Learning Disability

Front 1

Learning Disabilities

Back 1

are a general term that a specific type of learning problem.

Front 2

The IDEA

Back 2

is a federal law that regulates how schools provide special education and related services to children with disabilities or learning disabilities.

Front 3

As many as

Back 3

1 out of every 5 people in the United States have a learning disability.

Front 4

A few other signs to look for are

Back 4

difficulty learning the alphabet, ryming words, connecting letters to their sounds, repeat and pause often when reading, messy handwriting, struggle with idea expression when writing, limited vocabulary, math number confusion and reversal, and a difficulty in re-telling a story in sequential order.

Front 5

A learning disability can cause

Back 5

a person to experience difficulty in learning, processing information, and to use certain skills.

Front 6

The skills that are most commonly affected are:

Back 6

reading, writing, listening, speaking, mathematics, and reasoning.

Front 7

This is due to the fact that children with learning disabilities have

Back 7

average or above average intelligence levels.

Front 8

Generally, children diagnosed with a learning disability usually do not reveal serious psychological or sensory impairment.

Back 8

Learning disabilities may carry with them demoralization, low self-esteem, and social skills deficits.

Front 9

Learning disabilities are often co-morbid with

Back 9

1. Oppositional Defiant Disorder,
2. Conduct Disorder,
3. Dysthymic Disorder, and
4. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Front 10

A reading disability is a learning disability that involves significant impairment of

Back 10

reading accuracy, speed, to the extent that the impairment interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily life.

Front 11

Reading involves several steps, including:

Back 11

pronunciation, phonics, silent letters, word recognition, and so forth.

Front 12

People with reading disabilities might experience the following:

Back 12

slow reading speed, poor comprehension, omission of words, reversal of words or letters, difficulty decoding syllables or single words and associating them with specific sounds (phonics), and limited sight word vocabulary.

Front 13

Children who experience a reading disability tend to experience more negative emotions than children who have typical reading skills

Back 13

Some negative emotions that have been associated with reading disabilities are: shame, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation.

Front 14

Some negative emotions that have been associated with reading disabilities are: shame, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation.

Back 14

slow reading speed, poor comprehension, omission of words, reversal of words or letters, difficulty decoding syllables or single words and associating them with specific sounds (phonics), and limited sight word vocabulary.

Front 15

"popcorn reading,"

Back 15

or reading aloud

Front 16

Some techniques that teachers can use to help children are:

Back 16

individual reading time, clapping to the rythm of the different phonemes, tutoring, reading shorter passages, pairing with skilled readers on topic tasks, and picture and physical action association.

Front 17

Continued reassurance, maintaining frustration levels low, providing flexibility, and providing realistic expectations are critical to reduce negative emotions and provide positive methods

Back 17

for children to cope with their disability

Front 18

This rate of improvement is at an astonishingly

Back 18

90 to 95%.

Front 19

Child vs. Adult Presentation

About 4% of school-age children in the United States

Back 19

are diagnosed with reading disability

Front 20

Children are usually presented with a reading disability when they

Back 20

start kindergarten or first grade, when reading skills are first developed.

Front 21

Since learning disabilities, are life-long, they

Back 21

persist into adulthood.

Front 22

If a person receives adequate intervention and treatment for their disability while in school,

Back 22

they will usually have learned coping skills by the time they enter adulthood.

Front 23

In contrast, if coping skills are not learned,

Back 23

they could continue to struggle as adults and fall into socially unacceptable lifestyles, such as substance abuse or other crimes.

Front 24

Gender and Cultural Differences in Presentation

Sixty to 80% of children who are diagnosed with reading disabilities are

Back 24

male

Front 25

The prevalence in females with the disability may be underestimated

Back 25

, since males tend to be more disruptive in class and referred to special education classes more often.

Front 26

Females, on the other hand, tend to

Back 26

quietly disassociate or daydream in expression of their disability.

Front 27

Twin Studies

Dyslexia was found in 80% or higher of monozygotic twins.

Back 27

In other words, monozygotic twins share the same environment and, therefore, share heritability.

Front 28

Depending on how strict the criteria is in a given country,

Back 28

the incidence and prevalence figures for Reading Disorder may vary from place to place.

