DOCUMENT RESUME ED 358 618 EC 302 180 TITLE ...DOCUMENT RESUME ED 358 618 EC 302 180 TITLE LD-Case Training Manual for Vocational Service Providers. INSTITUTION Nebraska Univ., Omaha

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 358 618 EC 302 180

TITLE LD-Case Training Manual for Vocational ServiceProviders.

INSTITUTION Nebraska Univ., Omaha. Div. of Educational andStudent Services.

SPONS AGENCY Office of Special Education and RehabilitativeServices (ED), Washington, DC.

PUB DATE [90]

COWTRACT H235A10043NOTE 160p.; Cover title reads: "Training Manual for

Vocational Service Providers."PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For

Teaches) (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Adult Development; *Adult Education; Adults;

Advocacy; Communication Skills; Continuing Education;Coping; Employment; Individual Development;*Inservice Education; *Learning Disabilities;Postsecondary Education; Pragmatics; *VocationalRehabilitation

IDENTIFIERS Self Advocacy

ABSTRACTThe project, "Learning Disabilities--Community

Advocacy, Support, Employment, Education" (LD-CASE), was initiated toexpand the personal/social, educational, and employment options ofindividuals with learning disabilities. The project is designed toprovide LD adults with experiences that will increase theirself-advocacy skills, establish community-based forums for personalgrowth and mutual support, and provide continuing educationopportunities to professionals who work with adults with LD. Thistraining manual for vocational service providers utilizes a trainerof trainers methodology; it provides an outline for discussion,structured applications of content, and supplementary materials foreach topic. Manual topics include: (1) learning disability overview;(2) the emotional aspects of learning disability, coping skills andself-advocacy skills; (3) pragmatic communicative competence; and (4)functioning in postsecondary or employment settings. The bulk of thereport comprises copies of overhead transparencies to accompany eachmanual topic. (Contains 18 references.) (JDD)

**************************************************4-, k*****************

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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L earningDisabilities

CommunityAdvocacySupportE mployment/Education

U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION()lice of Educational Research and improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERICI

rell`Ms dOCument has been reproduced asreceived from the person Or organabonongmatmo it

r Minor changes have been mid:, to improvereproduction Quality

Pomis of Nue* or opinions slated In %Ms docu-ment do not necessanl, represent &floatOER( posibon or oohcy

Training Manualfor

Vocational Service Providers

University of Nebraska at OmahaDivision of Educational and Student Services

Omaha, NE 68182

WIUniversity ofNebraska atOmaha

Prepared by funds from the U.S. Dept. of Educ. Office of Sp. Ed. and Rehabilitative Services (#H235A10043)

2 Fo;%VA,

LD-CASETRAINING MANUAL

FORVOCATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

Janice LeuenbergerProject Director

Peggy WallertProject Coordinator

Jacque CrehanLearning Disabilities Specialist

Dianna Massih Darlene Brown Mark Van OsdelGraduate Assistant Secretary Research Assistant

University of Nebraska at OmahaDivision of Educational and Student Services

Omaha, Nebraska 68182

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD VI

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VII

SCHOOL-COMMUNITY-WORK TRANSITION IX

LD-CASE GRANT X

SECTIONA:LEARNING DISABILITY OVERVIEW 1

SECTION II:GOING FROM "me TO ME" 5

COMMUNICATION AS A WAY OF LIFE 7

S EC TION_IV :FUNCTIONING IN POST-SECONDARY OR EMPLOYMENTSETTINGS 9

ON'ERIIE ADS:

Section I LEARNING DISABILITY OVERVIEW

Facing up to the Learning Disability: Overview ofProcessing Disorder 13

Seven Academic Areas of Educational LearningDisabilities 14

Vocational Limitations that Hamper EmploymentOpportunities 15

TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED

OVERHEADS:

Section I (Continued)

Processing Information Input, Integration, Outputand Memory 22

Assessment Profile I and Strengths and Weaknesses_ 25

Section II GOING FROM "me TO ME"

Social Skills for Success 27

Time Management and Organizational Difficulties 30

Self-advocating by Assertion 31

Learning Difficult Tasks 32

Section III COMMUNICATION AS A WAY OF LIFE

Components of Language 33

Form 34

Content 35

Use 36

Cartoon: Pragmatics 37

Figurative Language 38

Pragmatic Language 39

I I


OVERHEADS:

Section III (Continued)

Job Related Language 41

Suggestions for Asking for Help 43

Suggestions for Job Interview 45

Section IV FUNCTIONING IN POST-SECONDARY OREMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

Post-Secondary Services for Students with LearningDisabilities 47

Post-Secondary Experiences:

Student Involvement 49

Preparation for Admission 50

Cartoon: Overly Dependent on Mother 51

Supportive Environment 52

Generic Job Accommodations 53

Assessment Profile II and Strengths and Weaknesses 54

Case Study 59

LD Accommodation Planning Guide 60

III


SIJP_PIEMENTAL_IN FORMATION:

Section I- LEARNING DISABILITY OVERVIEW

Pre-Test 62

Barsch Learning Style Inventory 64

Dealing with your Disorganized Central NervousSystem 68

Individuals with Learning DisabilitiesA Student's Perspective 72

Section II GOING FROM "me TO ME"

Coping with Specific Disabilities 74

Be Clear about the Kind of Help You Need 81

Section III COMMUNICATION AS A WAY OF LIFE

Pragmatic Checklist 82

Guidelines for Minimal Speaking and ListeningCompetencies for High School Graduates 84

Section IV FUNCTIONING IN POST-SECONDARY OREMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

Post-Test 93

Evaluation 95


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:

Section IV (Continued)

College Testing Services for Students with SpecialNeeds 97

Questions to Ask 98

A Comprehensive Learning Disabilities ServiceProgram 100

Summary of the 504 Regulations 102

Getting Ready for College: Advising High SchoolStudents with Learning Disabilities 104

Directories for LD Post-Secondary Students 109

On the Job Tips for Employees with LearningDisabilities 111

Job Suggestions for Adults with LearningDisabilities 113

Jobs that might NOT be appropriate for LD Adult 114

Suggestions for Working with Adults withLearning Disabilities 115

REFERENCES 117

V

FOREWORD

Learning Disabilities-Community Advocacy, Support, Employment,Education (LD-CASE) was conceived and initiated as a result of adesire to expand the life options of individuals with learningdisabilities. This desire to expand the personal/social, educationaland employment options of individuals with learning disabilitieshas been a shared goal among advocates at institutions of highereducation (University of Nebraska at Omaha), departments ofvocational rehabilitation services (Nebraska Division ofRehabiltiation Services) and community activists (NebraskaLearning Disability Association of America). Parents andprofessionals from these agencies have worked together to provideLD adults with experiences which will increase their self-advocacyskills, establish community-based forums for personal growth andmutual support, and provide continuing education opportunities toprofessionals who work with adults with learning disabilities.

Funding from the US Department of Education, Office of SpecialEducation and Rehabiltiative Services has made it possible toprepare these materials for other professionals and advocates touse. LD-CASE project staff encourage you to implement, to reviseand to improve the suggestions in this manual. Each applicationincreases the opportunity to create socially and functionally validoptions for adults with learning disabilities.

Janice LeuenbergerProject Director

VI

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are a number of persons who have contributed their timeand energies in helping to see that LD-CASE met the plannedobjectives for Year One of this federal grant. First, it is importantto thank all of the service providers with the Northeast Region ofNebraska Division of Rehabilitation Services. They are: ErnieBoone, Wendy Nilson, Linda Peck, Jolene Cranston, Janet Harsh,Rich Zajac, Theresa Tester, Sarah Jensen, Leanna Fritz, LariisaMcClung, Leta Simms, Tom Searson, Ann Killham, Deborah Dixon,Joni Minor, Lisa Fleming, Sonia Sherman, Eva Carter, MarilynNadler, Lee Campbell, Wes Greenwood, Patricia Maxwell, and WallyQuist.

The LD-CASE project personnel are very appreciative of thecooperation and encouragement given to us by the administrativestaff of the Nebraska Division of Rehabilitation Services, inparticular by the personnel of the Northeast Region. Specialthanks are given to Dennis King, Northeast Area Supervisor andNancy Koupal, Counselor Director.

Our thanks are also extended to Sharon Bloechle, the projectvolunteer Community Coordinator and LDA (Nebraska LearningDisability Association of America) representative. Sharon has longbeen an outstanding advocate for persons with learning disabilitiesacross the state and nation.

The LD-CASE Advisory Committee has given encouragement andadvice on the project and must be thanked for their input.Committee members are: Dr. Jason Andrew, Director of NebraskaDivision of Rehabilitation Services; Dr. John Hill, Professor of SpecialEducation/Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska atOmaha; Dr. Mary Friehe, Assistant Professor of Special Educationand Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska-Lincoln;

Joyce Cramer, Coordinator of LD services, Omaha Public Schools;and Marianne Wessling, LDA community activist, Omaha, Nebraska.

Many thanks to Carol and Rob (adults with learning disabilities) forvideotaping their experiences of living with learning disabilities.Without their testimony our understanding of the difficulties thislearning difference introduces in life would not be complete.

The Training Manual for Service Providers could not exist in itspresent form without the long and painfully exacting editing doneby Project Director, Jan Leuenberger. Appreciation is extended toPeggy Wallert, Project Coordinator, for her support andencouragment in designing this manual. Darlene Brown,Secretary, and Dianna Massih, Graduate Assistant, for theexpertise on the "MAC" computer, Mark Van Osdel, ResearchAssistant, for his help in designing the pre/posttest questions andcarrying out the follow-up evaluation of the training modules.

Without the help of these people, I would not have been able towrite this manual. Thank you for all the support andencouragement that you have given me in this endeavor.

Jacque CrehanLearning Disability Specialist

VIII

SCHOOL-COMMUNITY-WORK TRANSITION

Transition services "are a coordinated set of activities for a student,designed within an outcome-oriented process, which promotesmovement from school to post-secondary activities, includingpost-secondary employment, continuing and adult education,adult services, independent living, and community participation"(Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 1990, formerly theEducation for Handicapped Children Act, 1975). The coordinatedset of activities shall be based upon the individual student's needs,taking into account the student's preferences and interests, andshall include instruction, community experiences, thedevelopment of employment and other post-secondary adultliving objectives, acquisition of daily living skills and functionalvocational evaluation.

