Children with Learning Disabilities

1. Chapter 4 Children with Learning Disabilities

2. Learning Disabilities: Historical Overview • Orton (1936) explained that LD was due to damage in the left hemisphere of the brain or a deficit in the brain. • Myklebust (1954) discussed the problems in terms of language disorder. • Frostig (1964) and Getman (1962) investigated perceptual and motor processes. • Fernald (1943) and Gillingham and Stillman (1960) saw the issue as a disorder primarily in the area of writing. Because of the diverse approaches, the problem remained unfocused until Samuel Kirk (1962) proposed the term learning disabilities.

3. Federal Definition “Specific learning disability” means a disorder in one or more of basic psychological processes involved in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. (Federal Register, 1977, p.650; NICHCY, 2000)

4. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a “specific learning disability” means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

5. Discrepancy model & Wait To Fail Learning Disability Definition : Can be based upon discrepancy and exclusion of any other cause. Problems with Discrepancy Model Young children: Discrepancies between IQ and achievement/performance are difficult to measure with young children “unexplained underachievement” : Discrepancies between IQ and achievement/performance may exist for any number of reasons; thus, this approach is really just helping us find children with “unexplained underachievement” that may or may not be due to a learning disability the “wait-to-fail” model To find discrepancies, we must wait until the gap between IQ and achievement/performance is wide enough to measure, and this means that we must wait until the child has experienced substantial failure with learning. The “wait-to-fail” model creates a situation in which the primary problems a child is experiencing get worse and are frequently compounded by secondary problems with behavior, self-concept, and academic readiness

6. NEW EVALUATION PROCEDURES for SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES Local educational agencies (school districts) shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning…. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY… in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures. I DEA, 2004 includes the response to intervention model as one option that schools can use to identify students with learning disabilities.

7. RTI: Response to Intervention • Response to intervention is an alternative method to identify and serve students with learning disabilities. This permits early and pre-referral intensive interventions based on the student’s needs without waiting for the student to “fail.” • An intervening hierarchy with three or more tiers. Tier I is a high-quality general learning environment and the additional tiers provide more help for students whose needs require more intensive supports. • Evidence-based interventions meets the students’ needs, also called standard protocol approaches. • Collaborative problem solving involves a multidisciplinary team working together with parents to design services that address the students needs. • Progress monitoring uses data on student's achievement, performance, etc. to monitor progress, guide decision making, and plan for future needs

8. Learning Disabilities Prevalence • 4.3 percent of children (ages 6-21) • 48 percent of all children receiving special education have a learning disability. From U.S.Department of Education, 2005.

9. How do we identify children with learning disabilities? • 1)Someone, usually a teacher or parent, refers the child for evaluation; • (2) the referral is evaluated by a committee of teachers and special education professionals to determine whether the child should be assessed by a multidisciplinary team; • (3) once an assessment is approved, parental permission for the assessment is obtained; • (4) IEP: a comprehensive evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary team including psychologists, social workers, the classroom teacher, and the special education teacher.

10. Comprehensive Evaluation of Learning Disabilities will include: • Description of auditory-verbal behavior • Review medical records (exclude other) • Study family for factors in home contributing to disability • Use formal and informal assessments (discrepancy or RTI model) • Determine what child can and cannot do • IEP members hold a conference and decide whether the child is eligible for special education; if eligible, the IEP is formulated and the child is placed in the appropriate service

11. Causes of LD (etiology) • No one has uncovered a single cause for the disorder of learning disabilities. For years, researchers have concentrated on the subgroups that exist within learning disabilities and the results have now led us to reject the single-cause or single-deficit theory. • There is general agreement that learning disabilities arise from neurological deficits in the brain, sensory perception factors, Genetic factors, Biochemical factors and other environmental factors

12. The information-processing model (IPM) • It describes learning as a series of four components that involve sensory stimulation/input, processing/thinking, output or the sharing of what has been learned, and the executive function. • A learning disability can have a strong impact on a student’s ability to process information.