Front 29

Epidemiology

It is approximated that between 5 and 15% of the general population has a learning disorder and about 80% has a reading disorder.

Back 29

Studies also suggest that about 4 percent of school-age children have a reading disorder.

Front 30

Symptoms of difficulty in reading can be seen as early as Kindergarten,

Back 30

but they are seldomly diagnosed before the end of Kindergarten or the beginning of first grade, because formal reading instruction does not begin until that time.

Front 31

Etiology

Therefore, the cause of reading disorder is difficult to pinpoint.

Back 31

However, research has found that this disorder may be partially inherited.

Front 32

Therefore, reading disorders are more common in children that have a

Back 32

first-degree biological relative with a learning disability.

Front 33

Other theories suggest that problems in certain locations of the brain may cause a reading disorder.

Back 33

Studies have shown that the left-hemisphere posterior brain system does not respond correctly when people with the disorder are reading.

Front 34

There may also be a visual or auditory processing deficit,

Back 34

such as having problems moving the eyes to follow text and moving the eyes back and forth across a line. This would not be a problem in seeing, but in processing information from the eyes and in using the eyes to get information.

Front 35

Empirically supported treatments

Early intervention is essential to the individuals well being.

Back 35

Customized education plans that has a cross-disciplinary educational approach is a treatment option.

Front 36

Many of the successful programs all use systems that are sound or symbol based, which breaks down the words into letters and sounds.

Back 36

Also, they attempt to build and reinforce mental associations using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic channels of stimulation.

Front 37

Mathematics Disorder

Back 37

Formerly known as developmental arithmetic disorder, developmental acalculia, or dyscalculia.

Front 38

This is a learning disorder in which

Back 38

a person's mathematical ability is substantially lower than the expected base for age, intelligence levels, life experiences, educational background, and physical impairments.

Front 39

Associated Features

Early difficulties with arithmetic are very noticeable through

Back 39

low scores in math

Front 40

There are four types of symptom categories that people with Mathematics Disorder can be observed having:

Back 40

1.) Language Symptoms:misunderstanding of greater than or less than or misunderstanding of word problems

2.) Recognition or Perceptual Symptoms: difficulty reading numbers, difficulty understanding plus or minus signs, or properly aligning numbers to perform calculations

3). Mathematical Symptoms: difficiencies in the ability to count, memorize basic arithmetic data as multiplication tables, or follow sequential steps in problem solving

4.) Attention Symptoms: inability to copy numbers or ignoring operational signs

Front 41

Child vs. Adult Presentation

This is primarily seen in children in elementary school more than in adults

Back 41

because of the amount of mathematical requirements that schools tend to impose on children to progress with their peers.

Front 42

It can also be seen in children as young as 6,

Back 42

but it is usually diagnosed when the child is 8 or in the third grade due to a foundation of basic math at that age.

Front 43

If proper diagnosis and treatment is not received early,

Back 43

studies show that there is higher risk of school drop out rates in children suffering from the disorder.

Front 44

Gender and Cultural Differences in Presentation

Some studies have shown no significant gender difference, but it may occur with greater frequency in

Back 44

girls

Front 45

Social constructs and state level administered tests tend to suggest that boys are better at math and

Back 45

girls are better at reading and writing.

Front 46

Epidemiology

Back 46

approximately 1% of school age children have a mathematical disorder

Front 47

Mathematical disorders appear to be

Back 47

less prevalent than reading disorders.

Front 48

Approximately ______ cases of learning disorders has a specific mathematics disorder.

Back 48

one in every five

Front 49

This disorder appears to run in families, similar to other learning disabilities.

Back 49

This suggests that there is a genetic component to this disorder.

Front 50

Etiology

he genetic components, which are thought to be a possible culprit for the disorder, are ones such as:

Back 50

Fragile X and Turner Syndrome

Front 51

Fragile X

is a genetic syndrome which results in a spectrum of characteristics

Back 51

physical, intellectual retardation, emotional and behavioral features which range from severe to mild manifestation

Front 52

It is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation of the FMR1 gene on the

Back 52

X chromosome

Front 53

Mutation on that site is found in 1 out of every 4,000 males and

Back 53

in 1 out of every 6000 females.