According to I'Veisgerber (1989) a transition program is acooperative approach to helping disabled young adults make amore successful transition from school to work and independentliving in the community. This process has become a major concernnationally for educator, parents, adults with learning disabilities,vocational counselors, and other service providers. The transitionprogram provides a gradual planning process for developing a setof goals and objectives that will help adults with learning disabilitiesmove into a more independent and fulfilling lifestyle. This passageenhances the ability of adults with learning disabilities to makebetter decisions concerning employment, living conditions andpost-secondary education settings. It also allows the individual togradually move from a nurturing environment to a morecompetitive environment, where the adults with learningdisabilities can function in the same type of lifestyle as non-disabled adults.

IX

LD-CASE GRANT

The federally funded project, Learning Disabilities-CommunityAdvocacy, Support, Employment and Education (LD-CASE),established a collaborative effort between the University ofNebraska at Omaha, the Nebraska Learning Disabilities Associationof America and state Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) toexpand the life options of adults with learning disabilities (LD).Project personnel implemented a trainer of the trainers'methodology to provide professional development opportunitiesfor DRS personnel working with adults with learning disabilities.The topics for professional development content were selected toimprove the disability awareness, self-advocacy skills andpragmatic language skills of adults with learning disabilities ineducation, community and employment settings. These are themain objectives of LD-CASE:

establish support groups among adults withlearning disabilities within the contexts ofemployment, education, and community life

provide training in disability awareness andcontextually based self-advocacy skills to adultswith learning disabilities

improve interpersonal and social skills of adultswith learning disabilities by enhancing pragmaticlanguage skills

provide adaptability instruction to adults withlearning disabilities to promote responsibility forone's motivation, performance and satisfaction

X

The professional development content may be presented to allowan interval between sessions, for dissemination of new materialand practical application with their clients, or presented in oneintensive session. This manual provides an outline for discussion,structured applications of content and supplementary materialsfor each topic.

The module topics are:

LEARN IN_G_DIS A B ILITY OVERVIEW.

define learning disabilities by Educational &Vocational Rehabilitation criteria

GOING_FRONL'ime tc ME"

create simulations to gain more empathyfor understanding the emotional aspectof this disability

provide a perspective of an adult with alearning disability

discuss coping skills and self-advocacy skills

COMMUNICATION_AS A. WAY OF LIFE

outline pragmatic communicativecompetence

define VR counselor's role in job-relatedpragmatic language skills

XI

FUNCTIONING IN POST-SECONDARY OR EMPLOYMENTSETTINGS

suggest accommodations that may beavailable in post-secondary education

propose the need for supportiveenvironment

suggest various job analysis/accommodations

XII

1 5

SECTION I

LEARNINGDISABILITYOVERVIEW

LEARNING DISABILITY OVERVIEW

Objectives for Section I:

A) To define learning disability in relation to thedifference in criteria applied in Educational andVocational Rehabilitation settings.

B) To explore what a learning disability is byexamining etiology, simulations, case studies,and informal procedures.

C) To allow participants to explore their learningstyles and to experience, through the eyes of astudent with a learning disability, what it is liketo live with this disability.

Material: Pre-Test (See pages 62-63)

Discussion: Participants will complete a pre-test toestablish a baseline of knowledge.

Material: Overhead:Facing up to the Learning Disability:Overview of Processing Disorder(See page 13)

Discussion: Information that comes into the centralnervous system (input) may be compared toelectricity flowing in all directions. Theintegration of information becomes shortcircuited as it crosses many synapses. Aprocessing deficit results when one or more ofthese three information processing functions isinefficient: input, integration, and output (andsometimes memory).

Section 1 - Learning Disability Overview

Educational and Vocational Definition: Differences in Criteria

Material: Overhead:Seven Academic Areas of EducationalLearning Disabilities (See page 14)

Discussion: Educational settings define LD in terms ofsignificant difference between academic abilityand intellectual ability not attributed to anyeconomic, cultural, environmental, or sensoryfactors. This difference typically affects sevengeneral areas: Reading Recognition, ReadingComprehension, Math Calculation, MathReasoning, Written Expression, Oral Expressionand Listening Comprehension. The differencebetween academic and intellectual ability isevaluated in terms of chronological age, mentalage, and actual level of achievement.

Material: Overhead:Vocational Limitations that HamperEmployment Opportunities(See nages 15-21)

Discussion: Vocational settings define LD in terms ofacademic needs, but also consider the potentiallifelong vocational limitations imposed by thedisability. No exclusions (sensory, intellectualability, cultural or environmental differences)are included in the criteria. The ability to findand maintain employment may be affected bylack of skills in making critical judgments,negotiating through novel situations, acquiring,manipulating, and applying information acrosssettings, and identifying new relationships in arapidly changing society.

2

Section 1 Learning Disability Oven let%

Material: Overhead:Processing Information Input,Integration, Output and Memory(See pages 22-24)

Discussion: Information that is read or heard is not alwaysprocessed as perceived. The sequence ofinformation is not integrated nor does theinformation get stored in memory. Therefore,the information is not processed as it wasreceived and communication becomes difficult.

Material: "How Difficult Can This Be?" (F.A.T. CityWorkshop) PBS VIDEO, a copy of thisvideo has been included with this manual.

Discussion: A 15 minute segment will introduce serviceproviders to the world of the individual with alearning disability and provide opportunities tosimulate feelings of frustration, anger, andtension typically experienced by thispopulation.

Material: Overhead:Assessment Profile I and Strengths andWeaknesses (See pages 25-26)

Discussion: Participants will have 10 minutes to study theAssessment Profile and formulate strengthsand weaknesses. The group will then list thesestrengths and weaknesses indicating the effectthis information could have on the individual'seducational or vocational goals.

3

Section 1 Learning Disability Overview

Material: Barsch Learning Style Inventory(See pages 64-67)

Discussion: Participants will complete an individual BarschLearning Style Questionnaire. Individualprofiles will help service providers toencourage their clients to discover and toutilize this information for finding andmaintaining employment. For example:learning styles can help one to determinewhether one is a visual, tactile or auditorylearner. This is valuable in determining howone effectively utilizes information.

SupplementalInformation: Dealing with your Disorganized Central

Nervous System (see pages 68-71)

Individuals with Learning DisabilitiesA Student's Perspective (See pages 72-73)

4,

SECTION II

GOING FROM"me TO ME" /

GOING FROM "ME TO ME"

Objectives for Section II:

A) To create a sense of empathy for serviceproviders in understanding the emotionalaspects of living with a learning disability.

B) To provide service providers the opportunityto understand the different types of copingskills that affect this population.

C) To explore the need for adults with learningdisabilities to be able to self-advocate incommunity, educational and vocationalsettings.

Material: Video "Living with a Learning Disability"A copy is included with this manual.

Discussion: Participants will view a 20 minute video on"Living with a Learning Disability". This will helpincrease participants' knowledge that this ismore than a cognitive problem.

Material: Overhead:Social Skills for Success(See pages 27-29)

Discussion: Participants will discuss various skills that couldhamper this population's ability to interact on apersonal level, initiate conversations orrespond in social settings.

Section II Going rom "me to ME"

Material: Overhead:Time Management and OrganizationalDifficulties (See page 30)

Discussion: Participants will have the opportunity torecognize various types of organizational andtime management difficulties that may hamperthis population's ability to maintainemployment and personal responsibilities.

Material: Overhead:Self-advocating by Assertion(See page 31)

Discussion: Participants will have the opportunity to nameskills that need to be mastered in order to be aself-advocate. Adults with learning disabilitiesneed to have knowledge about public laws andpolicies, to have high self-esteem, to discusstheir disability, and to ask for accommodations.

Material: Overhead:Learning Difficult Tasks (See page 32)

Discussion: Participants will have the opportunity to gain(or review) tips in helping their clients ask forassistance.

SupplementalInformation: Coping with Specific Disabilities

(See pages 74-80)

Be Clear about the Kind of Help You Need(See page 81)

6

a

SECTION III

COMMUNICATIONAS A WAY

OF LIFE

COMMUNICATION AS A WAY OF LIFE

Objectives for Section III:

A) To illustrate the varied applications ofcomponents of language (form, content anduse) as used in daily communication.

B) To define the characteristics of individuals withlearning disabilities in terms of social andvocational language skills.

C) To expand the DRS professional's knowledge ofpragmatic language skills as related to theclient's job acquisition, job maintenance skillsand job interview.

Material: Overheads:Components of Language (See page 33)Form (See page 34)Content (See page 35)Use (See page 36)Cartoon: Pragmatics (See page 37)

Discussion: Participants will increase their familiarity withform, content and use as the components oflanguage which present difficulties to adultswith learning disabilities.

Material: Overhead:Figurative Language (See page 38)

Discussion: Participants will explore how ambiguitiessubtleties, and variances involved in everydaylife can be difficult for adults with learningdisabilities.

7

Section III - Communication As a Way of Life

Material: Overheads:Pragmatic Language (See pages 39-40)Job Related Language (See pages 41-42)

Discussion: Participants will list characteristics of academic,social and vocational settings and identifylanguage applications that may create personaland employment difficulties.

Material: Overhead:Suggestions for Asking for Help(See pages 43-44)

Discussion: Participants will explore various options ofasking for help and red flags to identify areas ofconcern to share with their clients.

Material: Overhead:Suggestions for Job Interview(See pages 45-46).

Discussion: Participants will explore techniques for jobinterviewing and red flags that may preventtheir clients from acquiring the position.

SupplementaryInformation:

Pragmatic Checklist (See pages 82-83)

Guidelines for Minimal Speaking andListening Competencies for High SchoolGraduates (See pages 84-92)

8

SECTION IV

FUNCTIONING INPOST-SECONDARY

OREMPLOYMENT

SETTINGS

FUNCTIONING IN POST-SECONDARY OREMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

Objectives for Section IV:

A) To provide professionals with information onassessing and applying for services in post-secondary institutions.

