Learning Needs

Moderate Learning Difficulties:

Students who are significantly below their age expected levels across all areas of the curriculum, despite intervention and differentiated learning. Students with MLD will have difficulty acquiring basic Literacy and Numeracy skills. These students may also have associated difficulties in the areas of Speech and Language, social communication, low levels of concentration and should also be monitored for low self esteem.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD:

Students with ADHD demonstrate poor concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity and impulsiveness which are considered inappropriate for the child's age. This can lead to student's being disorganised, forgetful, blurting out answers and unable to remain seated. Students with ADHD typically underperform and can also have associated learning difficulties such as Dyslexia.

Autism Spectrum:

Autism describes a life-long developmental disorder. All students on the Autism Spectrum display impairments in three areas: understanding and use of of verbal and non-verbal communication; understanding of social behaviour; the ability to think and behave flexibly. Along with this Triad of Impairment, those with AS may also have sensory difficulties and other associated learning difficulties. Current thinking on AS identifies that they perceive the world differently which redirects the focus of support on modifying the environment rather than modifying the student.

Hearing Impairment:

Students with HI range from mild hearing loss to profoundly deaf. In school students may benefit from accommodations or adaptive technology such as hearing aids or sound fields. Some students may require sign language in order to access the curriculum.

Multi-Sensory Impairment:

Students with MSI will have both visual and hearing impairment along with other associated learning difficulties. As such they will have much greater difficulty in accessing the mainstream curriculum and the environment then those with a single impairment. Students will have difficulty in perception, communication and in acquiring information and will require modifications to their learning environment and the way that they access the curriculum.

Physical Difficulties/Disabilities:

For some students with physical difficulties there will not be an educational difficulty and therefore would have a disability - this does not mean that they would be placed automatically on the LD Register. However, many students with PD may need modification to there environment or adaptive technology to access the mainstream curriculum. They may be mobile but may have difficulty with their fine motor skills, such as handwriting. Typical PD may include Muscular Dystrophy or Cerebral Palsy. If such accommodations are required then they may be added to the LD Register to ensure appropriate provision is made.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health - SEM:

Commonly referred to as BESD in the UK, SEM describes responses or behaviours that are not within a typical range. These responses will typically be persistent and sufficiently severe to impact upon the learning of the individual. Students with SEM may be isolated, have poor family and peer relationships, concentration difficulties as well as aggressive behaviours. Other disorders can be evident in those with SEM such as anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders.

Speech and Language Disorder:

A Speech and Language disorder describes students whose language development is delayed to such an extent that it impacts upon their learning. Typically, it will affect their receptive and expressive language as well as their understanding of language and speech sounds. Students with SLD will need to be taught speech language that typically developing students would learn naturally.

SpLD - Dyslexia/Dysgraphia/Dyscalculia/Dyspraxia etc.:

SpLD describes difficulties that students have in the areas of reading, writing, maths and their actions.

Dyslexia: affecting the way that a student reads - typically students with Dyslexia will be reading at level far lower then their cognitive ability will indicate they should be.

Dyscalculia: affecting the way students acquire basic number facts - their will be a disparity between their cognitive ability and their understanding of maths. Unlike Dyslexia, Dyscalculia has only recently been recognised as a SpLD.

Dysgraphia: affecting the way students remember and mastering the muscle movements required to write - as with other SpLD this is a neurological disorder and can occur alongside Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.

Dyspraxia: also known as Developmental Dyspraxia - an impairment or immaturity in the organisation of movements but also impacts language, perception and thought. Experts describe Developmental Dyspraxia as the difficulty in getting our bodies to do what we want when we want it to.

Visual Impairment:

A visual impairment is defined as a difficulty that cannot be rectified by glasses/lenses or surgery. VI ranges from partially sighted to total blindness and the impact on their development depends on the level of VI, the age at which the become VI and the overall functional ability of the student.