Front 54

Turner Syndrome is a genetic disorder in which

Back 54

only an X chromosome is present, instead of an X and a Y chromosome.

Front 55

This disorder affects females and is associated with

Back 55

short stature, lack of sexual development, cardiac problems, kidney abnormalities, and possible mental retardation.

Front 56

It is also more commonly seen in familial instances,

Back 56

in which one or more parents show more difficulty with mathematical subjects

Front 57

Also, it is commonly thought to be

Back 57

multifactorial.

Front 58

Injury to specific portions of the brain

Back 58

are also known to cause the inability to perform critical calculations thus leading to Mathematics disorder.

Front 59

Twin Studies

Back 59

The results for a group of twins researched were shared genetic influences in mathematics disorders and language disorders.

Front 60

Empirically Supported Treatments
.

Back 60

Studies show that those children need to be introduced to more problem-solving skills and tactics to eliminate distraction and add to their understanding

Front 61

Placement in special math classes with expert math teachers may be the

Back 61

most helpful to a child once he or she is diagnosed.

Front 62

Remedial education

Back 62

is shown to be effective for children because they need the specific help from teachers trained in learning disorders.

Front 63

Tutoring can help when the child's learning disorder is diagnosed

Back 63

very early to help them develop more tactics to perform at the average level.

Front 64

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

Back 64

also address other language or reading disabilities that affect a child's ability to learn mathematics and assist children in overcoming them and coping with them.

Front 65

Parents and teachers can look for the following signs to asses a potential mathematical disorder:

Back 65

problems counting, problems memorizing multiplication tables, inability to grasp the difference between addition and subtraction, poor computational skills, slowness in performing calculations, difficulty arranging numbers in order, inability to understand place values, difficulity understanding word problems, inability to understand mathmatical symbols, and inability to align two or three digit numbers to perform calculations.

Front 66

Disorder of Written Expression

Back 66

Writing skills are substantially below those expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

Front 67

Associated features

Back 67

This disorder was previously called developmental expressive writing disorder.

Front 68

This disabilitiy affects both the

Back 68

physical reproduction of letters and the organization of thoughts and ideas in written compositions.

Front 69

These early studies described three types of written disorders:

Back 69

1.) Inability to form letters and numbers correctly, also called dysgraphia

2.) inability to form words spontaneously or form dictation

3.) inability to organize words into meaningful thoughts.

Front 70

Children with Disorder of Written Expression experience

Back 70

great difficulty with the use of their writing skills.

Front 71

Also, the individuals with the disorder tend to make excessive errors and appear to have poor understanding in the areas of

Back 71

punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Front 72

Some common symptoms of people with disorder of written expression include:

Back 72

poor or illegible handwriting, poorly formed letters or numbers, excessive spelling errors, excessive punctuation errors, excessive grammar errors, sentences that lack logical cohesion, paragraphs and stories that are missing elements and that do not make sense or lack logical conclusions, and dificient writing skills that significantly impact academic achievement or daily life.

Front 73

Disorder of written expression is almost always associated with other learning disorders like a reading or mathematics disorder, and it is frequently accompanied by

Back 73

low self-esteem, social problems, increased rates of school dropout, conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, and possibly depression.

Front 74

However, people diagnosed with disorder of written expression often have _________ intelligence.

Back 74

average or above average

Front 75

Child vs. adult presentation

Typically, an individual is diagnosed with disorder of written expression around the age of eight

Back 75

which is usually around the time that children begin to read and write.

Front 76

Gender and cultural differences in presentation

Most researchers say _____ are more commonly diagnosed with the disorder of written expression than females.

Back 76

males

Front 77

Epidemiology

Back 77

3 to 10% of school aged children in the United States are estimated to have disorder of written expression.

Front 78

15% of the United States population are said to have a type of

Back 78

Learning Disability.

Front 79

Deficits in written work may be attributed to a reading, language, or attention disorder,

Back 79

limited educational background, or lack of fluency in the language of the institution.

Front 80

Etiology

Certain facts support the idea that _________ factors can contribute to learning disorders.

Back 80

biological and environmental

Front 81

Research has shown that high levels of _______ in the fetus may cause language delays.

