered at risk if their performance

and growth on the CBM are well below those of their

classmates.
If students are struggling during Tier I instruction

they are then moved to Tier II.

Secondary Intervention
In Tier II students who are struggling receive an

intensive fixed-duration trial of small-group

supplemental tutoring.
If the student make satisfactory progress during this

trial they then return to their original classroom

environment
If secondary intervention does not work then they

might receive a second trial of Tier II or move to a

multifactored evaluation.

Tertiary Intervention
Tier III in most RTI models is considered to be

Special Education.
Some special educators believe that students should

receive intensive individualized intervention before

the determination of special education eligibility.

Assessment
There are a variety of assessments that can be used

with students who have learning disabilities.

Examples of these assessments are the following:

Standardized Intelligence and Achievement Tests

Criterion-Referenced Tests
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Direct and Daily Measurement

Intelligence and Achievement Tests

These are tests are created so that one students

score can be compared with the scores of other

students who have taken the same test.
Examples of these tests are as follows:

Iowa Test of Basic Skills

The Peabody Individual Achievement Test
The Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement
Wide Range Achievement Test

ITBS Sample Questions

Criterion-Referenced Tests
These tests are different from the Intelligence and

Achievement Tests because the students score is

compared to a predetermined criterion, or mastery
level.
One example of a Criterion-Referenced Test is:

The Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills

Curriculum-Based Measurement
is also commonly referred to as progress monitoring.
this form of assessment measures the growth of

students proficiency in the core skills that contribute

to success in school. (Deno, Lembke, & Anderson,
n.d.)
The assessment measures a childs performance over
time and instructional decision making based on
visual inspection of graphs of those data.

Curriculum-Based Measurement
is also commonly referred to as progress monitoring.
this form of assessment measures the growth of

students proficiency in the core skills that contribute

to success in school (Deno, Lembke, & Anderson,
n.d.).
CBMs should be easy to administer, cost-and time-

efficient, and sensitive to small incremental changes

in student performance over time.

DIEBLS
One example of a CBM measurement is the DIBELS
Dynamic

Indicators
Of
Basic
Early
Literacy
Skills

DIBELS
This test consists of six individual measures and a

composite score.
The six measures are as follows:

First Sound Fluency

Letter Naming Fluency
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Nonsense Word Fluency
DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency
Daze
Composite Score

First Sound Fluency

This measure is where an assessor says words and

the student must say the first sound for each word.
The benchmark for this measure is 30 or more first

sounds per minute by the middle of kindergarten.

First Sound Fluency Assessment Video

Letter Naming Fluency

This measure is when the student is presented with a

sheet of letters and the student is asked to name the

letters.
There is no benchmark for this measure.

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency

This measure is when the assessor says words and

the student says the individual sounds in each word.

The benchmark for this measure is 40 or more

phonemes per minute by the end of kindergarten.

Phoneme Segmentation Video

Nonsense Word Fluency

This measure is when the student is presented with a

list of VC and CVC nonsense words and then are

asked to read the words.
This measure assesses a childs letter-sound

correspondence and ability to blend letters together

to form unfamiliar words.
The benchmark for this measure is 58 or more letter

sounds per minute by the end of first grade.

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

This measure is when the student is presented with a

reading passage and is asked to read aloud

The student is then asked to retell the story that they

just read.
The number of words read correctly in 1 minute is

the oral reading fluency rate.

DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency

The student receives 1 point for each word in his or

her retell that is related to the passage.

The benchmark for the end of first, second and third

grade are 47, 87, and 100 words read correctly per
minute.
The benchmark for the amount of retell point is 15,

27, and 30.

Daze
In this measure students are presented with a

reading passage in it there are multiple-choice boxes

that include the original word and two distractors.
The student receives 1 point for each correct word

and minus half a point for each incorrect word.

The benchmark for this measure is for the end of

third and fourth grade, which is 19 and 24 points.

Composite Score
The composite score for the entire assessment is a

combination of the multiple DIBELS scores and it

provides the best overall estimate of a students
reading proficiency.
The scores used to calculate the composite vary by

grade and the time of year.

Related Services
The related services for students with learning

disabilities are the following

Speech and Language Pathology Services

Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Social Work Services in the Schools
Counseling Services

Educational Placement Alternatives

There are four types of Educational Placement

Alternatives for students with learning disabilities.

General Education Classroom

Consultant Teacher
Resource Room
Separate Classroom

The General Education Classroom

The General Education Classroom is the first

placement because part of the IDEA requires that

students with disabilities must be educated to the
maximum extent possible.
Students with disabilities can only be taken out of
the general education classroom if their disability
necessitates.
There are many studies that show both the positives
and negatives of having students with learning
disabilities in the general education classroom.

Consultant Teacher
This teacher is there to provide support to the

general education teacher and other staff members.

This teacher also is responsible for working directly

with students with learning disabilities.

Some of the duties of the consultant teacher are to

select assessment devices, curriculum materials, and

instructional activities.

Resource Room
Is a specially staffed and equipped classroom where

students with learning disabilities come for one or

several periods during the day.
The resource teacher is certified in special education

and teach students needed academic skills, social skills,

and learning strategies.
The students goes to their general education classroom

and then the students will go to the resource room for

one or more periods during the day.

Instructional Methods & Strategies

Explicit instruction is unambiguous, clear, direct

teaching of targeted knowledge or skills.

Students are shown the skill and they are given

ample opportunities to practice the skill.

Three types of strategies for students with disabilities

are graphic organizers, visual displays, note-taking

strategies, and mnemonics

Instructional Methods & Strategies

Graphic organizers help students see meaningful

hierarchical, comparative, and sequential

relationships.
Visual displays help to instruct students with
disabilities when they are learning abstract concepts.
Strategic note taking is when you have special paper
that has cues on it guiding the note taking process.
Guided notes are teacher-prepared handouts that
provide an outline of the lecture and students must fill
in the outline with key facts, concepts, or relations

Instructional Methods & Strategies

The last of the instructional methods and strategies are

mnemonics.
These mnemonics can help students with learning

disabilities recall specific academic content.

Three common used mnemonic strategies are letter

strategies, keyword method, and pegword method.

Materials
iPad apps for students with learning disabilities
Educational Games for the computer
Website with Education Material for Students with

Learning Disabilities

Post-Vocational
Many students with learning disabilities are able to

attend both high school and college.

Students with learning disabilities are able to

graduate college and enter the work place.

These students are able to transition without much

difficulty after schooling

Organizations & Agencies

National Center for Students with Learning

Disabilities
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Council for Learning Disabilities
International Dyslexia Association

Recreational Programs/Facilities
Camp Ramapo

http://www.ramapoforchildren.org
PROJECT CHILD
Social Skills Group
Special Needs Activity Center

Childrens Literature
Special People, Special Ways

By: Arlene Maguire

Childrens Literature
A Rainbow of Friends

By: P.K. Hallinan

Childrens Literature
Dont Call Me Special

By: Pat Thomas

Professional Literature
Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special

Education
The Journal of Special Education
TEACHING Exceptional Children

Young Exceptional Children

Learning Disability Quarterly

Webliography
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning

disabilities/what-is-ld/what-are-learning-disabilities
http://www.tests.com/practice/ITBS-Practice-Test
http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistivetechnology-education/apps-students-ldorganization-study
http://www.do2learn.com
http://www.kaplanco.com/special-needs-educationsupplies