B) To create an increased sense of empathy amongservice providers for understanding theemotional aspects of trying to earn a post-secondary degree and having a learningdisability.

C) To provide professionals information in theareas of job accommodations, job environment,and job analysis.

Material: Overhead:Post-secondary Services for Studentswith Learning Disabilities(See pages 47-48)

Discussion: Participants will become familiar with types ofservices in a post-secondary institution.

Material: Overheads:Post-secondary Experiences:

Student Involvement (See page 49)Preparation for Admission (See page 50)

Discussion: Participants will become acquainted withcharacteristics of college students with learningdisabilities and how to help them prepare forthe admission process.

9

Section IV Functioning in Post-Secondary

Material: Overhead:Cartoon: Overly Dependent on Mother(See page 51)

Discussion: Students with learning disabilities aredependent on parental involvement duringprimary and secondary education and nowthat they are moving to post-secondaryeducation, they need to become moreindependent.

Material: Video: "Going to College with LearningDisabilities." A copy has been includedwith this manual.

Discussion: Participants will view a 20 minute video on"Going to College with Learning Disabilities." Thiswill help increase participants' awareness of theobstacles involved in obtaining a college degreefor adults with learning disabilities.

Material: Overhead:Supportive Environment (See page 52)

Discussion: Participants will increase awareness of the needto encourage adults with learning disabilities tobuild an on-the-job support system.

Material: Overhead:Generic Job Accommodations(See page 53)

Discussion: Participants will list different types of genericjob accommodations that could help adults withlearning disabilities succeed in employmentsettings.

10

7

Section IV functioning in Post-Secondar

Material: Overheads:Assessment Profile II and Strengths andWeaknesses (See pages 54-58)Case Study (See page 59).

Discussion: Participants will develop a case study profile togo along with the Assessment Profile II (SectionII). This information will be used to plan jobaccommodations.

Material: Overhead:LD Accommodation Planning Guide(See pages 60-61).

Discussion: Participants will utilize the previouslydeveloped Assessment Profile and case study toestablish a planning guide for an adult with alearning disability.

Material: Post-Test (See pages 93-94)

Discussion: Participants will complete a post-test todetermine increased level of familiarity withtopics presented.

Material: Evaluation (See pages 95-96)

SupplementalInformation: College Testing Services for Students with

Special Needs (See page 97)

Questions to Ask (See pages 98-99)

A Comprehensive Learning DisabilitiesService Program (See pages 100-101)

Summary of the 504 Regulations(See pages 102-103)

11

Section IV I-unctioning in Post-Secondar)

Supplemental InformationContinued:

Getting Ready for College: Advising HighSchool Students with Learning Disabilities(See pages 104-108)

Directories for LD Post-SecondaryStudents (See pages 109-110)

On the Job Tips for Employees withLearning Disabilities (See pages 111-112)

Job Suggestions for Adults with LearningDisabilities (See page 113)

Jobs that might NOT be appropriate for LDAdult (See page 114)

Suggestions for Working with Adults withLearning Disabilities (See pages 115-116).

12

OVERHEADS

OVERHEADS

SECTION I


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SEVEN ACADEMIC AREAS OFEDUCATIONAL LEARNING

DISABILITIES

1. READING RECOGNITION

2. READING COMPREHENSION

3. MATH CALCULATION

4. MATH REASONING

5. WRITTEN EXPRESSION

6. ORAL EXPRESSION

7. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

14

VOCATIONAL LIMITATIONS

READING RECOGNITION:

short-term memory

decoding

visual discrimination

auditory discrimination

letter/word reversals

sight words

word analysis skills

phonetic skills

long term storage and retrieval

15

READING COMPREHENSION:

short-term memory

questioning

spatial judgments

recalling sequence of events

following directions

main idea

locating specific information

distinguishing betweenfact/opinion

visual imagery

understanding words/paragraphs

ability to make inferences

16

MATH CALCULATION:

short-term memory

borrowing

carrying

percentages

fractions

basic math facts

time

17

MATH REASONING:

short-term memory

measurements

word problems

size discrimination

relationships

time

inattention to variablewithin problem

reading maps/graphs

18

WRITTEN EXPRESSION:

short-term memory

organization

directionality

copying

word recall

semantics

grammar

syntax

inability to use creativity

19

ORAL EXPRESSION:

directions

short-term memory

communication

word recall

thought transitioning

correct grammar

reaction to listener

inattention to non-verbalcues

LISTENING COMPREHENSION:

short-term memory

pay attention to style, tone or rate

non-verbal communication cues

listener's reaction

understanding words/concepts

relationship of thoughts/ideas

sequencing details

inferences

distinguishing facts/opinions

INPUT

Visual Perceptionsees 'b' for 'd

Auditory Perceptionhears 'blue' for 'blow'

Auditory figure/ground difficultieslistening to radio and hearingthe phone ring

Visual figure/ground difficultiesfinding face in crowd

22

OUTPUT

SPONTANEOUS LANGUAGE

difficulty initiating andresponding in a conversation

GROSS MOTOR

difficulty running evenwalking, positioning in space

FINE MOTOR

handwriting

23

5

MEMORY

SHORT-TERM

visual looks up phone number,forgets it when dialing

auditory forgets verbal directions

LONG-TERM

studies and forgets informationby morning

recall and retrieval difficulties

24

ASSESSMENT PROFILE I

INTELLIGENCE

PERCENTILERANK

Verbal 95

Performance 83

ACHIEVEMENTReading 12

Math 86

Written Language 18

Knowledge 94

LANGUAGEOverall Language 57

Vocabulary (PPVT) 55

Grammar 20

Vocabulary 70

ListeningComprehension 80

ORAL LANGUAGE 50

WRITTEN LANGUAGE 50

25

ASSESSMENT PROFILE I

STRENGTHS

ABOVE AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE

MATH

KNOWLEDGE/GENERAL INFORMATIONVOCABULARY

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

ORAL LANGUAGE

WEAKNESSES

WRITTEN LANGUAGE

GRAMMAR

OVERHEADS

SECTION II

GOING FROM "me TO ME"

SOCIAL SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

PERSONALSOCIAL SKILLS

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

BEING DEPENDABLE

TELLING THE TRUTH

BEING POLITE AND COURTEOUS

PERSONAL HYGIENE

EXPRESSING POSITIVE ATTITUDE,ENTHUSIASM, AND FRIENDLINESS

WORKING WELL WITH OTHERS,(COOPERATING)

27


INITIATING. SOCIAL SKILLS

GREETING OTHERS/ INITIATINGCONVERSATION, GIVING INFORMATION

INTRODUCING SELF

ASKING FOR HELP/ ASSISTANCE/FEEDBACK/QUESTIONS

GIVING A COMPLIMENT

GIVING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK(MAKING A COMPLAINT)

APOLOGIZING/EXCUSING SELF

GIVING DIRECTIONS

JOINING OTHERS IN GROUPS/ACTIVITIES

28


RESPONDING SOCIAL SKILLS

LISTENING/RESPONDING WHENOTHERS SPEAK

FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS

HANDLING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

RECOGNIZING THE FEELINGS OF OTHERS

RESPONDING TO PEER PRESSURE

PROBLEM SOLVING(DEALING WITH ANGRY PEOPLE)

29

TIME MANAGEMENT ANDORGANIZATIONAL DIEFIC I ii lIES

DIFFICULTY GETTING BACK ON TASK

DISTRACTIONS

NOT BEING ABLE TO SET PRIORITIES

OVERLOAD /TOO MANY THINGS TO DO,TOO LITTLE TIME

PROCRASTINATION

MOTIVATION/CAN'T GET STARTED

CAN'T CONCENTRATE

30

b : ,

SELE7ADVOCATII\LG_BY ASSERTION

COMFORTABLE LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEMAND SELF-UNDERSTANDING

UNDERSTAND LEARNING DISABILITIES

HELPFUL TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OFLAWS AND PUBLIC POLICIES WHICHSUPPORT THEM

WILLINGNESS TO DISCUSS THEIRLEARNING DISABILITIES WITH OTHERS

ABILITY TO ASK FORACCOMMODATIONS AND ASSISTANCE

31

LEARNING DIFFICULT TASKS

HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE TEACH YOU,SO THEY DO NOT GET IMPATIENT

PRACTICE IN A QUIET PLACE ORWHEN YOU ARE ALONE

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, ASK SOMEONETO WATCH YOU DO IT CORRECTLY

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO DO ACERTAIN TASK, FIND OUT WHY ANDSOLVE THE PROBLEM

BREAK THE TASK DOWN INTOEASIER STEPS

OVERHEADS

SECTION III


SYNTAXMORPHOLOGYPHONOLOGY

SEMANTICS

CONTENT

LANGUAGE

USE

PRAGMATICS

33

.04

FORM

Verbal & Non-verbalSymbols

C SYNTAX )Arrangement

of Words

Noun-Verb-Direct Object

(MORPHOLOGY)

Grammar Rules

(PHONOLOGY)

Speech Sounds

Plurals, Verb Tenses, ch sh is ieAdverbs

34

CONTENT}

Expressing Ideasor

Emotions

SEMANTICS

Meanings of WordsSquare = Box

person whosethinking or actions

are out of date

35

( SOCIAL

How to asksomeone to

go someplace

USE

Pragmatics

Communication

C PERSONAL ) (VOCATIONAL)

EgotisticConversation

36

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Speaking differentlywith supervisors than

with a co-worker

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11

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Language that is often misinterpreted by manyadults with learning disabilities.

SAID: You drive me up the wall.

INTERPRETED: Mom is driving her car toward theceiling.

SAID: I was beside myself.

INTERPRETED: No he's not; he's here.

SAID: If you have a lot of frogs to eat, eatthe biggest first.

INTERPRETED: I have to eat frogs.

SAID: Beat the eggs by hand.

INTERPRETED: I plunge my fist into the mixingbowl to beat the eggs.