Back 81

testosterone

Front 82

Which could contribute to the idea that disorder of written expression is more prevalent in

Back 82

boys.

Front 83

Environmental factors can also cause learning disorders,

Back 83

however, there is no certain cause of disorder of written expression.

Front 84

There are different factors that could contribute to written expression disorder. Some of these factors include:

Back 84

prenatal, environmental, and intrinsic factors.

Front 85

Prenatal factors refer to

Back 85

potential toxins, infections, and/or nutritional deficits to a fetus.

Front 86

Intrinsic factors refers to

Back 86

neurobiology, biochemical, genetic, and other medical conditions.

Front 87

Empirically supported treatments

Some tests that might be helpful in diagnosing disorder of written expression include the

Back 87

Diagnostic Evaluation of Writing Skills (DEWS),

the Test of Early Written Language (TEWL), and the

Test of Adolescent Language (TAL).

Front 88

The MOST EFFECTIVE treatment approach for disorder of written expression is

Back 88

remedial education.

Front 89

Learning Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

Back 89

This category is for disorders in learning that do not meet the criteria for any specific learning disorder.

Front 90

This category might include problems in all three areas (reading, mathematics, or written expression) that alone or simultaneously significantly interfere with academic achievement

Back 90

even though intelligence levels on tests measuring each individual skill is not substantially below that expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and appropriate education.

Front 91

Associated features

Back 91

These features may include deficits in intelligence or genetic influences that make them the way they are.

Front 92

Arithmetic takes the most practice as compared to reading and writing,

Back 92

which are essential components to acquire the ability to effectively communicate in social environments.

Front 93

Arithmetic is the most complicated to learn as it involves comprehension of equations, words and even more symbols.

Back 93

Comprehension and replication of how to work out problems is key to learning the processes of some of the operations such as the addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication signs.

Front 94

Child vs. adult presentation

Back 94

There seems to be about the same presentation in children versus adults in overall status.

Front 95

Bullying

Back 95

becomes a major problem when children with learning disabilities and typically learning children are placed in the same environments without supervision.

Front 96

Learning disorders usually begin during childhood in their school years,

Back 96

because that is when they are most noticeable.

Front 97

Gender and cultural differences in presentation

There has been no significant studies that show gender preference for learning disabilities, however some research has shown that certain disorders, such as written expression, have higher rates when elevated levels of ______ are present in fetuses.

Back 97

tetosterone

Front 98

There has also been no significant studies that show that culture plays any role in weather or not an individual has a learning disability.

Back 98

However, minorities usually report a lower socioeconomic status, which could result in a higher prevalence of learning disabilities.

Front 99

This can be attributed to the

Back 99

lack of funding needed to provide better education, medical care (both physical and mental), poor nutritional states, and environmental factors such as location.

Front 100

Epidemiology

Overall, anywhere from 2-10% of children have a learning disorder. However, there is a lack of research involving learning disorders not otherwise specified.

Back 100

There are no estimates on how many children have this disorder.

Front 101

Etiology

Learning disorders must be differentiated from normal variations in achievement and distinguished from difficulties due to lack of opportunity, poor teaching, inadequate schooling, or psychosocial, cultural, or other factors.

Back 101

No one is certain of the causes of learning disorders, but they may be linked to genetic factors, environmental factors, or pregnancy complications.

Front 102

Empirically supported treatments

The most common and helpful treatment for all learning disorders is an

Back 102

individualized special education plan.

Front 103

individualized special education plan

Back 103

In other words, children are evaluated by a professional, a determination of a learning disorder is made, and a specific plan is constructed for their specific needs.

Front 104

Learning disorders can now be diagnosed in the presence of a _____________ as long as the learning deficit exceeds that associated with the other deficit or condition.

Back 104

sensory deficit or general medical (e.g., neurological) condition

Front 105

6. Common Types of Learning Disabilities

Back 105

dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, auditory and visual processing disorders, and non-verbal learning disabilites are a few common learning disabilities:

Front 106

Dyslexia is

Back 106

a common type of reading disorder.

Front 107

Dyslexia

Back 107

Current definition: neurobiological in origin and conceptualizing the reading disability as a specific type of disability rather than one of several general disabilities.

