Essentially when a student is performing way below grade level/age expectations in an academic area (reading, math, writing, spelling, listening, articulating their thinking*). Their performance can not be affected by a loss of hearing (deafness), visual (visual impairment), or any possible emotional disturbance. It also can not be affected by their cultural or economic background**.
*I say articulating their thinking because some students (both children and adults) can have a hard time articulating their thouhgts, but they still think.
**This part often seems to go unnoticed in some districts.
"A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which manifests itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, as determined in accordance with section 200.4(j) of this Part. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage."
General Information:
39.5% of children requiring special education are classified as having a learning disability
Twice as many makes as females
individuals with average or above average intelligence who have difficulties with academic tasks
Used to require a discrepency between one's abilities and one's achievements to be diagnoised
RTI is commonly the first response to a possible learning disability
No known cause, generally believed to be assosciated with brain function
Students with learning disabilities score considerably lower than low-achieving students
Characteristics of Learning Disabilities:
Language & Literacy
Difficulties with expressive and receptive language
Significant reading problems
Lack phonemic awareness
Reading comprehension difficulties
Mathematics
Difficulties learning basic facts, rules, procedures
Difficulties learning personal math (money management)
Attention and Memory
ADD or ADHD common
Deficits in working, long term, short term, and sematic memory
Semantic memory-memory for verbal information
Thinking and Reasoning
Problems thinking abstractly
Take longer to learn new tasks and information
Metacognitive Abilities
Difficulties with metacognitive abilities
Metacognitive abilities-knowledge about one's learning and understanding
Social-Emotional Function
Social skill difficulties
Low self-esteem, self-awareness, self-preception
Weak self-confidence
Anxiety
Depression
Adaptations for Students with Learning Disabilities:
Adpat the Physical Environment:
Rearrange seating so students are in proximity of those who can help them focus
Face away from distractions
Structured daily routines and schedules
Adapt Instructional Materials:
Reduce literacy requirements whenever possible
Hands-on learning activities
Partner reading
Adapt Instructional Procedures:
Question students frequently
Use their answers to monitor their progress and adjust instructions
Review previously learned materials
Use peer tutors
Adapt Assess Methods:
Adapt test forms
Teach test taking skills
Read tests whenever possible
General Information:
90% of students with learning disabilities spend part of their day in a gen ed classroom
Identifying young children with a learning disability is contraversial
Characteristics of Learning Diabilities:
Hyperactivity
Quantative disabilities
Reading disorders
Disorder of attention
Adaptations for Students with Learning Disabilities:
Teach self monitoring
Teach in context
Engage in direct teaching
Utilize assistive technologies
Middlesex Valley Primary School (Marcus Whitman)
A student was classified in the last few days of the school year, so I was unable to see modification and accomidation implimented. I was able to see how they needed insturctions read (multiple times), directions simplified, access to physical manipulatives, and extra time. All of these are good modifications for someone with a learning disability.
Marion Elementary School (Mation Central Schools)
I had a student with a learning disability and it was evident in their milestone assessments from at the end of the previous year and the start of the current year. They were starting in fourth grade, but reading at a barely second grade level. They also struggled immensly with basic math facts.
N/A
How long does it take to get a student diagnoised with a learning disability?
Are there specific examples of a learning disability (like how down syndrome is an example of an intellectual disability)?