38

6 J

PRAGMATIC LANGUAGE

ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL SETTINGS

MORE LIKELY TO:

Have vocabulary & idea deficits (specific, clear,accurate words, & ideas)

Be less sensitive to social cues

Misunderstand

Be perceived as negative, overdirect, & impolite

Be less persuasive

Have trouble starting conversations

Interrupt speakers

Monopolize conversations

Make inappropriate statements

MORE LIKELY NOT TO:

Ask for clarification

Consider proximity of stance

Consider setting or audieince

Use correct tone/volume

Make eye contact

39

ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL SETTINGS

AS LIKELY TO:

Answer with short responses

Sprinkle slang throughout

Utilize a variety of topics

Take turns appropriately

Make statements out of context

Misuse key elements Who, Where, When

Misread non-verbal cues

JOB RELATED LANGUAGE

VOCATIONAL SETTINGS

MORE LIKELY TO:

Convey a poor attitude/image

Have problems taking & giving criticism

Have difficulty explaining problems

Have difficulty negotiating situations

Have trouble with an interview

Have trouble keeping a job

Speak in the same manner to supervisor asco-workers

MORE LIKELY NOT TO:

Ask for clarification

Consider proximity of stance

Use correct tone/voice

Make eye contact

Follow directions

41

VOCATIONAL SETTINGS

AS LIKELY TO:

Accept a suggestion from an employer

Compliment a co-worker

Accept a compliment

SUGGESTIONS FOR ASKING FOR HELP

GOAL: To know how and when to ask for help.To be able to plan ahead and determinewhere help may be needed and what theconsequence will be if help is not received.

TIPS:1. When you suspect a problem, speak

up at an appropriate time.

2. Get clarification of what is expected.

3. Use clear and specific language as towhy there is or may be a problem.Don't whine.

4. Suggest a reasonable alternative.

5. Listen/look for resistance toalternative.

6. Be prepared to compromise.

7. Thank person for the compromise.

43

RED FLAGS:

1. Interrupts at wrong times.

2. Uses negative language to ask forhelp.

3 Has trouble getting clarification.

4. Afraid to admit need for help.

5 Blames others for problems.

PLAN

MODELING:

_ DO. _ CHECK

1. I'm not sure what you want.Are you sayingLet me clarify.

2. I have trouble with writing. I mayneed help.I may not be able to read thatbefore the deadline.I can't promise it will get done,but I'll try.

3. Another way I could do this wouldbe...

44

SUGGESTIONS FOR JOB INTERVIEW

GOAL:

To appear positiveTo promote image you will fit in andbe able to continue

TIPS:

1. Establish eye contact and either greetperson or respond to her/his greetingin an upbeat manner.

2. Ask for information about the job: whatit requires, when it starts, what it pays,the benefits.

3. Talk about specific qualifications: pastwork experience, special skills (reliability,punctuality, work ethic). Be honest andallow the person to know you better.

4. Avoid yes/no responses to questions; addinformation but keep it brief.

5. Close with an expression of interest inthe job and appreciation for interview

45

RED FLAGS:

1. Can't talk positively about self.

2. Answers in yes/no responses.

3. Can't relate past experience to jobdemands.

4 Has trouble with eye contact andinitiating a conversation.

5 Talks on and on.

PLAN

MODELING:

1. I am a hard worker.I'll sure do the best I can.I'm a fast learner.

CHECK

2. Yes, I can do that job.No, I haven't had that experience,but I'm willing to learn.

3. The job sounds good to me.I feel I can do this job.I'd appreciate a chance to do this job.You could depend on me. I reallywant this job.

46

OVERHEADS

SECTION IV


POST-SECONDARY SERVICES FOR

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING

DISABILITIES

I. LARGEST SINGLE CONTINGENT OF STUDENTSWITH DISABILITIES

A. Approximately 31% high schoolstudents with learning disabilitiesplan to enroll in college,.

B. Growth in college attendance hasoccurred 1980-90.

II. POST-SECONDARY SERVICES VARY

A. Selective environments or adaptiveenvironments are available.

B. Services may be described as:

504 Access (Administrative)

Specialized LD Services (Tutoring, IEP)

Remedial Developmental Services

47u.#

III. ACCESSING SERVICES IN POST-SECONDARYINSTITUTIONS

A . Select an institution with clearlydefined, written policies.

B . Provide written, professionaldocumentation of handicap.

C. Reasonable Accommodations vsAcademic Freedom vsFundamental Alteration

D. Accommodations may include servicesfrom faculty and other campus resources.

48

POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCES:

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Assist students in becoming aware of attitudinalbarriers and in developing appropriate strategiesfor overcoming them.

Encourage the parents of disabled high schoolstudents to foster the development ofdecision-making skills.

Encourage students to become aware of educationaland career opportunities that are available.

Encourage students to become involved inextracurricular activities and appropriate workexperiences.

Adapted from: Beryle Baker and Marcia Blanding, Deka lb Community College, Clarkson, GA

49

POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCES:

PREPARATION FOR ADMISSION

Motivate students to learn more about theirdisability, assistive devices, learning styles, andcivil rights.

Encourage parents and students to begin thesearch for an appropriate college as early aspossible.

Encourage students to visit colleges, to gather allneeded information on support services, and toconfer with the service prcviders as soon aspossible.

Promote the use of community resources such asVocational Rehabilitation Services.

Develop programs of information sharing betweensecondary and post-secondary institutions.

Provide opportunities for high school students tomeet with successful disabled college students.

Ada ted from: Ber le Baker and Mart Ia Blandin DeKalb Communit Colic e, Clarkson, GA.

50fl

51

SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

,

1. CONTACT PERSON TO REDUCE STRESS.

2. PERSON TO INTERPRET HANDWRITING ANDSPELLING.

3. PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE FOLLOW-UP ANDSUPPORT.

4. PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE, DIRECTAND REPEAT INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETENTION.

5 . PERSONNEL TO MONITOR FOR QUALITY ANDQUANTITY.

6. PERSONNEL TO ASSIST EMPLOYEE IN ATTENDINGMEETINGS.

7. PERSONNEL FOR POST-EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING.

52

GENERIC JOB ACCOMMODATIONS

ORAL DIRECTIONS

WRITTEN DIRECTIONS

JOB SHARING

COLOR CODING

DISPLAY PHONE

LONGER TRAINING PERIOD

STEP BE STEP INSTRUCTIONS

MORE TIME TO COMPLETE TASK

NOISE FREE ENVIRONMENT

FREQUENT FEEDBACK

CHECKBOOK CALCULATOR

CALCULATOR

NOTEBOOK

STRUCTURE

COLOR SCREEN

SIZE OF FONT

COMPUTER SPELL CHECK,GRAMMAR CHECK

COLORED TAPED AT TOP CORNER OFPARTITION OR DOORWAY

53

ASSESSMENT PROFILE II

PERCENTP.ERANK

INTELLIGENCEVerbal 70

Performance 70

Total Overall 73

ACHIEVEMENTtTASK) Reading Comp 59

(ABLE) Reading Comp 99

Vocabulary 9.4

Language 43

Spelling 97

Total Language 64

(TASK) Math Computation 35

(ABLE) Math Computation 51

Math Reasoning 94

Total Math 75

cS .;

GATB


APTITUDESPERCENTILE

RANK

G-General LearningAbility 52 64

V-Verbal Aptitude 35

N-Numerical Aptitude 44 56

S-Spatial Aptitude 80 89

P-Form Perception 90 95

Q-Clerical Perception 64 78

K-Motor Coordination 40 6-1

F-Finger Dexterity 91 98

M-Manual Dexterity 69 85

55

INDIVIDUAL TALENTASSESSMENT PROFILE, (TAP)

TEST PERCENTILE

#3, Sorting-color 94

#7, Dexterity withSmall Tools 92


0 16

AVERAGE

50

VALPAR Work Samples(MTM Production Standard):

WORK SAMPLE RATE ACCURACY

#6, Independent ProblemSolving 100% 100%

#7, Multi-Level Sorting 100% 150%

#9, Whole Body Range ofMotion 145% NA

5 6


STRENGTHS

ABOVE AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE

READING COMPREHENSION

VOCABULARY

MATH REASONING

SPATIAL RELATIONS

FORM PERCEPTION

CLERICAL PERCEPTION

FINGER DEXTERITY

MANUAL DEXTERITY

SORTING COLOR

DEXTERITY WITH SMALL TOOLS

INDEPENDENT PROBLEM SOLVING

MULTI-LEVEL SORTING

WHOLE BODY RANGE OF MOTION

57


WEAKNESSES

MATH CALCULATIONS

TIMED TASKS

58

CASE STUDY

AGE: 17 GENDER: FEMALE

OBSERVATIONS:

1. Punctuality2. Time for task completion (Math)3. Writing:

a) Capitalizationb) Word Omissions

4. Pencil pressure

VOCATIONAL PREPARATION:

1. High School College Prep

PRAGMATIC LANGAUGE:

1. Conversation skills2. Eye contact3. Clarification4. Good vocabulary

SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY:

Math Computation*Language Concerns

AREA OF INTEREST:

Sciences ForensicsMedical FieldSportsWorking and Helping People

59

LD ACCOMMODATION PLANNING GUIDE

JOB ANALYSIS: Respiratory Therapist2+ Years Post-secondary

JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

Reading: 9-12th GradeMath: College Level AlgebraLanguage: 12th Grade

Depth PerceptionDecision Making SkillsManipulate DataSupervises Patient's TreatmentPrecision WorkUse Body ToolsGood MemoryMechanically Inclined

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Lift 20 lbs. MaximumFrequently Lift/Carry up to 10 lbs.Standing, Walking, Pushing, Pulling,Reaching, Handling, and Fingering

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

Toxic FumesIndoorsWork with People in Extreme DistressScientific Field

CHARACTERISTICS:

Flexible HoursStress and PressureAccountabilityMultiple Job Duties

TASK:

Generate Written and Oral CommunicationInterpret and Follow Written and Oral DirectionsDraw Blood GasesComplete Required Forms

COMPARISON OF JOB EXPECTATIONS AND SKILLS:

CONCERNS _ACCOMMODATIONS

Math Computation CalculatorMetric Conversion Prompt

Timed Tasks Works Longer Day toComplete Daily Task

Written Language (?) Computer Programs

ASSETS ATTRIBUTES _

Patient Relations Likes to Help People

Language Oral Language Skills

Depth Perception P-Form PerceptionS-Spatial Aptitude

Precision Work Manual DexterityFinger Dexterity

61

SUPPLEMENTALINFORMATION

SECTION I


PRE-TEST QUESTIONS

Please mark the answer by placing the corresponding number inthe blank space by each statement.