Front 108

Dyslexia

Back 108

Difficulties with accurate and fluent word recongition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities a result of phonological awareness deficit.

Front 109

Associated features include

Back 109

problems in reading comprehension and poor vocabulary development resulting in a lack of actual reading.

Front 110

In other words, people who exhibit dyslexia tend to spend more time

Back 110

working on the mechanincs of the letters and words than on the comprehension of the material.

Front 111

Dyslexia is considered a learning diasbility because

Back 111

it can make learning extremely difficult for individuals who are diagnosed with it.

Front 112

The severity of the learning disability also has an effect on the individual.

Back 112

If it is severe enough, special education may be recommended for the individual

Front 113

Neurological basis of the disorder has been confirmed through functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (also known as fMRI) and magnetoencephalography.

Back 113

The images indicate that the left hemisphere posterior brain system does not respond properly to reading.

Front 114

Many schools may use a model called __________ the to identify children with learning disabilites

Back 114

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Front 115

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Back 115

This model takes children who show a reading level below what they should be and given these children individual supplemental reading instruction.

Front 116

If the children's reading level does not improve as it should,

Back 116

a learning disability in reading may be identified as positive.

Front 117

If the individual does not go through the RTI evaluation,

Back 117

a formal evaluation is required.

Front 118

In a formal evaluation, assessments will be provided to the individual who

Back 118

is suspected of having the disability.

Front 119

If there is any indication that an individual has a learning disabilty,

Back 119

an individualized intervention plan would be put in place to accommodate the individual's unique learning needs

Front 120

When many people hear the term dyslexia, they think that means people with this disability 'read backwards.'

Back 120

This is not necessarily true.

Front 121

It is true that the letters may become jumbled to a dyslexic individual,

Back 121

because they may have difficulty remembering the sounds the letters make or forming memories of the words

Front 122

Prognosis

Back 122

Dyslexia is a life-long disorder.

Front 123

Treatment for individuals with dyslexia may

Back 123

help individuals learn to read and write as they normally should.

Front 124

It is important for teachers and tutors to introduce a _______ for individuals with dyslexia.

Back 124

multi-sensory learning method

Front 125

Immediate feedback

Back 125

It also helps if the student receives immediate feedback so they can develop word recognition skills.

Front 126

Dyscalculia

Back 126

is a mathematics disorder.

Front 127

Dyscalculia

Back 127

is a broad term for severe difficulties in math.

Front 128

Dyscalculia

Back 128

It includes all types of math problems ranging from the inability to understand the meaning of numbers to the inability to apply math principles to solve problems

Front 129

Dyscalculia

Back 129

this is a lifelong disorder as well.

Front 130

Since math disorders can be so different,

Back 130

the effects they have vary from individual to individual..

Front 131

In early childhood,

Back 131

children with dyscalculia may show issues in regards to making sense of the numbers, sorting objects by their physical appearances such as size, shape and color, or recognizing patterns. These children may also show some difficulties in learning to count and matching numbers as well

Front 132

School-aged children

Back 132

with dyscalculia may show difficulties when trying to solve basic math problems involving simple addition and subtraction.

Front 133

A weakness in the visual-spatial skills may also arise at this point.

Back 133

In this case, the child may know the math facts but experience difficulties in putting them down on paper and work them out

Front 134

For adolescents and adults

Back 134

who have not mastered the basic math skills, moving on to more difficult math problems can prove to be difficult for them. Language processing disorders canmake learning math difficult as well because the individual may not understand the math vocabulary presented to them

Front 135

Some sypmtoms of Dyscalculia may include but are not limited to:

Back 135

Frequent difficulties with arithmetic, confusing the signs: +, −, ÷, x
Difficulty with everyday tasks like checking change and reading analog clocks
Often unable to grasp and remember mathematical concepts, rules, formulas, and sequences.
An inability to read a sequence of numbers, or transposing them when repeated, such as turning 56 into 65.
Difficulty keeping score during games

Front 136

Diagnosis

Back 136

Acording to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, students who are evaluated for math disorders are usually interviewed about their range of math abilites. Tests may be given to the student to determine whether the students abilites are at the level in which they should be at while also noting specific strengths and weaknesses

Front 137

Treatment

Back 137

Treating dyscalulia requires the student to fully understand their own strengths and weaknesses in regards to the math disorder.

