Working with Students with Learning Disabilities
Dec 27, 2015
Working with Students with Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities: Incidence
• 5 – 20% of the general population
• That’s 5 – 30 million adults
• Variance due to misidentification
• African Americans and Hispanics are often inappropriately diagnosed with learning disabilities
What a Learning Disability Is Not
• Not mental retardation
• Not a homogeneous group of disorders
• Not the result of:
Poor or intermittent academic background
Emotional disturbance Lack of motivation Socio-economic deprivation Visual-hearing acuity English as a second language Physical disability
What a Learning Disability Is
• Inconsistent
• Permanent
• A pattern of uneven abilities
• Only present if the individual has average to above average intelligence (not necessarily “measurable” average to above average intelligence)
Learning Profile
Listening Speaking Reading Writing Reasoning Math Spelling0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Student w/Learning Disabilities Average Student
Slow Learner Developmental Student
Learning Disabilities
• 5 main issues
– Take information in through one or more of the senses (Input)
– Figure out what information means (Process)
– File information into memory (Storage)
– Pull information out of memory (Retrieve)
– Use what was learned (Output)
Abstract Reasoning Disorder
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty/Inability to make inferences
2) Difficulty/Inability to generate creative solutions
3) Difficulty/Inability to transfer generalization
4) Difficulty/Inability to understand relationships
5) Difficulty/Inability to work algebra
Pro
cess
Ou
tpu
t
Auditory Processing Disorder
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty/Inability to take information in through the sense of hearing and/or in processing auditory information
2) Difficulty/Inability to take notes
3) Difficulty/Inability to discriminate between similar sounds
4) Difficulty/Inability to spell correctly consistently
Inp
ut
S
tora
ge
Functional Limitations (Continued)
5) Difficulty/Inability to listen and remember information
6) Difficulty/Inability to hear sounds over background noises
7) Difficulty/Inability to learn foreign languages
8) Easily fatigued when listening to a lecture
9) Difficulty/Inability to hear sounds in the correct order
10)Has problems taking phone messages
Auditory Processing DisorderActivity
1) UKE ANT AN DELL TAT RUTH
2) LEE HONE ART DOUGH DOVE INCH HE
3) DOUGH FORD ELLA WEAR
4) HANG HERMAN IT MINT
5) SHATTER NOUGAT ANY SEA
6) ICE PEED GUN HEX SHUN
Auditory Processing DisorderActivity
7) ha leep air he
8) june how hull ask her
9) plea sway tube ease heated
10) caress peak reamed hone huts
11) jaw nan bah beak hen eighty
12) skoal elastic hap tee tude taste
Auditory Processing DisorderActivity
13) Poor Toe Reek Hoe
14) Hat Ten Shunned Deaf Asset Hoarder
15) Sayer Hutches Hiccup Ark Her
16) Plea Center Europe As Ward
17) Huge Act Men
18) Oz Tin Tech Sass
Auditory Processing DisorderActivity - Key
1) You can’t handle the truth2) Leonardo Da Vinci3) Dover, Delaware4) Anger Management5) Chattanooga, Tennessee6) High-speed connection7) Halle Berry8) Juneau, Alaska9) Please wait to be seated
Auditory Processing DisorderActivity - Key
10) Krispy Kreme Doughnuts11) John and Bobby Kennedy12) Scholastic Aptitude Test13) Puerto Rico14) Attention Deficit Disorder15) Sarah Jessica Parker16) Please enter your password17) Hugh Jackman18) Austin, Texas
Constructional Dyspraxia
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty/Inability to sequence letters, numbers, words, sentences, paragraphs, steps, etc.
2) Difficulty/Inability to construct written papers in the correct order
3) Poor speller
4) Difficulty/Inability to work math problems in the correct order
Inp
ut
S
tora
ge
Retr
ieve
O
utp
ut
Constructional DyspraxiaActivity
The flashback. Tale the action story about years
of over eighteen place takes 1775 a ending a told
In Period as Two earlier in and place Some
of takes beginning a of Cities of in 1793.