1 - Strongly Agree

2 - Agree

3 - No Response

4 - Disagree

5 Strongly Disagree

1. Persons with learning disabilities should be discouraged frompursuing plans for a professional career. ____

2. Parents, school counselors, and students should initiate posthigh school planning between the 7th and 9th grade. ____

3. Being able to adjust language to a given listener's needs orsituation is a pragmatic (practical) skill.

4. Educational and vocational rehabilitation service providersapply identical criteria for defining learning disabilities. _ _

5. It is easier for some adults with learning disabilities toaccomplish a task if the task is broken down into steps. ____

6. Adults with learning disabilities are not as self-confident asnon-disabled people.

7. Adults with learning disabilities are as likely as nondisabledadults to answer in short responses. ____

8. Adults, recently diagnosed with learning disabilities, arcgrateful that a name has been given to their learningdifference.

9. One strategy to use with adults with learning disabilities is torelate new material to everyday life whenever possible. ____

62

10. Past negative school experiences rarely carryover into theemployment and community life of adults with learningdisabilities

11. Equal employment opportunities should be available to onlythose adults with mild learning disabilities.

12. Specific accommodations must be offered to adults withlearning disabilities, if they are identified and request theseservices, and if the accommodations do not interfere withessential job functions.

13. One should present information to the area(s) of strength foran adult with a learning disability.

14. One can define the area(s) of strengths and weaknesses of anadult with a learning disability through academic assessmentalone

15. Making job accommodations for adults with learningdisabilities is very costly.

16. An adult with a diagnosed learning disability does not have tomeet the same department/college requirements as othersstudents do.

17. The majority of adults with learning disabilities interpretnon-verbal language, tone of voice, or social situationsappropriately

18. One strategy to use with adults with learning disabilities is tomodel good communication strategies by letting them knowwhen you are not sure what they mean. ____

19. Increased time for task completition and frequent feedbackare appropriate accommodations in education andemployment settings. _

20. Attending IEP meetings is excellent self-advocacy practice.

63

BARSCH LEARNING STYLE INVENTORYJeffrey Barsch, Ed.D

To gain a better understanding of yourself as a learner you need toevaluate the way you prefer to learn. We all should develop a style whichwill enhance our learning potential. The following evaluation is a short,quick way of assessing your learning style.

This is not a timed test. Try to do as much as you can yourself. You surelymay, however, ask for assistance when and where you feel you need it.Answer each question as honestly as you can. There are twenty-fourquestions. When you have finished, transfer each number to its properplace on score sheet. Then, total each of the three columns on that page.You will then see, very quickly, what your best channel of learning is.

PLACE A CHECK ON THE APPROPRIATE LINE AFTER EACH STATEMENTOften Sometimes Seldom

1. Can remember more abouta subject through listeningthan reading.

2. Follow written directionsbetter than oral directions.

3 Like to write things down ortake notes for visual review.

4. Bear down extremely hardwith pen or pencil whenwriting.

5. Require explanations ofdiagrams, graphs, or visualdirections.

6. Enjoy working with tools.7. Are skillful with and enjoy

developing and makinggraphs and charts.

8. Can tell if sounds matchwhen presented with pairsof sounds.

9. Remember best by writingthings down several times.

10. Can understand and followdirections on maps.

64

Often Sometimes Seldom

11. Do better at academicsubjects by listening tolectures and taes.

12. Play with coins or keys inpockets.

13. Learn to spell better byrepeating the letters outloud than by writing theword on paper.

14. Can better understand anews article by readingabout it in the paper thanby listening to the radio.

15. Chew gum, smoke, or snackduring studies.

16. Feel the best way toremember is to pictureit in your head.Learn spelling by "fingerspelling" the words.

17.

18. Would rather listen to agood lecture or speechthan read about the samematerial in a textbook.

19. Are good at working andsolving jigsaw puzzles andmazes.

20. Grip objects in handsduring learning period.

21. Prefer listening to thenews on the radio ratherthan reading about it in anewspaper.

22. Obtain information on aninteresting subject byreading relevant materials.

23. Feel very comfortabletouching others, hugging,handshaking,, etc.

24. Follow oral directions betterthan written ones.

65

Scoring Procedures:

OFTEN = 5 pointsSOMETIMES = 3 pointsSELDOM = 1

VISUAL

Place the point value on the line nextto its corresponding number.Next, add the points to obtain thepreference scores under each heading.

AUDITORY TACTUAL

No. Points

2

No. Points

1

No. Points

4

3 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

14 13 15

16 18 17

20 21 19

22 24 23

VPS = APS = TPS =

66

VPS = Visual Preference Score 40 Max. ScoreAPS = Auditory Preference ScoreTPS = Tactual Preference Score

For Example:

If you score high on the visual section, you might want tothink about using visual cues such as maps or charts.

If you score high on the auditory section, you might want tothink about taping lecture notes or listening to informationon tape.

If you score high on the tactile section you might want totake good notes in school or on the job.

Discuss the results of this test with your counselor. Y Ai will develop,through conversation, other helpful ways to study and learn moreefficiently.

1 9.8 0Academic Therapy Publication

67

DEALING WITH YOUR DISORGANIZEDCENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

IMPROVING YOUR MOTOR ABILITIES

Keep physically fit This is hard for people who have always beenclumsy. Nevertheless, it is very important. A strong body helps keep themind and senses strong. Physically fit people may have an easier timecontrolling their hyperactivity. Almost all athletic activities improve yoursense of balance and sense of where you are in space (your vestibular andproprioceptive senses). Your visual and auditory perception will also beimproved. You should participate in sports with people at your skill level.

Find an exercise you enjoy and do it often Walking, hiking andrunning are simple, and don't require especially good coordination.Swimming can be fun and floating in the water makes people feel graceful.Calisthenics can be done alone, are usually self-paced and may involvecrossing the midline. Many learning disabled people say that karate andyoga have improved their coordination and helped them keep calm.

Keep track of_ your progress. _and _ feel proud of each successCompare yourself with what you did last week, not with other people. Findanother class, track or pool if you are teased. As an adolescent or adult,you do not have to put up with the things you endured as a child.

If you have moments when you don't. know where your body is inspace, it helps to stop, be still and relax. Be aware of each part of yourbody. If you get confused or dizzy, sit down or lean against the wall.

A learning disabled person with coordination problems must learn tolove his or her body and feel at one with it.

TELLING RIGHT FROM LEFT

You may not automatically know right from left. Intellectually, you cantell the difference, but you don't have the instinctive knowledge. This lackof an anchor to the world makes getting lost a frightening experience.

Wear a piece of jewelry on the hand or arm you use most to aid you indistinguishing right from left. It may help if it is he,7_.,,y or bright. Toremember which direction you were going before you entered a building,car ry something in the hand which will face in that direction as you leaveand make sure you go out of the building using that same entrance.

68

OVERCOMING SOFT NEUROLOGICAL SIGNS

Someone meeting a learning disabled person for the first time may feeluneasy. He might not know why he feels such anxiety. But unconsciously,he may try to avoid the learning disabled person.

Why is this? Soft neurological signs, the visible results of centralnervous system dysfunction, may be an explanation. To review, someexamples of "odd looking" soft neurological signs are:

Avoid making aimless motions with your hands. Somelearning disabled adults interlock their fingers or holdtheir knees.

Be careful to keep your mouth closed when you are nottalking.

Encourage friends and family to tell you if you behaveinappropriately or say something out of line. People whoknow you may ignore embarrassing statements. Watchtheir faces carefully and listen to their responses. Thankthem when they tell you about saying or doingsomething wrong.

Remember, the struggle against disinhibition is hard.Sometimes it seems as if the minute you relax, the oldbehaviors are back again! But as your conscious mindgets used to its new work, your unconscious will takeover the job.

DEALING WITH CATASTROPHIC RESPONSE

Catastrophic response describes what happens when you involuntarilyoverreact because too much is going on around you or within your mind.It seems that when your central nervous system gets overloaded withstimulation, it turns off for a while. You may lose your temper. You maybe unaware of the environment for a few seconds and appear to freeze. Attimes, the period of unawareness may last longer. When such a severecatastrophic response is over, you may feel disoriented, not knowing howmuch time has passed or where you are.

69

Try to prevent catastrophic response. Learn what situations cause it,and avoid them. How do you feel before it happens? If you can identify aspecific feeling such as confusion, dizziness, sounds too loud, sights toobright, you might be abl'? to prevent the response by:

Isolating yourself Find a quiet place to rest for a while. At parties,find an empty room. If you are on a crowded street, find a small store,place of worship or side road.

Taking a break If you are being tutored, tell the teacher you needto stop for a while. If you are studying or working alone, relax for a fewminutes.

If you "freeze" for a moment during a conversation, look around. Ifnobody has reacted, continue talking or listening. If people are giving youpuzzled looks or calling your name, say, "Sorry, I was thinking hardabout..." or "Sometimes I space out a little, sorry." Then show that you arein control of yourself by acting as if nothing happened.

If you are disoriented after a catastrophic response, remain calm. Sitdown and relax. Find out where you are and what time it is. Look around.Take time to absorb the environment. If you are still disoriented, callsomeone who knows about your problem.

If you lose your temper, apologize. If appropriate, explain thatsometimes you over-react when there are too many sights and sounds.

CONTROLLING PERSEVERATION

Perseveration (repeating the same action again and again) can also beprevented by noting what brings it on and avoiding those conditions.

Don't do tasks involving motor coordination unless you can switch toanother activity. If you make a mistake more than three times, take abreak or do something else.

If you find yourself thinking in circles (mental perseveration), don'tread or listen to the same material again and again. Approach it from adifferent angle. Ask someone to explain it to you or find the sameinformation written in another way.

If you often say the same thing over and over again, encourage peopleto interrupt you. When someone doesn't seem to understand you, pause.See if they ask a question before you repeat yourself.