Front 138

Dysgraphia

Back 138

is a writing disorder

Front 139

Dysgraphia

Back 139

can be defined as a deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read, and is not due to intellectual impairment.

Front 140

Dyspgraphia is a _______ and usually appears when a child first learns to write

Back 140

neurological disorder

Front 141

Early recognition of dysgraphia can help the individual by having them

Back 141

perform special exercises when writing to increase muscle strength and memories of what it feels like to write certain letters

Front 142

Teachers can help children with dygraphia by allowing the student to take tests by recording their answers into a

Back 142

voice recorder or typing out their answers on a typewriter or computer instead of writing it down on a piece of paper

Front 143

there are three subtypes of dysgraphia

Back 143

Dyslexic dysgraphia
Motor dysgraphia
Spatial dysgraphia

Front 144

Dyslexic dysgraphia

Back 144

when spontaneously written work is usually illegible while copied work is usually okay. Someone who presents dyslexic dysgraphia does not mean they also have dyslexia, although they are often found together.

Front 145

Motor dysgraphia

Back 145

usually linked to deficient fine motor skills. Most written work is usually illegible, even if it has been copied. Long periods of writing may be painful and the letters will get worse as the person continues to write. Spelling is not affected with motor dysgraphia.

Front 146

Spatial dysgraphia

Back 146

usually has idifficulties understanding the space available on the page. Again, written work, both spontaneous or copied is usually illegible.

Front 147

some sypmtoms of Dysgraphia include but are not limited to:

Back 147

a mixture of upper and lower case letters in a written work
pain in the hand and arm as well as muscle spasms
irregular letter shapes and sizes within a written work

Front 148

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Back 148

auditory processing disorder interupts the way in which the brain recognizes and interprets sounds.

Front 149

Children with APD often do not recognize the subtle differences in sounds,

Back 149

even though they may be loud and clear to another individual. Loud environments may cause these issues to become even worse

Front 150

It may appear that a child with APD can hear normally,

Back 150

but they may have problems using the sounds they hear for speech and language.

Front 151

APD can be associated with conditions such as

Back 151

dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, autism, autism spectrum disorder, specific language impairment, pervasive developmental disorder, or developmental delay

Front 152

Children with APD may have normal hearing and intelligence but can show any of the following symptoms

Back 152

issues in regards to paying attention and remembering information that has been presented orally
issues in regards to carrying out multi-phase directions
appear to have poor listening skills
require more time to process information
academic performance may be lower than normal
some behavior problems may be present
language issues may also be present (the child may confuse certain syllables and have difficulties with learning vocabulary)

Front 153

Prognosis

Back 153

An audiologic evaluation will be given to the child to determine the softest sounds the child is capable of hearing as well as other tests to show whether the child can recogize sounds and words in sentences

Front 154

Treatment

Back 154

Auditory trainers
Envionment modifications
Exercises in language building skills
Auditory memory enhancement

Front 155

Auditory trainers

Back 155

allow the child or adult to focus on the information being presented by taking out any of the background noise that would otherwise be a distracter to the individual. An example of this would be a chile wearing a special headset in the classroom and the teacher using a sort of microphone connected to the headset so the child will hear only what the teacher has to say.

Front 156

Envionment modifications

Back 156

may also be suggested to aide those individuals with APD. Here, the acoustics in the room can be modified, or even something as simple and placing the individual in a different spot in the room.

Front 157

Exercises in language building skills

Back 157

Exercises in language building skills can be introduced to the child to help them improve their vocabulary.

Front 158

Auditory memory enhancement

Back 158

helps the child to look at the basic information presented and to put the extra details aside.

