Copyright © 2007 Allyn & Bacon Chapter 5 Learning Disabilities This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following

Copyright © 2007 Allyn & Bacon

Chapter 5

Learning Disabilities

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:

• any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;

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Introduction to Special Education: Making a Difference

6th Edition


Focus Questions

What are the key features of most definitions of learning disabilities?

Why is there a call for a new definition, and how might it be different?

Why is it correct to consider learning disabilities a lifelong condition?

What are some learning characteristics that contribute to these students’ poor academic performance?

How might the array of services be re-conceptualized for students with learning disabilities?


Challenge Question

What constitutes an appropriate education for these students, and in what setting should it be provided?


Thinking About Dilemmas to Solve

Think about whether: This disability area should be discontinued and

replaced with a “high incidence” category combining all mild disabilities

The size of the category should be limited The operational definition should become more

restrictive Research findings are leading to effective practices for

unique sets of learners Learning disabilities range from mild to severe cases


History of the Field 1919 Kurt Goldstein worked with young men from WWI Alfred Strauss and Heinz Werner worked at Wayne County Training

Center in Michigan with pupils thought to be brain injured During the 1920s and 1930s, Samuel Orton, a neurology specialist,

developed theories and remedial reading techniques for children he called “dyslexic”

Laura Lehtinen developed systematic and direct teaching methods similar to the methods used today

Sam Kirk and colleagues published the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) which was used to identify students with disabilities

“Learning Disabilities” coined by Professor Sam Kirk in 1963


History of the Field In the 1960s, Marianne Frostig developed materials designed to

improve students’ visual perceptual performance In the 1970s, the field of learning disabilities debated the best way to

remediate student’s academic deficits Process/product debate

In 1974, Don Hammill and Steve Larsen showed that perceptual approaches were seldom effective in teaching academic skills, but direct instruction techniques do make a difference

Many fads and invalidated practices have been proposed for solving a learning disability including:

Teaching students to crawl again, regardless of age Special diets Removing florescent lighting Plants placed on desks

These fads were promoted by the media, but had little scientific evidence to support their claims


Learning Disabilities Defined

Two definitions US Department of

Education’s IDEA National Joint

Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD)

IDEA v. NJCLD– Federal definition is

older and has a medical orientation

– The NJCLD definition allows for co-existing disabilities

– The NJCLD definition acknowledges problems many individuals have with social skills


Need for a New Definition? Neither definition directly stated the defining characteristic of

LD: unexpected underachievement Great dissatisfaction existed with definitions of LD because of:

The great inconsistency in the percentage of students in this category

The concern of this category’s size IDEA 2004 addresses this by stating that a severe discrepancy

between intellectual ability and achievement is not required to determine eligibility for a learning disability. If a student is unresponsive to research-validated instructional interventions, then the classification of learning disability may be appropriate


Learning Disabilities Defined Reading

Students identified with LD have much lower reading abilities than students who are low achievers

Reading is the most common reason for referrals to special education

Reading/learning disabilities cause pervasive academic problems

Math Fifty percent of students

with LD have disabilities with math (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001)

Students with a math disability have trouble retrieving information from long-term memory

Students need graphic representations and real-world examples to help them solve problems

Learning disabilities often co-exist with ADHD


Identifying Learning Disabilities Discrepancy formulas are used to determine

whether a student’s gap between achievement and potential is significant and accounts for the student’s learning failures

Two tests are needed IQ Standardized Achievement Test

Use of discrepancy formulas provide objectivity in the identification process


Criticisms of Discrepancy Formulas

IQ tests are not reliable and are unfair to many groups of children

Results have little utility in planning a student’s educational program

The process is not helpful in determining which interventions might be successful

Outcomes do not relate to performance in the classroom, general education curriculum, or on statewide assessments

Children must fail before they qualify for needed services


Characteristics of Learning Disabilities

Unexpected underachievement

Lack of motivation or poor attribution

Attention deficits Inability to generalize Faulty information

processing Insufficient problem

solving strategies (Rivera & Smith, 1997)

Students with LD may also develop learned helplessness and be inactive in the learning process

Poor language and/or cognitive development

Immature social skills

Disorganization


Locus of Control Students with LD have

a greater reliance on external factors for accomplishment which interferes with their motivation

Motivation is the inner drive that causes individuals to be energized and directed

Attributions are the self-explanations about the reasons for one’s success or failure

Lack of Effort

Increased

Persistence

Lack of Ability

Pessimism

High Ability

Positive Effort

Ease of Task

LuckSuccess

Failure

External Internal


Processing Information

Educators can help when they: Repeat important information Organize content systematically Provide students with relevant information Anchor examples to their experiences Associate content with familiar information Teach students to use thinking skills such as

classifying, associating, and sequencing


Social Skills About 25% of students

with LD are typical or above average in social skills

This area affects most of the student’s life

Many students with LD are naïve and unable to accurately judge other people’s intentions (Donahue, 1997)

To improve social skills Students must be assessed Intervention must be

implemented Intervention includes:

Structured and explicit social skills instruction such as modeling, coaching, practice and specific feedback

Peer tutoring, reinforcement, and contingencies that reward the entire class

Can help with generalization of new skills


Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD is estimated to affect 10–20% of the school-age population in U.S.