Constructional DyspraxiaActivity Key
The action of A Tale of Two Cities takes place over a period of about eighteen years, beginning in 1775 and ending in 1793. Some of the story takes place earlier, as told in the flashback.
(A Tale of Two Cities Study Guide. McGraw-Hill, Inc.)
Dyscalculia: Math Disability
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty with mathematical reasoning
2) Difficulty/Inability to understand numerical concepts
3) Difficulty/Inability to read and comprehend applied math problems (word problems)
4) Difficulty/inability to understand math terminology
Inp
ut
P
rocess
Sto
rag
e
R
etr
ieve
Functional Limitations (Continued)
5) Difficulty/Inability to align numbers
6) Number reversals
7) Difficulty/Inability to process math facts rapidly
8) Difficulty with the concepts of time and money
Dyscalculia: Math DisabilityActivity
'r berthynas cyd-rhwng 'r feithder chan an adult’s femur ( ar ddiesgyrna ) a 'r anterth chan 'r hoedolyn all bod agosaedig at 'r linear hafaliadau
Female y = 0.432x – 10.44Male y = o.449x – 12.15
'r berthynas cyd-rhwng 'r feithder chan an adult’s femur ( ar ddiesgyrna ) a 'r anterth chan 'r hoedolyn all bod agosaedig at 'r linear hafaliadau
Dyscalculia: Math DisabilityActivity Key
The relationship between the length of an adult’s femur (thigh bone) and the height of the adult can be approximated by the linear equations
Female y = 0.432x – 10.44Male y = 0.449x – 12.15
An anthropologist discovers a femur belonging to an adult female. The bone is 16 inches long. Estimate the height of the female (College Algebra: Sixth Addition. R. Larson & R. P. Hostetler. Houghton Mifflin Company)
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing Disability
Functional Limitations
1) Extremely poor handwriting; handwriting frequently appears to be very immature
2) Difficulty with the physical act of writing
3) Will almost always print, since “cursive/script” writing requires a great deal more eye-hand control and coordination
Ou
tpu
t
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityExample
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityExample
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityExample
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dyslexia: Reading Disability
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty/Inability to perform any task in which reading is an essential function
2) Difficulty/Inability to interpret charts, graphs, and other visual aids
3) Slow reading rateInp
ut
P
rocess
Sto
rag
e
R
etr
ieve
Ou
tpu
t
Functional Limitations (Continued)
4) Difficulty/Inability to decode (sound-out) new words
5) Poor comprehension and retention of reading material
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityExamples
Call me Ismael. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I though I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially when my hypos get such an upper had of me, that requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off – then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityExamples
Iff reckleswere love ly, andday wasnight, and measleswerenice and a liewarn't a lie,life would be delight,--butth ingscouldn't go rightf orin suchas adplight I wou ldn't be I. ifearth w ashe avenand nowwas hen ce, and pastwas pre sent, andfalse w as true, the remig htbe somesense b utI'dbe insuspense foro nsucha pretense y ouwouldn'tbe yo u.e. e.cu mmi ngs
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityExample Key
If freckles were lovely, and day was night, And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie, Life would be delight,-- But things couldn't go right For in such a sad plight I wouldn't be I. If earth was heaven and now was hence, And past was present, and false was true, There might be some sense But I'd be in suspense For on such a pretense You wouldn't be you. If fear was plucky, and globes were square, And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee Things would seem fair,-- Yet they'd all despair, For if here was there We wouldn't be we. (If by e. e. cummings)
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityExample
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityActivity
I susgect th at thechil b wi tha learn ing disadility mu stfre quent lyex ger i e n o e an alicein won berl an bex is ten ceof the wef in b tba tthe ymu st co ge wi tha n unsta dlew or lb in consistentabul tsa nd haphaza r b gerceg tio nsthey rec on Fuseb dyth erca zys ym dols we piv them gress ureb dy t he leng tho ft imei nwic hto b oi tamb frus tra ted dy regea teb fa ily resth eybo no tlear no hetra bit lon alw ayamb sow ern u stte achth embif Fere ntly.
