‭Andrew Round‬ ‭Round‬‭1‬

‭Writing 2‬

‭Maddie Roepe‬

‭21 November 2023‬

‭r/LearningDisabilities‬

‭Posted by‬‭u/‬‭ParentWithLDChild‬‭12 hours ago‬

‭How do people with Learning Disabilities think differently?‬

‭I am a parent of a second grader who recently has been struggling with paying attention, writing,‬

‭and reading in class. Their teacher has suggested that my kid might have a learning disability. I‬

‭am planning to do some testing to get a diagnosis. If an expert could help me out and teach me‬

‭about how students with Learning Disabilities think differently and how I should structure their‬

‭education to assist them more. Thank you.‬

‭Carol_S_Englert‬‭• 12 hr. ago‬

‭Hello, I think I can help with your situation. I am a professor of special education at Michigan‬

‭State University and I have been studying Writing Instruction in regular and special education‬

‭classrooms. Specifically, I care about enhancing students with learning disabilities' expository‬

‭writing skills. Learning disabilities can greatly affect a student's writing ability so I suggest‬

‭working on their writing skills. Learning disabilities can make it hard to create complex‬
 ‭Round‬‭2‬

‭sentences, spell correctly, and create consistent lines of reasoning. If you want to help improve‬

‭your kid's writing skills, I would talk to your teacher about implementing new classroom‬

‭strategies. First, I would recommend teaching and student dialogue, that is, the teacher should‬

‭give frequent feedback to your kid to improve their writing. Next, providing structured writing‬

‭assignments rather than open creative assignments might help simplify with writing process‬

‭allowing your kid to focus more on content and spelling. Finally, this one applies more to older‬

‭students with Learning Disabilities, teaching them self-regulated learning so they can be‬

‭conscious of their decisions while writing and critiquing themselves. Don’t worry if your student‬

‭still struggles after being diagnosed, usually, they will continue to struggle in school as they learn‬

‭to write. However, if the struggle continues you could consider a specialized school that can‬

‭offer an education with fair educational opportunities akin to those of non-disabled students.‬

‭Hope this helps!‬

‭Scott K. Baker‬‭• 10 hr. Ago‬

‭I’m a research professor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human‬

‭Development. I would also recommend the eight stages of the Strategies Intervention‬

‭Model to use in and out of the classroom.‬

‭1. Students make a commitment to learning strategies that can help them do better in‬

‭content-area class.‬

‭2. Present the new strategy to students so they can learn the processes involved in using‬

‭it.‬
 ‭Round‬‭3‬

‭3. Teachers model the strategy primarily by thinking aloud and working through the‬

‭strategy.‬

‭4. Students describe the learning strategy in their own words.‬

‭5. Students apply the strategy in the context of carefully selected materials and situations.‬

‭6. Students apply the strategy in the context of real-classroom demands.‬

‭7. Students learn how the strategy can be applied in other settings.‬

‭8. Students apply and adapt the strategy in other settings.‬

‭Also, I think should not send your kid to a specialized school because public schools now‬

‭are better at addressing and dealing with LD students. Hope This helps!‬

‭Carol_S_Englert‬‭• 9 hr. Ago‬

‭While public schools are getting better at accommodating students with learning‬

‭disabilities they are far from perfect. If your kid has a mild Learning disability,‬

‭that is it can be easily managed then I would recommend public school. However,‬

‭if it is very serious I think you should go to a specialized school because they can‬

‭provide way more resources than a public school.‬

 ‭Round‬‭4‬

‭Mark D. Rapport‬‭• 7 hr. Ago‬

‭If you are looking for help to treat ADHD DO NOT use any commercial online training‬

‭programs, they don’t help with ADHD. They minimally improve ADHD students'‬

‭attention, priorities, and impulsivity. I would personally recommend personal‬

‭(face-to-face) help from a teacher like what Englert said.‬

‭Terje Sagvolden‬‭• 5 hr. Ago‬

‭Hello, Terje here. I'm a researcher at the Department of Physiology at the University of Oslo and‬