70

IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY

A poor memory is common among learning disabled people. If you havea poor memory, try to discover how you remember best. What do youremember and how do you recall it? Some ways to help memory are:Write important things in one notebook or calendar that youalways carry with you.

Ask people to remind you of important events.

Associate one thing with another: for example, you may recallmore facts if you read or listen to two books on the same subjectand compare them.

Use information as soon as you learn it: for example, if you areintroduced to someone, repeat the name a few minutes later inconversation.

Sometimes, smelling and tasting can help the memory. Chew acertain flavor of gum or open a bottle of vanilla extract whilestudying for a test. On the day of the examination, chew thatflavor of gum again or put a dab of vanilla extract on your arm.

Some material taken from "Steps to Independence for People with Learning Disabilities Writton"by Dale Brown, 1980.

71

INDIVIDUALS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIESA Student's Perspective

What is it like to be an individual with a learning disability? Thisarticle tries to answer that question by relating the personalstory of a college student, Laura Segal, class of '85.

Through her own description of what learning was like for her inhigh school and in college, we begin to understand what it meansto have a learning disability. It means that incoming or outgoinginformation often becomes fuzzy or scrambled as it is processedby the brain, making learning difficult. Of course, all of us havedifficulties now and then processing information. For example,there are days when concentrating and attending seem nearlyimpossible. Or we may have occasional difficulty retrieving aspecific word, even though it is "on the tip of our tongue." Inlearning disabled individuals, however, these and otherprocessing problems are so pronounced that they become adisabling handicap, one which significantly interferes withacademic development.

It is only recently that people have begun to understand thefrustrating and persistent nature of learning disabilities inindividuals. Previously, highly intelligent students with learningdisabilities who enrolled in college tended to drop out of schoolbecause of a lack of understanding and assistance.

"I have a Learning Disability"

"Looking back on my high school years, I can see that mybehavior and characteristics were a direct result of a stillundiagnosed specific learning disability. My family and friendsoccasionally questioned why I valued my school work so highlythat doing homework always took priority over relaxing andenjoying a balanced social life. I claimed that I wanted to suck outeach possible droplet of knowledge because learning was fulfillingunto itself; but I became a serious student very early because,due to my unidentified impairment, learning was demanding,requiring intense concentration and hard work on my part."

72

"Although at the time I was unaware of the fact, many of mystudy techniques were very unusual. For example, I made tapesin order to memorize French vocabulary words. Now Iunderstand that I was unconsciously compensating for myweaker visual mode by using my strong auditory memory."

"Many unanswered questions bobbed up and down in my headdaily. Why was I a slow reader and weak writer yet extremelycompetent at math and science? Although I tried to rationalizethat we all have strengths and weaknesses, I still felt frustratedconstantly over these discrepancies. Why was I different frommy bibliophile friends? I hated reading books and never readthe newspaper."

"Finally, I was an overachiever, caught in a workaholic cycle dueto low self-esteem. Operating under great stress and anxiety, Ifelt I had to earn good grades to prove my self-worth. At last, Irealized that my nervous system was alerting me to a specificproblem causing my difficulties; my palms sweat and I anxiouslybit my nails as I forced myself to read my book."

"Although I did well in high school, college was considerablydifferent, since the demands on reading and writing were somuch greater."

Some material taken from Wren, C., Adelman, Pike, M.B., & Wilsom, College and the HighSchool Students with Learning Disabilities. The Student's Perspective." Project Learning Strategies(PLUS) De Paul University, Chicago, II..

731'6


SECTION II

GOING FROM "me TO ME"

COPING WITH SPECIFIC DISABILITIES

PRACTICING YOUR PERCEPTION

Visual figure-ground problems

Look around you and focus on objects. Look at a forest and studyeach tree. Study the lawn, find an insect and watch it move.Choose a specific person in a crowd and watch what he/she does.

Auditory _sequencing problems

Listen and then repeat. This can be done by playing a tapedconversation, repeating a sentence from memory and playingthat section of the tape again to check yourself. In conversations,say "So what you are saying is..." and repeat what you heard.Check and see if you were correct.

Tactile _discrimination _problems

Go to stores and feel the different textures of similar items. Canyou tell cotton from wool? Ripe from unripe fruit? In the woodsfeel the leaves and the bark on trees. Study shapes and textures.

Make a game out of practicing your perception. Don't work toohard. Find a level that challenges you but isn't too difficult.

Hobbies in your area of weakness can be fun. For example, birdwatching improves visual perception. Stamp collecting helpsvisual motor skills and visual perception. Listening to musichelps auditory perception.

74

LIVING WITH VISUAL PERCEPTUAL PROBLEMS

Improve your _environment

Home and office should be simple, uncluttered and wellorganized. Color codes and labels help to keep things in order.Keep important objects where you can see them. Shelves andpegboard walls are better than drawers. Mark your automobileso you can find it in a crowd of cars: for example, put a largeobject on the antenna or use a vanity license plate. If you haveproblems following your companions in a crowd, ask them towear bright colors.

Find objects _you lose

No matter how careful they are, people with visual perceptionand memory problems often lose things. If you can't findsomething, keep calm. Try to remember when you had it last.What did you do with it? Then relax your eyes and look for it.Don't look carefully by focusing your eyes first in one place, thenanother. Swing your eyes all over the room. Use yourperipheral vision. If you still can't find it, consider waiting until itshows up. Can you buy another? If you need it, systematicallylook in and under things. If it's still missing, take a long breakand start over.

If you lose things frequently, keep duplicates of important cardsthat go in your wallet, such as your identification card or librarycard. Leave extra keys with your neighbor or taped to thebottom of your office desk. Reproduce documents that shouldnot be lost items.

75

LIVING WITH DYSLEXIA

Learning without reading

For people who can't read, taped books can substitute for writtenones. Lectures can also be taped. Individuals with dyslexia areeligible for two recorded book programs:

Recording for the Blind, Inc. (RFB)215 East 58th StreetNew York, New York 10022

RFB is a national, non-profit service organization which suppliesrecorded educational materials to visually, physically andperceptually handicapped students and professionals free ofcharge. RFB supplies clients with duplicated tapes of bookscurrently in its recorded library of 5C,000 texts and also tapesnew material. Services are provided to individuals only. Toregister with RFB you must complete an application. If you arelearning disabled, you must state in detail the exact nature ofyour disability, how it prevents you from reading normalprinted material, and a doctor must sign it. Applicationinformation is held in confidence.

National Library Service for the Blindand Physically Handicapped

The Library of CongressWashington, D.C. 20542(202) 882-5500

To use this service, you must have a doctor certify that youhave a "reading disability due to organic dysfunction." Checkwith your local public library about applying.

At school you can arrange ways for meeting your academicneeds. Analyze your learning style and use your strong areas.Diane Ridenour, who has dyslexia, recognized that she hadexcellent auditory perception. She found classmates in her

76

school who were interested in forming a study group. Theclassmates read the material and a group discussion followed.There are many things you can do to satisfy your own studyneeds. Use your imagination and find creative solutions.Another idea: check into classes on educational television.Sometimes arrangements can be made for credit through yourlocal college or university.

Working without reading

Jobs which require a lot of reading may have to be avoided. Butremember blind people fill many professional jobs by using taperecorders and paying readers. The pamphlet "Dilemma of aDyslexic Man" by Bert Kruger Smith describes how Dwayne, areserve policeman, successfully coped with his dyslexia andperformed the duties of his job. "I carried a clipboard," he said."And when I had to check some infraction, I looked at the frontsheet where the various ones were listed. Then I would copy mywork very carefully. Often when I had to write a name andaddress, I would ask the person himself to write it." (Thispamphlet and the sequel "Free to Learn" can be purchased as aset for 50 cents.) Contact:

The Hogg Foundation for Mental HealthPublications Divisions, P.O. Box 7998University Station, University of TexasAustin, Texas 78712

LIVING WITH AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL PROBLEMS

Imp_r_ov_e _your___environment

Limit the background noise around you. Try to live and work inquiet places. Turn on appliances and listen to them beforebuying them.

Follow directions carefully

If directions are given verbally, repeat them. As you say them,make sure people are listening to you. If possible, write themdown or ask to receive them in writing. You may have to ask forone direction at a time. But no matter what, be sure toremember the first thing you are told, so that your first step willbe correct.

LIVING WITH BOTH AUDITORY AND VISUAL PERCEPTUALPROBLEMS

Some people have both visual and auditory perceptualhandicaps. This causes insecurity. Neither sense can be trusted.One sense cannot easily be used to compensate for the other. Ifyou have this problem, decide if one sense is actually strongerand use it to help the weaker one. If both senses seem equallyinaccurate, practice your perception as proposed earlier,working with one sense at a time. Don't be surprised if yoursenses develop unevenly. Your ears may seem stronger for awhile, then your eyes may seem stronger. For the most part,the sections on living with visual and auditory perceptualproblems will apply to you.

Here are a few tips to help you learn:

*Get information from as many sources as possible, for example,if you are taking a class, you might:

-discuss the class with other students-read or listen to as many books as possible, including

books written for youngsters, if they cover your material--ask if you can audit another section of the class-ask your library if they can arrange for you to watch

films and videotapes of the material--get help from the instructor

Here are a few tips to help you learn: (continued)

*Because of your double handicap, you are especially apt to makemistakes. When errors occur, correct them immediately. Don'tget angry with yourself.

*Practice a lot but be careful not to overload yourself. Manyshort periods of effort are better than one long period of work.

*Your perception will be uneven. Some days will be better thanothers. Don't push yourself when everything seems to be goingwrong.

*Ask yourself how you like to do and learn things. Use thattechnique. You will naturally find the most efficient way foryou.

*Should you use taped books and lectures? Taped books may notbe helpful as you may have to listen to the tapes many times.

*You will have to use your eyes and ears together to learn a taskwhich is being demonstrated.

IMPROVING PERCEPTION

It's hard to learn when both your seeing and hearing areinaccurate. Try to improve perception by:

Paying. _attention

Some people who receive inaccurate information from theirsenses ignore their environment. They daydream and let theirminds wander. Don't let this happen to you. Struggle to beaware.