Dyslexia: Reading DisabilityActivity Key
I suspect that children with learning disabilities must frequently experience an “Alice in Wonderland” existence. Often we find that they must cope with an unstable world, inconsistent adults and haphazard perceptions. They’re confused by crazy symbols we give them, pressured by the length of time in which to do it and frustrated by repeated failures. They do not learn the traditional way, so we must teach them differently.
Dyslexia: Reading Disability
Activity
Dyslexia: Reading Disability
Activity
…I was sitting on the verandah of my farm home in eastern Iowa when a voice very clearly said to me, “If you build it, he will come.”
(Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella)
Language Comprehension Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Difficulty with vocabulary
• Difficulty/Inability to answer factual questions
• Difficulty/Inability to concentrate during lectures
• Poor or low reading comprehension
• Difficulty with oral language
Inp
ut
S
tora
ge
Ou
tpu
t
Functional Limitations (Continued)
6)Understands what he/she hears, but not necessarily what was said
7)Difficulty/Inability to use prior knowledge to perform activities
8)Poor written expression
9)Low knowledge in content areas
Language Comprehension DisorderExample
Two sets of the same book are stacked triangularly against opposite walls. Both sets must look exactly alike. They are twelve books high against the wall, and twelve books from the wall.
Which postulate proves that the two stacks are congruent?
A) SSSB) SASC) ASAD) It cannot be determined
Language Comprehension DisorderActivity
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote the droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe course yronne, And smale fowles maken melodye, That slepen al the night with open yë— So priketh hem Nature in hir corages— Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes; And specially, from every shires ende Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende, The holye blissful martir for to seke, That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Language Comprehension DisorderActivity Key
When April with its sweet showers has pierced the drought of March to the root, bathing every vein in such liquid by which virtue the flower is engendered, and when Zephyrus with his sweet breath has also inspired the tender plants in every wood and field, and the young sun is halfway through Aries, and small birds that sleep all night with an open eye make melodies, their hearts pricked by nature, then people long to go on pilgrimages, and pilgrims seek foreign shores and distant shrines known in sundry lands, and especially they wend their way to Canterbury from every shire of England to seek the holy blessed martyr who has helped them when they were sick. (Beginning of the general Prologue from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - in Middle English)
Long-Term Memory Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Inconsistent when learning new information &/or facts (might remember one day and not the next)
• Difficulty remembering rote facts
• Difficulty/Inability to process and recall information through associations (events, related ideas and concepts, and names)
Sto
rag
e
Long-Term Retrieval Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Difficulty/Inability to recall information on tests
• Difficulty/Inability to retrieve words from memory
• Difficulty/Inability to pair, retain and retrieve visual and/or auditory information
• Difficulty/Inability to recite poems, speeches, plays, etc. from memory
Retr
ieve
Processing Speed Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Slow and/or uneven automatic processing speed
• Difficulty/Inability to complete assignments within imposed timed constraints
• Difficulty/Inability to take timed tests
• Difficulty/Inability to make comparisons rapidly between and among bits of information
Inp
ut
P
rocess
Retr
ieve
O
utp
ut
Processing Speed DisorderActivity
www.archimedes-lab.org
Reasoning Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Trouble thinking in an orderly, logical manner
• Difficulty/Inability to prioritize and sequence tasks
• Difficulty/Inability to apply a learned skill to a new task
• Difficulty/Inability to figure out the “next step”
