Specific Learning

Disabilities
Overview
 IDEA defines a specific learning disability
as:

 The term means a disorder in one or more of

the basic psychological processes involved
in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written, that may manifest itself
in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak,
read, write, spell, or to do mathematical
calculations, including conditions such as
perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal
brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and
developmental aphasia.
 Learning Disability
 Disorders not included. The term
does not include learning problems
that are primarily the result of visual,
hearing, or motor disabilities, of
mental retardation, of emotional
disturbance, or of environmental,
cultural, or economic disadvantage.
 Learning Disability
 Under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act 2004 the
definition of “a specific learning disability”
is unchanged. However, Section 1414(b)
(6) IDEA 2004 states that schools “ 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.”
 Learning Disabilities
 Learning disabilities can be
characterized by a discrepancy
between a student’s ability and his or
her achievement in areas such as
reading, writing, mathematics, or
speaking. This option is up to the
individual school, or agency doing
the assessment.
 Learning Disability
Discrepancy Formula
EGE = # year in school x IQ
100+ 1.0
EGE = MA + CA + Grade Age / 3 – 5
SD = CA IQ
300+ .17 – 2.5
 Causes
 learning disabilities. Learning
disabilities are presumed to be
disorders of the central nervous
system and a variety of factors may
contribute to their occurrence.
Learning disabilities may be due to:
 Causes
 Heredity. Learning disabilities tend
to run in families. It is not unusual to
discover that people with learning
disabilities come from families in
which other family members have
reported similar difficulties.
 Causes
 Problems during pregnancy and
childbirth. Learning disabilities may
be caused by illness or injury during
or before birth. Learning disabilities
may also be caused by the use of
drugs and alcohol during pregnancy,
RH incompatibility with the mother
(if untreated), premature or
prolonged labor or lack of oxygen or
low weight at birth.
 Causes
 Incidents after birth. Head
injuries, nutritional deprivation,
poisonous substances, (e.g., lead),
and child abuse can contribute to
learning disabilities
 Characteristics
Students who have learning disabilities may
exhibit a wide range of traits, including:
 problems with reading comprehension

 spoken language

 writing

 reasoning ability

 Hyperactivity

 Inattention

 perceptual coordination problems may also

be associated with learning disabilities.

 Characteristics
 Other traits that may be present
include a variety of symptoms,
such as:
 uneven and unpredictable test
performance
 perceptual impairment
 motor disorders
 Characteristics
 behaviors such as impulsiveness
 low tolerance for frustration
 problems in handling day-to-day
social interactions and situations
 inconsistent school performance
 Characteristics

 difficulty remembering today

what was learned yesterday, but
may know it tomorrow
 short attention span (restless,
easily distracted)
 Characteristics
 letter and number reversals
(sees "b" for "d" or "p", "6" for
"9", "pots" for "stop" or "post")
 poor reading (below age and
grade level)
 frequent confusion about
directions and time (right-left,
up-down, yesterday-tomorrow)
 Characteristics
 personal disorganization
(difficulty in following simple
directions/schedules; has trouble
organizing, planning, and making
best use of time; frequent loss or
misplacement of homework,
schoolbooks, or other items)
 Characteristics
 impulsive and/or inappropriate
behavior (poor judgment in
social situations, talks and acts
before thinking)
 failure on written tests but high
scores on oral exams (or vice
versa)
 Characteristics
 speech problems (immature language
development, trouble expressing
ideas, poor word recall)
 difficulty understanding and following
instructions unless they are broken
down to one or two tasks at a time
 seems immature and has difficulty
making friends
 Characteristics
 trouble remembering what
someone just told him or her
 poor coordination (in gross
motor activities such as walking
or sports and/or in fine motor
activities such as tying a
shoelace, holding a pencil, or
handwriting - inconsistent, slow,
messy, or illegible)
 Characteristics
 difficulty interpreting body
language, facial expression, or
tone of voice
 difficulty with development of
sound/symbol correspondence
 Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities may occur in
the following academic areas:
 Spoken language: Delays,

disorders, or discrepancies in
listening and speaking;
 Written language: Difficulties

with reading, writing, and

spelling;
 Learning Disabilities
 Arithmetic: Difficulty in
performing arithmetic functions
or in comprehending basic
concepts;
 Reasoning: Difficulty in
organizing and integrating
thoughts; and
 Organization skills: Difficulty in
organizing all facets of learning.
 Learning Disabilities
 Some of these problems can be
found in all children at certain
stages of development. When a
child has a cluster of symptoms
that do not disappear as she/he
gets older, you might suspect
learning disabilities.
 Common Types
I-Dyslexia - a language-based
disability in which a person has
trouble understanding words,
sentences, or paragraphs.
 Symptoms of Dyslexia
Symptoms in preschoolers
Some of the symptoms of dyslexia or SLD
in a preschooler could include:
 Delayed speech.

 Problems with pronunciation.

 Problems with rhyming words and learning

rhymes.
 Difficulty with learning shapes, colors and
how to write their own name.
 Difficulty with retelling a story in the right
order of events.
 Symptoms of Dyslexia
Symptoms in primary school children
Some of the symptoms in a primary school
age child could include:
 Problems with reading a single word.

 Regularly confuses certain letters when

writing, such as 'd' and 'b' or 'm' and 'w'.