‭I specialize in ADHD. From what it sounds like your child might have ADHD. ADHD,‬

‭according to the Dynamic developmental theory, stems from multiple influences, including‬

‭genetic predispositions, brain development, environmental factors, and individual experiences.‬

‭remember that ADHD will have no effect on what your child can do. He is just as smart as other‬

‭kids, but he thinks slightly differently.‬

‭Rhonda Martinussen‬‭• 4 hr. Ago‬

‭To add on, ADHD often causes working memory issues, especially when they get into‬

‭their high school and college years, and ADHD affects visual and spatial memory due to‬

‭the attention deficit inherent in ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). To‬

‭mitigate the consequences of poor working memory you should start early on developing‬

‭it. Some things you can do to improve your kid's working memory are to develop healthy‬

‭routines, reduce multitasking, and break large chunks of information into smaller pieces.‬
 ‭Round‬‭5‬

‭Mark D. Rapport‬‭• 4 hr. Ago‬

‭Like I said above If you are looking for help to treat ADHD don’t use online‬

‭training programs, they don’t help with ADHD. I would recommend personal help from a‬

‭teacher. Also, applying learning principles like reinforcement and response cost is a great‬

‭way to manage ADHD-related impairments in academic settings.‬

‭ParentWithLDChild‬‭• 2 hr. Ago‬

‭Thank you for all the helpful information about ADHD. I will look into more‬

‭specific ways I can treat their memory and attention problems.‬

‭Terje Sagvolden‬‭• 1 hr. Ago‬

‭I think you might have had a misunderstanding, you don’t “treat” ADHD there is no way‬

‭to change how someone’s brain works. Mark and Rhonda's comments might have seemed‬

‭like ADHD is curable but they are talking about way to mitigate its consequences.‬

‭To add ways to help, People with ADHD might struggle with setting priorities, struggle‬

‭with paying attention, and be impulsive, and will be careless. It is imperative that you‬

‭focus on building executive functioning skills while they are young and their brain is still‬

‭developing. Another thing to note is that ADHD symptoms evolve, that is at first your‬

‭child might not struggle with attention, but later on, they will start to struggle.‬
 ‭Round‬‭6‬

‭Work Cited‬

‭Englert, Carol Sue, et al. “Making Strategies and Self-Talk Visible: Writing Instruction in‬

‭Regular and Special Education Classrooms.”‬‭American‬‭Educational Research Journal‬‭, vol. 28,‬

‭no. 2, 1991, pp. 337–72.‬‭JSTOR‬‭, https://doi.org/10.2307/1162944.‬‭Accessed 22 Nov. 2023.‬

‭Baker, Scott & Gersten, Russell & Scanlon, David. (2002). Procedural Facilitators and‬

‭Cognitive Strategies: Tools for Unraveling the Mysteries of Comprehension and the Writing‬

‭Process, and for Providing Meaningful Access to the General Curriculum. Learning Disabilities‬

‭Research & Practice. 17. 65 - 77. 10.1111/1540-5826.00032.‬

‭Sagvolden, Terje et al. “A dynamic developmental theory of‬

‭attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predominantly hyperactive/impulsive and‬

‭combined subtypes.”‬‭The Behavioral and brain sciences‬‭vol. 28,3 (2005): 397-419; discussion‬

‭419-68. doi:10.1017/S0140525X05000075‬

‭Rapport, Mark D. et al. , “Do programs designed to train working memory, other‬

‭executive functions, and attention benefit children with ADHD? A meta-analytic review of‬

‭cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes”,‬‭Clinical‬‭Psychology Review‬‭, Volume 33, Issue‬

‭8, 2013, Pages 1237-1252, ISSN 0272-7358, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08 .005.‬

‭Rhonda Martinussen & Rosemary Tannock (2006) Working Memory Impairments in‬

‭Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder With and Without Comorbid Language‬

‭Learning Disorders, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 28:7, 1073-1094,‬

‭DOI:‬‭10.1080/13803390500205700‬