Front 159

Visual Processing Disorder

Back 159

These categories include

Visual discrimination
Visual figure-ground discrimination
Visual sequencing
Visual motor processing
visual memory
Visual closure
Spatial relationships

Front 160

Visual discrimination

Back 160

is when the individual uses the sense of sight to notice and compare the features of different items to distinguish one item from another. An individual with difficultes in this category may have difficulties in regards to observing a difference between two similiar letters, objects or patterns

Front 161

Visual figure-ground discrimination

Back 161

involves discriminating the difference between a figure and its background. An individual having difficulties in this category may have problems finding a certain piece of information on a page full of words or numbers. They may also have difficulties seeing an image if there is a competing background

Front 162

Visual sequencing

Back 162

involves the ability to distinguish between symbols, words, and images. Individuals experiencing difficulites in this category may find themselves unable to stay in the correct spot while reading (skipping lines or re-reading the same line over and over again), have difficulties in regards to using a seperate answer sheet, reversing or misreading letters and words, and even understanding math equations

Front 163

Visual motor processing

Back 163

involves using feedback from the eyes to coordinate movement of other body parts. Individuals may show difficultes in regards to staying between the lines while writing (or coloring), copying from a board onto a piece of paper, moving around without bumping into things, and have issues in regards to playing sports that require timed and precise movements in space

Front 164

visual memory

Back 164

There are two types of visual memory in which individuals may have difficulties with.

The first one has to do with the ability to recall something that was seen a long time ago.

The second one has to do with the ability to recall something that was seen recently.

An individual may show difficulties in regards to remembering how to spell familiar words, remember phone numbers, reading comprehension, as well as typing on a keyboard or pad

Front 165

Visual closure

Back 165

is the ability to know what an object is when only certain parts of that object are visible. An individual might show difficultes recognizing an object in a picture that is not represented as its whole self (for example, showing a picture of a truck with no wheels), identifying a word with a letter missing, and recognizing a face when just one feature (such as the nose) is missing

Front 166

Spatial relationships

Back 166

is the ability to identify an object in space and relate it to oneself. An understanding of space is required in this category. An individual who may show difficulties in regards to getting from one place to another, spacing of words and letters on a page, judging time, and reading maps

Front 167

7. Other Helpful Information on Learning Disabilites

Back 167

Some facts the WETA gives on learning disabilites are as follows

Front 168

Some facts the WETA gives on learning disabilites are as follows

Back 168

- about 15% of the US population has been diagnosed with some type of learning disability

- the most common type of learning disability is a reading disorder

- a genetic link has been discovered in learning disabilites

- individuals who have been diagnosed with autism, mental retardation, deafness, blindness, or behavioral disorders do not neccessiarily have a learning disability

- individuals who have been diagnosed with ADHD do not always have a learning disability; however, they are often comorbid with one another

Front 169

there are some variations in ________ that are related to some reading disabilites.

Back 169

brain development

Front 170

Some learning disabilities can be traced back to _________ such as fetal alcohol and cocaine exposure and possible maternal cigerette smoking.

Back 170

prenatal dispositions

Front 171

Preschool aged children

Back 171

the child learns to speak later than normal.
the child's fine motor skills are be slow to develop
the child has difficulty in the pronunciation of words
the child has a slow vocabulary growth and often has a difficult time finding the right words
the child shows difficulty in learning numbers, patterns, days of the week, and the alphabet
the child is extremely restless
the child becomes easily distracted
the child shows difficulties when interacting with peers
the child has trouble following directions or even a routine that is set in place

Front 172

School-aged children, grades Pre-K through 4

Back 172

the child shows difficulty connecting letters to their sounds
the child shows confusion in basic words such as eat, want, play...
the child consistently makes reading and spelling errors, including letter reversals (b to d or vice versa), inverting letters (m/w), transpositions (left/felt) and substitutions (house/home). The child may also transpose number sequences as well as words.
the child is slow to recall facts
the child is slow to learn new skills and may depend greatly on memorization
the child is impulsive and have problems when it comes to planning
the child holds their writing utensil in an unstable way
the child shows problems when it comes to learn about time
the child shows poor coordination, often unaware of their surroundings, and may also come across as 'clumsy'

Front 173

School-aged children, grades 5-8

Back 173

the child reverses letter sequences, such as soiled/soild and left/felt
the child has difficultly learning the prefixes and suffixes of a word as well as the root word
the child avoids reading aloud when given the opportunity to choose
the child shows difficulty with word problems
the child's handwriting may be poor
the child exhibits an awkward way while holding a writing utensil
the child avoids writing assignments all together
the child is slow to recall facts
the child has some problems in regards to making friends
the child has difficulty understanding body language and facial expressions

