Cher

1. Winston Churchill Cher Bob Weir Magic Johnson Agatha Christie Avi Patrick Dempsey Orlando Bloom Nelson Rockefeller Andy Warhol

2. Danny Glover Michael Phelps Anderson Cooper Salma Hayek Marilyn Monroe Jay Leno James Carville Vince Vaughn Charles Schwab Whoopi Goldberg Henry Winkler Walt Disney

3. What do all these people have in common? They all have either a learning disability or ADD/ADHD. Clearly, all of them have “made it”.

4. What is it like to have a disability? Grab a partner and for 2 minutes describe what you did over the summer break. Do not use any words with the letter “n” in them. How was that for you? This is what it is like to have a processing delay. This is what some of your students face every day!!

5. Try this one… THE FRIEMBLY BOG Once ubom a tmie there was a friembldobl. His name saw Jake. Jake belombeb to Bavig and Bhte. Davib and Beth aar tins. They arnimeyrse dol. On e tome Jak went dow to the cellra. H was a ducket of soab. The tins wer doing to wsah the car. He liked some saopbuddles out fo the ducket. When he darked, dig dubbles ca me out of hi s muth! Last sum mreJakfounb a frenb. His friensqw a tac named Freb. They blayde all bay. They nararoumb and aroumbbtyeyarb. Jake chased the tacubtetre. Frebclimded up easily. Jake trieb t and triebduteheslib back bown!

6. Which really means… THE FRIENDLY DOG (TRANSLATION) Once upon a time there was a friendly dog. His name was Jake. Jake belonged to David and Beth. David and Beth are twins. They are nine years old. One time Jake went down to the cellar. He saw a bucket of soap. The twins were going to wash the car. He licked some soap bubbles out of the bucket. When he barked, big bubbles came out of his mouth! Last summer Jake found a friend. His friend was a cat named Fred. They played all day. They ran around and around the yard. Jake chased the cat up the tree. Fred climbed up easily. Jake tried and tried but he slid back down.

7. What does it mean to have a learning disability? A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language. The disability may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations. Many times there are processing delays (“n” example). LD covers the following conditions: dyslexia (language and reading), dyscalculia (math concepts), dysgraphia (writing), dyspraxia (sensory integration), central auditory processing, non-verbal learning disorder (body language, coordination), visual perceptual/visual motor (letter reversal, loses place), aphasia/dysphasia (understanding spoken language).

8. Students with Learning Disabilities… • Generally of average or above average intelligence • No cure – learn to adapt and learn strategies • Brain processes information differently • Discrepancy between ability and achievement • Possible characteristics include - • Uneven areas of ability • Short attention span • Poor memory • Difficulty following multi-step directions • Inability to discriminate between/among letters, numbers or sounds • Eye-hand coordination • Disorganization

9. What does it mean to have ADD/ADHD? ADD/ADHD is a condition in which a person may have inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity or a combination of these. Hyperactivity – constantly in motion, talk incessantly, difficulty sitting still, squirms or fidgets, may wiggle feet, touch everything or taps Impulsiveness – unable to curb their immediate reactions or think before they act, may blurt inappropriate comments, acts without regard to consequences, difficulty waiting for things Inattention – hard time keeping mind on any one thing, gets bored easily, CAN be focused on desirable activity, distracted by extraneous noise or visuals, makes careless errors, frequently forgets tools needed for a task, may skip from one uncompleted activity to another

10. What does it mean to have an intellectual disability? An intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviors. • Possible characteristics include: • Difficulty remembering things • Difficulty understanding social rules • Difficulty seeing the consequences of their actions • Difficulty problem solving

11. Students with Intellectual Disabilities… • May be able to memorize facts but tend to struggle with reasoning and • applying concepts • May struggle with reading comprehension due to language deficits • May struggle with selective attention and attend to nonimportant parts of • a task • May struggle with a skill – know it one day and cannot perform same task the next day • May struggle with generalization skills

12. What does it mean to have Asperger’s Syndrome? Asperger’s Syndrome is considered to be on the Autism spectrum but, simply put, is a mild form. Generally, students with Asperger’s Syndrome have impairments in social interactions as well as difficulty interpreting non-verbal communication.

13. Students with Asperger’s Syndrome… • Have average to above average intelligence • May perceive ordinary sensations as quite intense or the opposite • Generally see things as black or white with no gray • May have “robotic-like” speech due to peculiar inflection and • repetitive pattern as well as very literal • No cure, learn to manage and cope with social deficiencies • Possible characteristics include… • May be interested in interacting with others but interactions may be inept • Difficulty interacting with others and may prefer to work alone (prefer adults) • Unusual preoccupations – may need to do things in particular order, need a certain item, etc • Crave structure and routine and dislike change • May not make eye contact nor use or understand facial expressions

14. Now what do we do? How about if we start with what NOT to do… Don’t • Call undue attention to student accommodations (single out, force • accommodations) • Put kids out of room without supervision (hallway, empty room) Do • Talk to your friendly neighborhood EC teacher • Start with a clean slate every day Seems simple, right?