79

Relaxing

Some people who receive inaccurate information from theirsenses pay so much attention that what they see and hearconfuses them even more. If you relax, your perception willautomatically improve.

Most people with perceptual problems alternate between payingtoo little and too much attention. Try to find a state of relaxedawareness. Most people without learning handicaps have asection of their brain which automatically keeps them relaxedand aware. You may have to train yourself to do thisconsciously.

Some material taken from "Steps to Independence for People with LearningDisabilities", Dale Brown, (1980).

80

BE CLEAR ABOUT THE KIND OFHELP YOU NEED

If you need help from other people:Be specificMake eye contactThank them if they help youBe prepared to return the favor

Some examples of specific requests:

"I can't see very well. Can you read thelabel on this dress for me?"

"Please let me finish. I know I talk slowly,but it's a lot easier for me when people letme finish my sentences."

"Please let me repeat your instructions.Listen to me, so you can be sure I have themright. It won't help if you tell me again. Ineed to say them to myself to rememberthem."

"Could you do me a favor and drop by mytiTice on your way to the executive staff

meeting? Sometimes I get so absorbed in mywork that I forget the time." Or set thealarm on your clock at work for 10 minutesbefore the meeting is to start to remindyourself that you have to be somewhere.

Reprinted from "Steps to Independence for People with Learning Disabilities."Written by Dale Brown, 1980.

81


SECTION III


PRAGMATIC CHECKLIST********************************************

FACTORS Often Sometimes Seldom1. Does the individual have

adequate eye contactduring conversation?

2. Does the individualrespond appropriately to

uestions?3. Does the individual

respond to questionswithout needingfrequent repetitions?

4. Does the individualrespond to questionswithin a normal length oftime?

5. Does the individualinitiate verbalinteraction?

G. Does the individualproduce responses thatare adequate in length tocommunicate theintended thought?

7. Does the individualverbally sequence eventscorrectly?

8. Does the individual sharetalking time, notinterrupting, whileanother person speaks?

9. Does the individualprovide sufficientinformation for thelistener to understandthe topic of theconversation?

10. Does the individual stayon topic?

11. Does the individual useadequate vocabulary, notrelying excessively onnon-specific words suchas "thing", stuff, etc.?

82

FACTORS Often Sometimes Seldom12. Does the individual have

a smooth flow of speech,with few hesitations orrevisions?

13. Does the individual useappropriate volume?

14. Does the individual askappropriate questions?

15. Does the individualrecognize or considerhis/her audience inchoice of phrasing orvocabulary?

16. Does the individualrecognize signals whichindicate the conversationis over?

17. Does the individualrespect rules of physicalproximity?

83

GU

IDE

LIN

ES

FOR

MIN

IMA

L S

PEA

KIN

G A

ND

LIS

TE

NIN

GC

OM

PET

EN

CIE

S FO

R H

IGH

SC

HO

OL

GR

AD

UA

TE

S

I. C

omm

unic

atio

n co

des.

Thi

s se

t of

skill

s de

als

with

min

imal

abi

litie

s in

spe

akin

g an

dun

ders

tand

ing

spok

en E

nglis

h an

d us

ing

nonv

erba

l sig

ns(e

.g.,

gest

ures

and

fac

ial

expr

essi

ons)

.

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EA

. Lis

ten

effe

ctiv

ely

tosp

oken

Eng

lish

Und

erst

and

dire

ctio

ns g

iven

by jo

b su

perv

isor

Und

erst

and

dire

ctio

ns g

iven

on T

V o

r ra

dio

onpr

oced

ures

nec

essa

ry to

vote

_

Und

erst

and

wea

ther

bulle

tins

broa

dcas

t on

radi

oor

TV

Und

erst

and

com

plai

nts

and

need

s of

cus

tom

ers

Und

erst

and

dire

ctio

ns to

aju

ry f

rom

a ju

dge

Und

erst

and

a do

ctor

'sdi

rect

ions

for

taki

nger

escr

ibed

med

icat

ion

/U

nder

stan

d a

plum

ber's

sugg

estio

ns f

or p

reve

ntiv

eho

useh

old

mai

nten

ance

Und

erst

and

sugg

estio

ns a

ndqu

estio

ns o

f fe

llow

wor

kers

Und

erst

and

dire

ctio

ns g

iven

by p

olic

emen

B. U

se w

ords

,pr

onun

ciat

ion,

and

gram

mar

app

ropr

iate

for

situ

atio

n

Use

app

ropr

iate

lang

uage

duri

ng e

mpl

oym

ent

inte

rvie

ws

Use

lang

uage

und

erst

ood

bym

embe

rs o

f di

vers

e gr

oups

at c

ivic

mee

tings

Des

crib

e an

ailm

ent s

o th

at a

doct

or c

an u

nder

stan

d th

esy

mpt

oms

Use

wor

ds, p

ronu

ncia

tion,

and

gram

mar

whi

ch d

o no

tal

iena

te c

o-w

orke

rs

Use

inof

fens

ive

wor

ds w

hen

expr

essi

ng p

oliti

cal v

iew

sU

se la

ngua

ge u

nder

stoo

d by

a po

licem

an w

hen

mak

ing

aco

rn la

int

Use

wor

ds u

nder

stoo

d by

co-w

orke

rsU

se la

ngua

ge u

nder

stoo

d by

publ

ic o

ffic

ials

Use

lang

uage

und

erst

ood

bya

bank

er w

hen

mak

ing

alo

an a

pplic

atio

n 1

I. C

omm

unic

atio

n co

des.

(con

tinue

d) APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EC

Use

non

verb

al s

igns

appr

opri

ate

for

situ

atio

nU

se a

ppro

pria

te g

estu

res

and

eye

cont

act d

urin

gem

ploy

men

t int

ervi

ews

Use

app

ropr

iate

fac

ial

expr

essi

ons

and

post

ure

whe

n ex

pres

sing

one

's p

oint

of v

iew

at c

ivic

mee

tings

Use

ges

ture

s w

hich

enh

ance

a ch

ild's

und

erst

andi

ng o

fho

w to

per

form

a h

ouse

hold

task

Use

app

ropr

iate

fac

ial

expr

essi

ons

and

tone

of

voic

e w

hen

conv

ersi

ng w

itha

supe

rvis

or

Use

app

ropr

iate

non

verb

alsi

gns

whe

n ca

mpa

igni

ng f

ora

polit

ical

can

dida

te

Use

ges

ture

s w

hich

enh

ance

a fr

iend

's u

nder

stan

ding

of

how

to p

lay

a ga

me

Use

ges

ture

s w

hich

aid

a c

o-w

orke

r in

lear

ning

tope

rfor

m a

pro

duct

ion

task

Use

app

ropr

iate

non

verb

alsi

gns

whe

n en

gagi

ng in

info

rmal

dis

cuss

ions

of

_pol

itica

l vie

ws

with

fri

ends

Spea

k cl

earl

y an

d lo

udly

enou

gh L

s) b

e he

ard

in p

ublic

deba

te o

r di

scus

sion

Spea

k w

ith a

ppro

pria

te r

ate,

volu

me,

and

cla

rity

whe

nex

pres

sing

vie

ws

to a

nel

ecte

d of

fici

al

Use

non

verb

al s

igns

toin

dica

te s

ympa

thy

to a

frie

nd

Spea

k w

ith a

ppro

pria

te r

ate,

volu

me,

and

cla

rity

in s

ocia

lco

nver

satio

ns

Spea

k w

ith a

ppro

pria

te r

ate,

volu

me,

and

cla

rity

whe

nre

port

ing

a fi

re o

r ac

cide

nt

n U

se v

oice

eff

ectiv

ely

Use

suf

fici

ent v

olum

e w

hen

mak

ing

a pr

esen

tatio

n to

ala

rge

grou

p in

an

on-t

he-j

obse

tting

Use

app

ropr

iate

vol

ume

whe

n co

nver

si!i

g w

ith a

cust

omer

via

tele

phon

e

Spea

k w

ith a

ppro

pria

te r

ate,

volu

me,

and

cla

rity

whe

nco

nver

sing

with

you

rsu

perv

isor

Spea

k cl

earl

y an

d lo

udly

enou

gh to

be

hear

d an

dun

ders

tood

whe

n gi

ving

test

imon

y in

cou

rt

Spea

k w

ith a

ppro

pria

te r

ate,

volu

me,

and

cla

rity

whe

nso

liciti

ng f

unds

for

a c

hari

ty

II. O

ral m

essa

ge e

valu

atio

n.T

his

set o

f sk

ills

invo

lves

the

use

of s

tand

ards

of a

ppra

isal

to m

ake

judg

men

ts a

bout

ora

l mes

sage

s or

thei

r ef

fect

s.

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EA

. Ide

ntif

y m

ain

idea

s in

mes

sage

sId

entif

y th

e ta

sk to

be

perf

orm

ed w

hen

give

nin

stru

cts,

_. s

ora

lly

Sele

ct m

ain

idea

s w

hen

liste

ning

to p

oliti

cal

spee

ches

Obt

ain

mai

n id

eas

inm

essa

ges

conc

erni

nghe

alth

-rel

ated

new

sR

ecog

nize

p',.

rfor

man

cest

anda

rds

for

wor

k as

sign

edor

all

Iden

tify

key

poin

ts in

broa

dcas

t int

ervi

ews

with

oliti

cal c

andi

date

s

Iden

tify

mai

n id

eas

inbr

oadc

ast m

essa

ges

abou

tta

x re

turn

rea

ratio

nR

ecog

nize

com

mitm

ents

,pr

omis

es, t

hrea

ts, a

ndco

mm

ands

Iden

tify

criti

cal i

ssue

s in

tria

l tes

timon

yId

entif

y m

ain

idea

s in

aco

ntra

ct a

gree

men

t

B.