Students with ADHD can be served at school through: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act “Other health impairments” category EBD or LD category

Interventions include medical, behavioral techniques, direct and systematic instruction, and providing a highly structured environment


1976: 25%of IDEA is LD

2001: Over 50%of IDEA is LD

6% ofAll SchoolChildrenServed

LargestIDEA

Category

Size

Media and publicfeel that SWDs

are being educatedat other children's expense

Federal governmentdoes not

fully covercosts

Costs twiceas much

to educate thannon-disabled

Cost

State guidelines are notalways followed inthe identification

process

Maybe some studentsare labeled, not because

they have LD, but soso they can recieve extra help

Is special educationa "dumping ground"?

Misidentification

Prevalence Concerns


Causes and prevention of Learning Disabilities

Little is actually known about the causes of LD Some students may have proven brain damage Some experts are studying the interactive relationship between several

genes that may be involved in reading disabilities (Wood & Grigorento, 2001)

There may be neurological problems in the area of the brain associated with sounds and symbols (Gilger, 2001)

There is also a strong relationship between low socio-economic status (SES) and learning disabilities

Many factors associated with poverty could be contributing to LD such as:

Little access to health care Lack of supportive environment

Teachers need to recognize the uncertainty about the causes of LD and keep their expectations high for students


Assessments Curriculum based

measurement (CBM) Uses direct and frequent

measurements of students’ performance

Sensitive to students’ learning patterns and growth

Provides useful feedback to teachers about the effectiveness of their instruction

Use of comprehensive informal assessments to determine:

Patterns of errors Levels of performance Descriptions of specific

skills


Replacing the Current Identification Process

Pre-referral concept Students receive special

assistance before an actual referral is made

Interventions such as tutoring, peer tutoring, extra attention, and modified textbooks would be tried first

Interventions would become more intensive based on the child’s response to instruction


Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Phonological Awareness

Letter-Sound Correspondence

Decoding

Sight Word Recognition

Fluency

Comprehension

First Steps on the Ladder to Literacy (Jenkins & O’Conner, 2002)


Elementary Through High School Educational outcomes

improve when students are taught:

With proven procedures Skills of concern directly Strategies to organize,

comprehend, and remember complex information

Educators must become good consumers

Only use scientifically validated interventions

Monitor the intervention directly and consistently

Keys To Effective Instruction Directly teach the

subject or skill Use drill,

repetition, practice, and review

Work in small active groups

Break learning units into small segments

Use strategy instruction


Elementary Through High School Peer Assisted Learning Strategies

(PALS) by Lynn and Doug Fuchs Reading Comprehension

Teacher led questioning Restatement of passage read Skill-based instruction Story mapping

Learning strategies approach for middle and high school students by Don Deshler and Jean Shumaker

Highly structured materials Advanced organizers Mnemonics Built-in systems of direct evaluation


Use of Technology Technology can:

Augment an individual’s strengths Compensate for effects of disabilities Provide alternative modes of performing tasks

Assistive technology can reduce barriers Software exists that:

Helps students take notes and create graphic organizers Recognizes and reads text to students

Word processors help spelling, definitions, and grammar


Transition to Adulthood For many people with LD,

postsecondary education is not an option

63% graduate with a standard diploma

27% drop out of high school

In 1978 only 3% of first-year college students reported having a disability

Today, 6% of all undergraduates report that they do – 30% report this as a learning disability (Greenberg, 2000; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2000)

About one-third of college students with disabilities complete a bachelor’s degree compared to half of students without a disability

Support and accommodations are more available to students


Transition to Adulthood Students with disabilities:

Tend to achieve success if from wealthier families

May have directional problems

May have time management problems

May feel socially isolated Earn less money than their

co-workers May have insecurities and

negative self-concepts due to their difficulty in school


Collaboration for Inclusion Most students with LD spend

most of their time in general education classes

Many parents fear that options are disappearing

Percentage of students served in resource rooms is declining

Size of these classes is increasing to levels that sometimes exceed general education class-size maximums (Moody, Vaughn, Hughes, & Fischer, 2000)

58

381988-19891999-2000

Percentage of Resource Rooms


True Collaboration Communication is open and ongoing Participation is voluntary Parity exists in the relationship Goals are shared Evaluation of student performance is continual Decision making is done as a team Resources are pooled Trust and respect are the basis of the partnership Planning time is scheduled


Challenge Question What constitutes an appropriate education for these

students and in what setting should it be provided? An appropriate education includes:

Access to the general education curriculum Instruction using validated practices Necessary accommodations Graduated levels of services increasing in intensity and

individualization Considerations in the determination of setting includes:

Intensity of services and supports required General education curriculum Student’s academic, social, and behavioral needs Student’s preference

Documents

Copyright © 2007 Allyn & Bacon Chapter 5 Learning Disabilities This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following