PD2012 LD

JCPS Adult and Continuing Education 1


Successful Research-Based Solutions for Students with Special Needs

Nina Mounce&

Martha Ruth Van Cleave


AGENDA

• Introduction• Special Needs Definitions• Fat City – Rick Lavoie• Break• Accommodations and Adaptations• Power Path Strategies• Strategies for the Adult Learner


LEARNING DIFFERENCES PRETEST

TRUE – FALSE

1. If an adult has a learning disability, he more than likely is considered to be mentally retarded.

2. It is estimated that 50 – 80 % of students in Adult Basic Education and literacy programs are affected by learning disabilities.

3. There is a lot of research on learning disabilities and the manifestations that they have on adults.

4. Children who have been identified with a learning disability tend to grow out of it.

5. There is only one learning disability that adults have and that is dyslexia.6. When adults have a learning disability the only part of their life that is

affected is the part that deals with education.7. When providing an accommodation the program is providing the student

with a place to stay or live.8. It is the adult education program’s responsibility to provide every

accommodation that the student requests.9. The best way to learn is by using printed material.10.People who have learning disabilities are rarely successful in the workforce

and have trouble earning an adequate wage.



KENTUCKY STATISTICS

• 800,000 People in KY do not have a diploma• 500,000 of those people are working age• GED graduates 10,000 per year• Nearly 1 million Kentucky adults read poorly if

at all• The average income in Kentucky is 83% of that

in neighboring states• 1 out of every 5 adults has a learning difference• 2.9 % of the adults have a learning disability • Boys outnumber girls 3 – 1


US STATISTICS

• 1 IN 7 Americans have a learning disability

• 15% of the US Population

Compiled by the National Institute of Health, 2011


Definition of Learning Disabilities(Learning Differences)

A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the central nervous system processes involved in perceiving, understanding and/or using concepts through verbal (spoken or written language) or nonverbal means. This disorder manifests itself with a deficit in one or more of the following areas:

Attention, reasoning, memory, communicating, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social competence and emotional maturity. JCPS Adult and Continuing

Education 9


Learning Differences Glossary

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – A disorder characterized by inappropriate degrees of attention, impulsiveness, and/or hyperactivity. Although these areas are considered to be core symptoms, all three characteristics are not necessarily present in those affected. Symptoms are generally first manifested early in childhood and may persist in varying degrees throughout adult life.

• Attention Deficit Disorders: Commonly found in the difficulty with sustaining attention and focusing on information for long periods of time. The difference between ADD and ADHD is the absence or presence of hyperactivity.

• Dyslexia: Difficulty reading. When viewed through the criteria of academic success this is probably the most serious and debilitating learning disorder. The difficulty may take many forms including seeing letters in mirror image, reversals, in ability to distinguish the spaces between words, etc.JCPS Adult and Continuing

Education 11

What Dyslexia Is Not

• It is not a sign of poor intelligence.

• It is not the result of laziness or of not caring.

• It is not a disease.

• It cannot be cured with pills, diets, or medical treatment.

• It is not an eye problem.

• It is not outgrown, although individuals with dyslexia can learn how to learn.


DYSLEXIA Neurological in origin

• Neurological in origin

• Characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition

• Spelling & Decoding Difficulties

• Problems in Reading Comprehension• Average to Above Average IQ

• Info processed in different area of the brain

• Inherited• 15% - 20% have dyslexia


14JCPS Adult and Continuing

Education

Learning Differences Glossary (con’t)

Dysgraphia: Difficulty writing. This can be the actual physical (motor) process required for writing, or the difficulty of being able to express ideas in writing, or of the symbols required for writing (mathematical as well as other letter symbols).

• Dysgraphia: Difficulty writing. This can be the actual physical (motor) process required for writing, or the difficulty of being able to express ideas in writing, or of the symbols required for writing (mathematical as well as other letter symbols).

• Dyscalculia: Difficulty coping with mathematics, comprehending as well as understanding relationships between mathematical symbols and concepts; difficulty with calculations and number manipulation.

• Intellectual Difficulties: Difficulty with the capacity to learn. No definite brain damage is indicated in the history or

from neurological findings; nor is there any evidence /suggestion of other cause(s).




TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS & ADAPTATIONS

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT – 1990

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

FOUR ACCOMMODATIONS REQUEST FORMS

Physical/chronic healthEmotional/mental

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderLearning and other cognitive disability

TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS FOR BLIND, VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND DEAF



Education


Education

POWER PATH STRATEGIES

• Build on student’s strengths

• Complete partnership contract with student.

• Develop peer learning team to work with student.

• Incorporate three ways of learning into each activity.

• Add review session or write journal entry at end of each learning activity.

• Use positive self-talk.

• Provide frequent feedback on student’s effort.






PD2012 LD

Education

adult learnerjcps adult

dyslexia jcps adult

adult life

difficulty writing

adult basic education

learning disability

debilitating learning

concepts difficulty