Learning Disability

KEY POINTS

- Normal IQ
- The most common reason that children are referred for special education services in the United
States
- Affect reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, calculating, sensory processing and
memory
- Most common reading disability is dyslexia
- Artistic ability is a common strength
- Audiobooks are a good assistive technology/UDL piece
- Distinct patterns of brain organization that bring with them strengths as well as difficulties

Common Characteristics of Children with Disability Adaptations Suggested

- Dyslexia - allow use of audiobooks

- Difficulties with phonological skills. - Allow use of spell check or other assistive technology
pieces
- Weakness in writing and verbal areas - allow students to use visual representations
 Strategies

- Have kids represent learning in more visual ways, rather than the typical writing and test taking
- Speech to text
- Closed captioning on videos
- Audio sources for material
 ADHD
KEY POINTS

- Normal IQ
- Prevalence of ADHD in US had increased dramatically in the past few years
- 10 percent of all schoolchildren have ADHD
- Hyperactivity, distractibility, or inattention and impulsivity
- Believed to largely be a genetic condition
- Three primary symptoms can be described either positively or negatively

Common Characteristics of Children with Disability

- Hyperactivity (quick motor activity)

- Distractibility
- Inattention

Adaptations Suggested

- allow for open and different seating that allows for students to sit where they feel comfortable
and focused
- implement use of fidget tools
- take frequent breaks for students to get up and move around
 Strategies

- implement the use of brain break videos, such as go noodle

- focus on short term goals
- include mindfulness activities
- allow some choice in tasks, jobs or responsibilities
- provide immediate feedback
- involve frequent “state changes”
 Autism
KEY POINTS

- normal IQ
- affects about 1 in every 88 children
- refers to an entire spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders
- there are many different kinds
- the cause is still unknown
- a lot of the attention concerning ASD focus on negative behaviors
- practically skills at perceiving details as opposed to whole gestalts
- many people find it hard to pick up on nonverbal cues

Common Characteristics of Children with Disability

- social impairments
- communication difficulties
- restricted, repetitive and stereotypes patterns of behavior

Adaptations Suggested

- give verbal and visual directions/instructions

- allow the use of assistive communication tools
- provide a “quiet area”
- model appropriate behavior
 Strategies

- Implement the use of assistive technologies and UDL methodologies

- Establish a network of positive social interactions
- Implement t external rewards to reinforce positive behaviors
- Use board games as a way to practice social interactions
- Make sure the student has frequent opportunities for communication in the classroom
 Intellectual Disabilities
KEY POINTS

- IQ score of 70 or below
- Impairments in daily functioning
- People are limiting their expectations for people with intellectual disabilities
- They encounter social exclusion, stigma, prejudice and other barriers that restrict their ability to
have a full and productive life
- Fewer than 11 percent of students are fully included in regular education classrooms
- Several different kinds of intellectual disabilities; each with its own unique pattern of gifts and
abilities
- Most common disability is down syndrome
- High achievers with these disabilities are the athletes of the Special Olympics

Common Characteristics of Children with Disability

- Impairments in communication
- Impairments in self-care
- Impairments in social interactions and academic achievement

Adaptations Suggested

- Allow for the use of word processors (and other assistive technologies)
- Employ self-paces learning materials
- Use real-life experiences as opportunities to learn
 Strategies

- Promote students getting involved in special Olympics

- Implement AAC (augmentative and alternative communication programs)
- Start and implement and encourage Best Buddies
- Make use of the human resources available in the wider community
 Emotional Disabilities
KEY POINTS

- Normal IQ
- They fail more classes, earn lower grade point averages, miss more days of school and are
retained more than students with other disabilities
- Half of students drop out of school
- Aren’t fully included in the regular classroom
- 9 to 19 percent of all school-age children meet the criteria but fewer than 1 percent have
actually been identified

Common Characteristics of Children with Disability

- Difficult behaviors
- Periodic tantrums
- Disengagement

Adaptations Suggested

- Offer student specific and immediate praise

- Show students how to monitor their own behavior over the course of the school day
- Provide students with some choices in the curriculum
 Strategies

- Use technology to show students their behaviors so they can start to take responsibility for
them
- Implement self-monitoring strategies
- Provide a nurturing network of supportive human beings who can champion and promote their
students’ emotional well-being and appropriate behavior
- Implement a team approach