Pro
cess
Ou
tpu
t
Short-Term Memory Disorder
Functional Limitations
• Difficulty/Inability to remember steps in sequential order
• Difficulty/Inability to retain information and/or concepts long enough to understand them
• Difficulty/Inability to follow directions
Sto
rag
e
Functional Limitations (Continued)
4)Difficulty/Inability to remember math processes and retain numerical information
long enough to work the problems
5)Difficulty/Inability to take notes during a lecture
6)Difficulty/Inability to answer oral questions
Short-Term Retrieval Disorder
Functional Limitations
•Difficulty/Inability to repeat back auditory information immediately after hearing the information
2)Difficulty/Inability to re-create visual information immediately after presentation of
the information
Retr
ieve
Functional Limitations (Continued)
3)Difficulty/Inability to retrieve information read at the beginning of a reading assignment
4)Difficulty/Inability to retrieve information during a lecture so that notes can be taken
Short-Term Memory/Retrieval DisorderActivity
Spatial Organization Disorder
Functional Limitations
– Problems perceiving the dimensions of space
– Difficulty/Inability to align number or letters on a page
– Difficulty/Inability to see things in the right order
– Trouble distinguishing left from right, north from south, up from down, ahead from behind, etc
Inp
ut
P
rocess
S
tora
ge
Ou
tpu
t
Spatial Organization DisorderExample
Can you Believe Your Eyes? J.R. Block & H. Yuker, Brunner-Routledge (1989). New York
Spatial Organization DisorderExample
The organizational culture – the values, beliefs, - - - commonly shared by the majority of thestrategic planning process and the strategic
custo
ms, n
orm
s, rituals,
etc.
em
plo
yees, a
ids th
e
pla
nners
them
selv
es
Spatial Organization DisorderActivity
www.archimedes-lab.org/poster0.html
Spatial Organization DisorderActivity
www.archimedes-lab.org, Italy
AB
Spelling Dyspraxia
Functional Limitations
1)Difficulty/Inability to spell words correctly on
a consistent basis
Inp
ut
P
rocess
Ou
tpu
t
Spelling DyspraxiaVisual vs. Auditory
Visual
• Will almost always spell words not stored in rote memory the same way each time – word may be phonetically correct
• Usually will not recognize correct spelling
Auditory
• Will almost always spell words not stored in rote memory differently every time
• Will usually recognize correct spelling
Visual Processing Disorder
Functional Limitations
1) Difficulty/Inability to take in information through the sense of sight
2) Difficulty/Inability to process visual information
3) Difficulty/Inability to fill-in computerized exam forms
4) Trouble/Inability to see a specific image within a competing background, such as picking a sentence out of a page of text
Pro
cess
Functional Limitations (Continued)
4) Trouble/Inability to see the difference between two objects
5) Difficulty/Inability to copy information off the board or from PowerPoint slides or overheads
6)Difficulty/Inability to “see” mistakes
7)Difficulty/Inability to work math problems on
a scrap paper and then to transfer the numbers accurately to the exam sheet
Functional Limitations (Continued)
8) Difficulty/Inability to comprehend maps, charts, graphs, etc.
9) Difficulty with geometry
10)Difficulty/Inability to align number or letters on a page
11)Fatigue when reading; often rubs eyes off and on while reading
12)Trouble/Inability to see how far away or near an object is
Visual Processing DisorderExample
Visual Processing DisorderExample
Visual Processing DisorderActivity
Visual Processing DisorderActivity
Visual Processing DisorderActivity
Visual Processing DisorderActivity
The Management Process
Global Strategic Planning: Cultural Perspectives for Profit and Nonprofit Organizations. M.I. Katsioloudes, Ph.D., Butterworth-Heinemann (2002). Woburn, MA
Writing Disorder
Functional Limitations
1)Difficulty/Inability to write sentences, paragraphs, and/or papers
2)Difficulty/Inability to sequence sentences and
paragraphs
3)Difficulty/Inability to take notes in classInp
ut
P
rocess
Ou
tpu
t
Functional Limitations (Continued)
4) Difficulty/Inability to get thoughts on paper
5) Difficulty/Inability to spell words correctly on a consistent basis
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity
Dysgraphia: Hand Writing DisabilityActivity