13. When the learning difficulty occurs because of input problems, a sensory-perceptual/acuity problem can exist. • Visual perception problems can involve figure-ground (i.e., seeing an object against the background), closure (i.e., completion of a figure), and spatial relationships. • Any one of these visual perceptual problems can make learning very difficult. If these are combined with auditory perceptional difficulties—figure-ground auditory problems (i.e., hearing speech against background noise) or difficulties in sound discriminations and/or sound recognition—then learning becomes even more difficult (Lerner, 2005). • The area of sensory integration (S.I)problems is another area of input problems. This occurs when there is oversensitivity to sensory input. This can be in the area of lights, sounds, smells, touch, or taste. An example of this heightened sensitivity is tactile defensiveness when it evolves the sense of touch. This can trigger acute discomfort when an individual is touched (Packer, 2004). • Sensory Integration video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtszqdr4GW4

14. Processing Problems • Problems in processing include difficulties with memory and organizing ideas and thought in meaningful ways. Memory is divided into sensory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. • Sensory memory involves holding information for a few seconds while a task is completed. • Short-term memory is the type of memory that temporarily stores and allows for manipulating of information necessary for complex tasks, such as mathematical calculations. • Long-term memory stores information that we have made our own to draw on for future use. Problems with any of these forms of memory lead to major learning difficulties. However, the greatest impact occurs when students struggle with long-term memory storage and retrieval. • Memory is also studied by the way we store information. The three types of memory are semantic, episodic, and motor memory. Semantic memory stores concepts, words, symbols, and generalizations. Episodic memory is our ability to recall whole scenes or episodes from our past. Episodic memories are often associated with strong emotions that can be either positive or negative.

15. Motor memory is our ability to program our body movements. Our bodies learn patterns and retain them for future use. We learn to ride a bicycle, play the piano, or write our names. Some motor memories seem to last after we no longer use them. • Processing problems can also occur in the areas of organization of thoughts and ideas and the process of thinking. Students work with information to interpret it and combine it with prior knowledge as they create meaning for themselves by constructing their own understandings. If there are problems in this process, learning can be seriously affected. Deep processing of information is necessary to understanding information so that it can be used in meaningful ways. Deep processing occurs when we transform the information to make it ours (Willis, 2008). If the information is not organized and put into memory, correct deep processing cannot occur.

16. Output Problems • For students with learning disabilities, output problems affect the area of expression of ideas and thoughts. This problem with expression can take the form of verbal expressive problems, for example, developmental aphasia. • Dysgraphia, or problems with written expression, can be another form of output problem that may affect many students with disabilities. • The third problem area is concerned with nonverbal communications. This can effect how an individual interprets emotional nuances, gestures, facial expressions, and body language. Individuals with these problems may have additional problems with social skills and interpersonal relationships.

17. Executive Functioning Problems • The executive function, or metacognition, is the decision-making component of this model. There are several problem areas within this component. Students with learning disabilities can have problems with self-regulatory skills. Self-regulatory skills help us adapt to the environment, and they are essential for learning (Wong 2004). Self-regulation implies that an individual is in control of and responsible for his or her own actions. Self-control, a self- regulatory skill, is important both for learning and for social success.

18. Emotional Content • The emotional context of information processing can also interfere with learning and social success. One’s internal emotional and external environmental state can have a dramatic impact on a person’s ability to learn • A student with a stressed internal emotional state that has experienced failure and frustration can develop anticipatory anxiety in new situations. This anticipatory anxiety can sabotage success by undermining self-confidence at the very start of a new experience. • Anticipatory anxiety can also lead to heightened sensitivity and defensiveness, which further erode an individual’s ability to respond to new situations and opportunities. Difficulties in the area of executive functioning can also show up as an attention disorder or ADHD. When students are unable to screen out irrelevant stimuli, they can easily become distracted or act impulsively. This can also affect the student’s ability to “think” and make “good judgments.”

19. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder :ADHD • It can be considered a specific form of learning disability related to an individual’s inability to attend to or focus on a given task. • Neurological basis • Many of the teaching strategies we use to respond to the needs of students with ADHD are similar to the supports we use with children who have other forms of learning disabilities. The organization for Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) defines ADHD as follows: “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition affecting children and adults that is characterized by problems with attention, impulsivity, and overactivity.”

20. Information Processing Model

21. Teaching Approaches • Intervening Hierarchy for RTI • Tier I: The General Education Classroom • Tier II: Collaborative Interventions • Tier III: Individualized Educational Services • Progress Monitoring • Information-Processing Model Support (input, processing, output) • StrategiesTechnology—Software programs, multimedia instruction is a computer-based environment that uses graphics, motion videotext, and sound. These programs stress basic skills and mastery learning. • Educational Adaptations • Collaboration with parents