Specific Learning Disabilities
Freak the Mighty by
Rodman Philbrick
Thank You Mr.
Falker
by Patricia
Polacco
(dyslexia)
Niagara Falls or
Does It?
by Henry
Winkler and Lin
Oliver
Happy Birthday,
Jason
by C. Jean
Cutbill and Diane
Rawsthorn
What Do You Mean,
I Have a Learning
Disability?
by
Kathleen M. Dwyer
A Gebra Named Al
by Wendy Isdell
IDEA DEFINITION OF SPECIFIC LEARNING
DISABILITIES:
A disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or 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 disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not
include children who have learning disabilities which are
primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of
mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

The NATIONAL JOINT COMMITTEE FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES
adds the following:
"Learning disabilities" is a general term that refers to a heterogenous
group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition
and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or
mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, [are]
presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur
across the lifespan. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social
perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but
do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning
disabilities may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions
(e.g., sensory impairments, mental retardation, serious emotional
disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (e.g., cultural differences,
insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those
conditions or influences.
CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING A SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY

A team may determine that a child has a specific learning disability if --

1. The child does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability
levels, that is, demonstrates a severe discrepancy between achievement
and intellectual ability, in one or more of the areas listed in items i through
vii below, if provided with learning experiences for the child's age and
ability levels:
i. oral expression
ii. listening comprehension
iii. written expression
iv. basic reading skill
v. reading comprehension
vi. mathematics calculation
vii. mathematics reasoning

2. The team may not identify a child as having a specific learning disability
if the severe discrepancy between ability and achievement is primarily the
result of:
i. a visual, hearing, or motor impairment
ii. mental retardation
iii. emotional disturbance
iv. environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage
Common learning disabilities

Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may also be referred
to as reading disability or reading disorder.

Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping
math concepts.

Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.

Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding
language despite normal hearing and vision.

Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing
problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.
Egg Drop Blues by
J.T. Banks
(dyslexia)
How Dyslexic
Benny Became a
Star
by J. Griffith
(dyslexia)
How Many Days
Until Tomorrow?
by
C. Janover
(dyslexia)
Best Fight by A.
Schlieper
Best Way To Learn:
Young People's
Guide to Learning
DIsabilities
by Stern
and Ben-Ami
SIGNS OF POSSIBLE LEARNING DISABILITIES

Specific academic skills deficits:
    Basic reading skills (learning letter names and sounds,        
         blending, applying phonetic and structured analysis)
    Reading comprehension
    Writing
    Written expression        
    Spelling
    Mathematical calculation
    Mathematical reasoning

Perceptual motor impairments:
    Difficulty distinguishing shapes and sizes
    Lack established handedness
    Letter, word, number reversals
    Difficulty with fine motor skills
    Writing
    Coloring
    Cutting

Memory and thinking disorders:
    Deficient in memory strategies
    Haphazard in approaches to learning
    Poor language skills, which hinder memory
    Difficulty with short-term auditory and visual memory
    Lack of awareness of skills and strategies needed to           
              solve problems and solve tasks

General Coordination Deficits:
    Clumsy
    Difficulty with fine and gross motor skills (tying shoes,           
              running, hopping, skipping)
    Difficulty with depth perception
    Neurological Soft Signs
    Poor fine motor coordination, balance, tactile                         
        discrimination.
    May have strabismus
    Poor visual-motor coordination
SIGNS OF POSSIBLE LEARNING DISABILITIES

Speech and language disorders:
    Delayed language development
    Difficulty with grammar (syntax),
meaning                         (semantics), or social use
(pragmatics) of                         language

Attention Disorders:
    Difficulty concentrating
    Difficulty remaining on task
    Rarely finish what is started
    Jump from one activity to another
    Easily distracted

Hyperactivity:
    Difficulty sitting still
    Constantly in motion
    Fidgety
    Driven by an “inner motor”
    Impulsiveness
    Act without thinking
    Poor planning and organizational skills
    Respond quickly but make many errors
    Lack self-regulation skills

Emotional liability:
    Moody
    Often isolated or rejected by peers
    Low self-esteem
    More likely to violate social norms
    Inappropriate ways to get attention
    Elicit more negative reactions from others
    Lacking in social cognition skills
    Difficulty reading non-verbal cues
    Difficulty with motivation
    Passive rather than active learner

Miscellaneous others:
    Forgetfulness
    Long time to complete tasks and assignments
    Sloppiness in work
    Difficulty working independently
    Inattentiveness
    Trouble switching between activities
    Impulsive
    Low tolerance for frustration
    Daydreaming
    Sad, angry
Causes of Learning Disabilities

Determining precise causation is difficult, but here
are a few possibilities:

Neurological Factors --
anoxia, abnormal fetal
positioning during delivery, prenatal infections, prenatal
injury, etc.

Maturational Delay -- delay in maturation of the
neurological system

Genetic Factors -- genetic abnormalities seems to be
a likelihood in some ways ...

Environmental Factors -- dietary inadequacies, food
additives, radiation stress, fluorescent lighting,
unshielded television tubes, drinking, drug
consumption, inappropriate school instruction,
irradiation, lead ingestion, maternal smoking, illicit
drugs, family stress, ...

Perinatal insults or conditions --  maternal smoking,
drinking, use of illicit drugs; exposure to infections;
trauma during birth; low birth weight; anoxia;
prematurity; use of forceps

No cause is sure. Mostly the cause is unknown.
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES STUFF:

A learning disability is a disorder that interferes with the ability to learn efficiently and effectively.

It is estimated that 5% to 20% of school-aged children in the United States have some sort of learning disability.

It is also estimated that of the children who have a learning disability, 60% to 80% have reading as their main area of need.

Further, it is estimated that the prevalence of specific learning disability among children who are eligible for IDEA (ages 6 –
21) is 52.4%.

Learning disabilities affect boys four times more often than girls.

Learning disability is not the same as mental retardation. Many children with LD are very bright.

The term
“learning disabilities” was coined by Samuel Kirk, an educator, in 1963. His concept of learning disabilities was
defined by delays, deviations, and performance discrepancies in basic academic subjects (math, reading, spelling, writing)
and speech and language problems not attributable to mental retardation.
Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) definition of
READING DISORDER:

Reading achievement as measured by individually administered
standardized tests of reading accuracy or comprehension is
substantially below that expected given the person’s chronological
age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.
The disturbance above significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living that require reading skills
If sensory deficit is present, the reading difficulties are in excess of
those usually associated with it.

Diagnostic criteria for MATHEMATICS DISORDER:
Mathematical ability, as measured by individually administered
standardized tests, is substantially below that expected given the
person’s chronological age, measured intelligence, and age
appropriate education
The disturbance above significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living that require mathematical
ability.
If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in mathematical
abilities are in excess of those usually associated with it.

Diagnostic criteria for disorder of WRITTEN EXPRESSION:
Writing skills, as measured by individually administered
standardized tests (or functional assessments of writing skills) are
substantially below those expected given the person’s
chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate
education.
The disturbance above significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living that require the composition
of written texts (e.g., writing grammatically correct sentences and
organized paragraphs.
If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in writing skills are in
excess of those usually associated with it.
GO TO:
AUTISM
MENTAL RETARDATION
DEAF/BLIND
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENTS
MULTIPLE IMPAIRMENTS
ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENTS
EMOTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS
VISUALLY IMPAIRED, INCLUDING      
                  BLINDNESS
DEAF
HEARING IMPAIRMENTS
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE                    
          IMPAIRMENTS