SPED 3100

SLD Reading Summary

Ashley Kania

A specific learning disability can be defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that
may manifest itself in an imperfect inability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do
mathematical calculations, including such conditions as perpetual disabilities, brain injuries,
minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental, aphasia. (Learning Disabilities). The
NJCLD has a similar definition although a critical part of the decision that it adds to this is that
problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perceptions, and social interaction may exist with
learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. (Learning
Disabilities). These definitions give an outline of what a learning disability can be categorized
under and the different skills people with a learning disability may not have mastered or be able
to master due to this disability so it is important to also know the characteristics that are common
among students who show signs of having a learning disability. These characteristics can show
up in three different areas of the childs life: academic, social and behavioral style. In a students
academic setting it is key to look for traits such as unexpected underachievement; resistant to
treatment/difficult to teach; inability to solve problems; uneven academic abilities; poor basic
language, reading and decoding skills; inefficient information processing abilities; and/ or the
ability to generalize. In the students social skills/life key characteristics to look for include
whether or not the student is immature; socially unacceptable; victimized rejected; nave;
dependent; shy, withdrawn, insecure; or whether the student misinterprets social and nonverbal
cues; makes poor decisions; is unable to predict social consequences or follow social
conventions. A typical behavioral style of a student with a learning disability is one that is
unmotivated; disorganized; inattentive; distractible; hyperactive; impulsive; and/or poorly
coordinated.

SPED 3100
SLD Reading Summary

Ashley Kania

The defining characteristic of a learning disability is unexpected underachievement.

When a child starts performing significantly below what is normally expected from them at their
age and ability in the classroom without cause this should send an alert to the adults who make
up the childs surroundings. The root of this unexpected underachievement problem can be
contributed to a lack of motivation and/or poor attention; inability to generalize; inattention; the
insufficient problem solving skills; and the characteristic of faulty processing. Depending on
what the problem is for the student may alter the learning styles that can lead to a substantial
improvement in achievement. One characteristic to focus in on is the students motivation. A
students motivation and attribution are related and important factors in addressing the
unexpected underachievement problem as motivation is ones inner drive that causes an
individual to be energized and directed in their behaviors. Attributions are the students selfexplanations about their success or failure.
Specific Learning Disabilities are identified in students through the application of
discrepancy formulas. These formulas determine whether there is a significant gap between the
students achievement and potential; accounting for the students failures as well. The type of
discrepancy formula used in each state varies; however each state requires that students are
identified through these. There are two tests that apply to all discrepancy formulas, which are an
IQ test and a score from a standardized achievement test. The process is usually done by a school
diagnostician or psychologist who will give the student the IQ and achievement test first and
then apply the discrepancy formula to the situation. From here becomes a basic, but strict yes or
no if the student has a learning disability.
The muddy point in this specific learning disabilities happens in the referral process for
students into special education. Although there are process of identifying whether someone has a

SPED 3100
SLD Reading Summary

Ashley Kania

specific learning disability or not is straightforward, there are a lot of cases where school service
committees will often ignore the strict policies by identifying students as having a learning
disability who do not meet the required discrepancy between the academics and ability for these.
This happens in attempts to avoid being negatively labeled as mentally retarded or in some cases
trying to get the help for students that they desperately need in order because otherwise they may
not qualify for special education. There are some teacher who will push for students to be
wrongly identified as having a learning disability if they are linguistically different and the only
thing that is holding these students back in class is their lack of proficiency in English. Some
teachers have good intentions in the various cases as they refer these students for special
education because they have hoped of getting these students extra help the may need and
possible could benefit from to succeed in school.

SPED 3100
SLD Reading Summary

Ashley Kania

Works Cited