 Regularly writes words backwards, such as

writing 'pit' when the word 'tip' was

intended.
 Symptoms of Dyslexia
 Problems with grammar, such as
learning prefixes or suffixes.
 Tries to avoid reading aloud in class.
 Doesn't like reading books.
 Reads below their expected level.
 Symptoms of Dyslexia
 Symptoms in high school children
Some of the symptoms in a high school
student could include:
 Poor reading.
 Bad spelling, including different
misspellings of the same word in one
writing assignment.
 Difficulties with writing summaries.
 Problems with learning a foreign language.
 Types
II-Dyscalculia - a mathematical
disability in which a person has a
difficult time solving arithmetic
problems and grasping math
concepts.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Normal or accelerated language
acquisition: verbal, reading, writing.
Poetic ability. Good visual memory
for the printed word. Good in the
areas of science (until a level
requiring higher math skills is
reached), geometry (figures with
logic not formulas), and creative
arts.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Difficulty with the abstract concepts
of time and direction. Inability to
recall schedules, and sequences of
past or future events. Unable to keep
track of time. May be chronically
late.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Mistaken recollection of names. Poor
name/face retrieval. Substitute
names beginning with same letter.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Inconsistent results in addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division.
Poor mental math ability. Poor with money
and credit. Cannot do financial planning or
budgeting. Checkbooks not balanced.
Short term, not long term financial
thinking. Fails to see big financial picture.
May have fear of money and cash
transactions. May be unable to mentally
figure change due back, the amounts to
pay for tips, taxes, etc
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 When writing, reading and recalling
numbers, these common mistakes
are made: number additions,
substitutions, transpositions,
omissions, and reversals.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Inability to grasp and remember math
concepts, rules, formulas, sequence (order
of operations), and basic addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division
facts. Poor long term memory (retention &
retrieval) of concept mastery- may be able
to perform math operations one day, but
draw a blank the next! May be able to do
book work but fails all tests and quizzes.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 May be unable to comprehend or
"picture" mechanical processes. Lack
"big picture/ whole picture" thinking.
Poor ability to "visualize or picture"
the location of the numbers on the
face of a clock, the geographical
locations of states, countries,
oceans, streets, etc.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Poor memory for the "layout" of
things.  Gets lost or disoriented
easily. May have a poor sense of
direction, loose things often, and
seem absent minded. (Remember
the absent minded professor?)
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 May have difficulty grasping concepts
of formal music education. Difficulty
sight-reading music, learning
fingering to play an instrument, etc.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 May have poor athletic coordination,
difficulty keeping up with rapidly
changing physical directions like in
aerobic, dance, and exercise classes.
Difficulty remembering dance step
sequences, rules for playing sports.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Difficulty keeping score during
games or difficulty remembering how
to keep score in games, like bowling,
etc. Often looses track of whose turn
it is during games, like cards and
board games. Limited strategic
planning ability for games, like
chess.
 Types
III-Dysgraphia - a writing disability in
which a person finds it hard to form
letters or write within a defined
space.
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Generally illegible writing (despite
appropriate time and attention given
the task)
 Inconsistencies: mixtures of print
and cursive, upper and lowercase, or
irregular sizes, shapes, or slant of
letters
 Unfinished words or letters, omitted
words
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Inconsistent position on page with
respect to lines and margins.
 Inconsistent spaces between words
and letters
 Cramped or unusual grip, especially:
Holding the writing instrument very
close to the paper, or
Holding thumb over two fingers and
writing from the wrist
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Strange wrist, body, or paper
position
 Talking to self while writing, or
carefully watching the hand that is
writing
 Dyscalculia-Symptoms
 Slow or labored copying or writing -
even if it is neat and legible
 Content which does not reflect the
student's other language skills
 Types
IV-Dysorthographia: Individuals with
this disorder have difficulties utilizing
clues from several sources that aid in
deciding on the correct spelling of a
word. It is a specific learning
disability that involves an inability or
delay in learning to properly spell
words from letters
 Dysorthographia-Symptoms
 Dysorthographia involves persistent
problems with symbol recognition
and ordering that are essential for
proper spelling.
 Dysorthographia-Symptoms
 People who are poor spellers
typically have trouble analyzing the
sounds, syllables, and meaningful
parts of words in both spoken
language and written language.
 Dysorthographia-Symptoms
 . In addition, they often have trouble
learning other types of symbolic
codes such as math facts and math
operation signs
 Types
 Auditory and Visual Processing
Disabilities - sensory disabilities in
which a person has difficulty
understanding language despite
normal hearing and vision. HANDOUT
 Prevalence
 As many as 1 out of every 5 people
in the United States has a learning
disability. Almost 3 million children
(ages 6 through 21) have some form
of a learning disability and receive
special education in school.
 Prevalence
 In fact, over half of all children who
receive special education have a
learning disability
 Gender Differences
 LD is twice as common in males as in
females, Males are significantly more
likely than females to fall within each
major disability group.
 Co-morbidity
 Co-morbidity means that certain
diseases and disorders tend to
occur together

 In 25% of the cases of Learning

disabilities, a co-morbid
condition is Attention
Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder-
AD/HD
 Educational Implications
 Supports or changes in the
classroom (sometimes called
accommodations) help most students
with LD.
 Educational Implications
 Specifically, technology can help
individuals with disabilities become
more efficient and effective learners
 Other Facts
 Learning disabilities should not be
confused with other disabilities such
as mental retardation, autism,
deafness, blindness, and behavioral
disorders.
 Other Facts
 New statistics indicate that about
47.5% of the disability
population are individuals with
learning disabilities
 Other Facts
 Approximately 85% of all
individuals with learning disabilities
have difficulties in the area of
reading.
 Other Facts
 44% of parents who noticed their
child exhibiting signs of problems
with learning waited a year or more
before acknowledging their child
might have a serious problem.
 Other Facts
 35% of children with learning
disabilities drop out of high school.
This is twice the rate of students
without learning disabilities. Of those
who do graduate, less than two
percent attend a four-year college,
despite the fact that many are above
average in intelligence.