Front 174

High school students through adulthood

Back 174

the individual continues to have issues in regards to spelling
the individual avoids reading and writing tasks all together
the individual shows some difficulties when summarizing
the individual has problems in regard to answering open-ending questions
the individual has weak memory recall
the individual works slowly
the individual shows difficulties adjusting to newer settings
the invididual has difficulty understanding abstract concepts
the individual has issues directing their attention correctly. For example, they may give too much attention to certain details or they might show too little attention to details
the individual misreads information

Front 175

It is important to know that having a learning disability does not necessary decrease one's self-esteem, but rather the characteristics that some individuals with learning disabilies exhibit may affect their

Back 175

self-esteem.

Front 176

Some of these characteristics may include:

Back 176

communication style and social awareness:
self knowledge
language
self-perceived social status
Self-perceived ability to affect change

Front 177

communication style and social awareness

Back 177

the individual may not be able to understand clues as to when it is appropriate to participate or not, as well as not understanding how their own behavior can affect others

Front 178

self knowledge

Back 178

individuals may have issues understanding their own strengths and weaknesses as well as evaluating whether their behavior is appropriate in social situations.

Front 179

language

Back 179

individuals may have issues in regards to expressing their thoughts in a verbal manner

Front 180

self-perceived social status

Back 180

they have have issues in regards to understanding how they fit in in a group of people. This may cause the individual to become passive and withdraw from social situations, fearing that they will stick out in the crowd.

Front 181

Self-perceived ability to affect change

Back 181

the individual may believe that they have no control over their own successes and that luck or fate is responsible for the outcome of sitations rather than their own actions

Front 182

parents can help children with learning disabilities by doing some of the following

Back 182

being empathetic to the child (seeing the world through their eyes)

communicate with respect--be sure not to interrupt them when they are talking and be sure to answer their questions

give undivided attention to the child

accept and love the child for who they are

give the child a chance to contribute--this lets the child know that you trust them and also give them a sense of responsibility

treat mistakes as learning experiences

emphasize their strengths and help give them a sense of accomplisment

allow the child to solve problems and make decisions

discipline to teach and do not try to intimidate the child

Front 183

8. Learning Disabilities in Adults

Back 183

learning disabilites are usually diagnosed during childhood, adults live and stuggle with learning disabilites as well since there is no cure for them

Front 184

paper "Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Call to Action,"

Back 184

which addresses facts about learning disabilities across the lifespan

Front 185

facts from the paper are still true for adults with learning disabilities

Back 185

Learning disabilities are both persistent and pervasive across the life span.

Also, the manifestations of a learning disability may change across the individuals life span.

There is a lack of research concerning learning disabilities with adults. As a result, there has been misuse and misinterpretation in regards to adult with learning disabilities because the assessments in which the adult goes through are usually meant for younger children.

Older adolescents and adults do not have access or are denied proper education in both the academic settings and the work place to achieve development in certain adult abilities and skills .

Professionals are not usually trained in helping adults with learning disabilites.

Employers do not have the awareness, knowledge of, or sensitivity to address the needs of adults with learning disabilites.

Adults with learning disabilities may experience personal, social, and emotional difficulties that may affect their adapation to certain life skills.

There is little advo

Front 186

Students with learning disabilities face challenges in regards to the realistic options that are available to them.

Back 186

assortment of options available to them to include attending a 2-year community college, a 4-year university, a vocational training program, or an apprenticeship.

Front 187

About ____ of students with a learning disability drop out of school without receiving a high school diploma.

Back 187

39%

Front 188

Only ____, compared to the 53% of students who do not have a learning disability, will attend some form of continued education after graduating high school.

Back 188

13%

Front 189

Diagnosis

Back 189

If an adult suspects that they might have a learning disability but has never been diagnosed or tested for one, then that adult can find assistance by having some sort of assessment done by a qualified professional

Front 190

There are usually three stages to the assessment:

Back 190

evaluation, diagnosis, and recommendations.

Front 191

The evaluation includes

Back 191

a screening and should obtain all relevant information about the individual in question.

Front 192

The diagnosis is

Back 192

a statement on the specific learning disability in which the indiviudal may have.

Front 193

The recommendations should be focused in regard to the

Back 193

individuals employment, education, and daily living