Dis

tingu

ish

fact

s fr

omop

inio

nsO

btai

n fa

ctua

l inf

orm

atio

nab

out t

he jo

b op

port

uniti

esD

istin

guis

h be

twee

n fa

cts

and

opin

ions

in p

oliti

cal

spee

ches

Dis

tingu

ish

fact

s fr

omop

inio

ns in

adv

ertis

emen

ts

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

fact

san

d op

inio

ns in

cus

tom

erco

mpl

aint

s

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

evid

ence

and

opi

nion

inte

stim

ony

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

fact

and

opin

ion

in n

ewsc

asts

Dis

tingu

ish

fact

s fr

omop

inio

ns w

ith r

espe

ct to

effe

ctiv

e ill

ness

trea

tmen

tD

istin

guis

h fa

cts

from

opin

ion

rega

rdin

g nu

triti

onD

istin

guis

h be

twee

n fa

cts

and

opin

ions

in la

bor-

man

agem

ent d

ispu

tes

00

11.

Ora

l Mes

sage

eva

luat

ion.

(co

ntin

ued)

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EC

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

ersu

asiv

e m

essa

:es

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

:es

in a

'of)

inte

rvie

w

Iden

tify

whe

n be

ing

subj

ecte

d to

pro

paga

nda

Iden

tify

whe

n be

ing

subj

ecte

d to

a s

ales

rese

ntat

ion

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

ges

from

a u

nion

orpn

izer

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

ges

of m

anag

emen

t

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

s of

pol

itici

ans

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

ges

of tr

ial a

ttorn

eys

Dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

info

rmat

ive

and

pers

uasi

vem

essa

ges

abou

t pur

chas

ing

on c

redi

tD

istin

guis

h be

twee

nin

form

ativ

e an

d pe

rsua

sive

mes

sage

s ab

out n

on-/

drug

s

11R

ecog

nize

whe

n an

othe

rdo

es n

ot u

nder

stan

dyo

ur m

essa

ge

Rec

ogni

ze la

ck o

fun

ders

tand

ing

in o

ther

empl

oyee

s

_pre

scri

ptio

nR

ecog

nize

whe

n an

othe

rdo

esn'

t und

erst

and

one'

spo

sitio

n on

aub

lic is

sue

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

a pu

blic

offi

cial

doe

sn't

unde

rsta

nd a

requ

est

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

anot

her

fam

ily m

embe

r do

esn'

tun

ders

tand

inst

ruct

ions

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

a do

ctor

does

n't u

nder

stan

d on

e's

desc

ript

ion

of a

n ill

ness

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

a jo

bin

terv

iew

er d

oesn

'tun

ders

tand

an

expl

anat

ion

of w

ork

ex e

rien

ceR

ecog

nize

whe

n a

cust

omer

does

n't u

nder

stan

ddi

rect

ions

for

pro

duct

use

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

a ju

dge

does

not u

nder

stan

d on

e's

test

imon

y

Rec

ogni

ze w

hen

asa

lesp

erso

n do

esn'

tun

ders

tand

a r

eque

st

00 CO

Ill.

Bas

ic s

peec

h co

mm

unic

atio

n sk

ills.

Thi

s se

t of

skill

s de

als

with

the

proc

ess

of s

elec

ting

mes

sage

ele

men

ts a

nd a

rran

ging

them

to p

rodu

ce s

poke

n m

essa

ges.

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EA

. Exp

ress

idea

s cl

earl

y an

dco

ncis

ely

Mak

e a

repo

rt to

one

's jo

bsu

perv

isor

Des

crib

e a

desi

red

cour

se o

fpo

litic

al a

ctio

nE

xpla

in a

n ap

plia

nce

mal

func

tion

to a

rep

air

pers

onE

xpla

in jo

b re

quir

emen

ts to

a ne

w e

mpl

oyee

Des

crib

e an

acc

iden

t or

crim

e to

a p

olic

eman

Exp

lain

an

unfa

mili

ar ta

sk to

a ch

ild o

r ot

her

fam

ilym

embe

rSt

ate

clea

rly

rele

vant

info

rmat

ion

abou

t wor

kex

peri

ence

whe

n ap

plyi

ngfo

r a

'do

Exp

lain

citi

zens

' rig

hts

toan

othe

rE

xpla

in o

ne's

val

ues

to a

child

or

frie

nd

B.

Exp

ress

and

def

end

with

evid

ence

you

r po

int o

fvi

ew

Exp

ress

and

def

end

one'

svi

ew in

a u

nion

mee

ting

Exp

ress

and

def

end

one'

svi

ew in

a p

oliti

cal d

iscu

ssio

nE

xpre

ss a

nd d

efen

d on

e's

refu

sal t

o ac

cept

uno

rder

edro

duct

s or

ser

vice

sE

xpre

ss a

nd d

efen

dsu

gges

tions

for

cha

nges

injo

b co

nditi

ons

Exp

ress

and

def

end

one'

sin

noce

nce

in c

ourt

Exp

ress

and

def

end

your

faith

or

relig

ion

Exp

ress

and

def

end

reas

ons

for

job

abse

nce

to o

ne's

supe

rvis

or

Exp

ress

and

def

end

one'

spo

sitio

n in

a c

ity c

ounc

ilm

eetin

g

Exp

ress

and

def

end

your

feel

ings

in a

fam

ilydi

scus

sion

1

III.

Bas

ic s

peec

h co

mm

unic

atio

n sk

ills.

(co

ntin

ued)

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

CIT

IZE

NSH

IPM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EC

Org

aniz

ed (

orde

r)m

essa

ges

so th

at o

ther

sca

n un

ders

tand

them

Use

a c

hron

olog

ical

ord

er to

expl

ain

a co

mpl

ex b

usin

ess

proc

edur

e to

a c

o-w

orke

r

Use

a to

pica

l ord

er to

expl

ain

polit

ical

vie

ws

Use

a p

robl

em-c

ause

-so

lutio

n or

der

to e

xpla

inon

e's

fina

ncia

l pos

ition

whe

nap

plyi

ng f

or a

loan

Use

a to

pica

l ord

er w

hen

expl

aini

ng p

rodu

ctio

nir

oble

ms

to a

su

serv

isor

Use

a c

ause

-eff

ect o

rder

whe

n gi

ving

an

acci

dent

re s

ort

Exp

lain

to a

chi

ld h

ow to

prev

ent a

ccid

ents

usi

ng a

caus

e-ef

fect

ord

erU

se a

pro

blem

-cau

se-

solu

tion

orde

r w

hen

mak

ing

a su

gges

tion

to a

sup

ervi

sor

Use

a c

hron

olog

ical

ord

er to

expl

ain

a co

mpl

aint

to a

nel

ecte

d of

fici

al

Use

a c

hron

olog

ical

ord

er to

expl

ain

to a

mec

hani

c th

ede

velo

pmen

t of

anau

tom

obile

mal

func

tion

FA A

sk q

uest

ions

to o

btai

nin

form

atio

nO

btai

n in

form

atio

n ab

out

corr

ect j

ob p

erfo

rman

cepr

oced

ures

Obt

ain

info

rmat

ion

from

publ

ic o

ffic

ials

abo

ut la

ws

and

regu

latio

nsO

btai

n in

form

atio

n ab

out

anot

her's

evi

denc

e on

aso

litic

al is

sue

Obt

ain

info

rmat

ion

abou

tin

tere

st r

ates

for

pur

chas

esbo

ught

on

cred

itO

btai

n in

form

atio

n ab

out

one'

s cr

edit

ratin

gO

btai

n in

form

atio

n ab

out j

obbe

nefi

ts

Obt

ain

sugg

estio

ns a

bout

how

to im

prov

e yo

ur jo

bpe

rfor

man

ce

Obt

ain

info

rmat

ion

abou

t apo

litic

al c

andi

date

's v

iew

sO

btai

n in

form

atio

n ab

out

prod

uct s

afet

y

:.A

nsw

er q

uest

ions

effe

ctiv

ely

Ans

wer

a p

oten

tial

empl

oyer

's q

uest

ions

abo

utou

tyL

aLia

lific

atio

ns

Ans

wer

que

stio

ns a

bout

one'

s po

sitio

n on

pub

licis

sues

Ans

wer

a d

octo

r's q

uest

ions

abou

t one

's il

lnes

s

Ans

wer

cus

tom

er q

uest

ions

Ans

wer

que

stio

ns o

f a

cens

us ta

ker

Ans

wer

a ta

x au

dito

r'squ

estio

nsA

nsw

er a

sup

ervi

sor's

ques

tions

abo

ut o

ne's

job

lerf

orm

ance

Ans

wer

que

stio

ns a

s a

witn

ess

Ans

wer

a c

hild

's q

uest

ions

so th

at th

e ch

ildun

ders

tand

s

1

III.

Bas

ic s

peec

h co

mm

unic

atio

n sk

ills.

(co

ntin

ued)

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

IC

ITIZ

EN

SHIP

MA

INT

EN

AN

CE

F.G

ive

conc

ise

and

accu

rate

dire

ctio

nsD

irec

t co-

wor

kers

or

subo

rdin

ates

in p

erfo

rmin

gun

fam

iliar

121

2s

Giv

e di

rect

ions

to a

noth

erab

out t

he p

roce

dure

sne

cess

ary

to v

ote

Tea

ch a

chi

ld h

ow to

pla

y a

gam

e

Inst

ruct

cus

tom

ers

abou

tpr

oduc

t use

Giv

e di

rect

ions

to a

noth

erab

out t

he p

roce

dure

sne

cess

ary

to f

ile a

tax

retu

rn

Inst

ruct

rep

air

pers

ons

onho

w o

ne w

ants

som

e re

pair

mad

eIn

stru

ct a

n em

ploy

ee a

bout

impr

ovin

g jo

b pe

rfor

man

ceG

ive

dire

ctio

ns to

ano

ther

abou

t the

pro

cedu

res

nece

ssar

y to

app

ear

befo

reth

e ci

ty c

ounc

il

Tea

ch a

chi

ld w

hat t

o do

inca

se o

f fi

re

G S

umm

ariz

e m

essa

ges

Sum

mar

ize

oral

inst

ruct

ions

give

n by

a jo

b su

perv

isor

Sum

mar

ize

the

posi

tion

of a

polit

ical

can

dida

te o

n a

cam

ai n

issu

e

Sum

mar

ize

a pu

blic

ser

vice

mes

sage

on

auto

saf

ety

Giv

e a

sum

mar

y of

cus

tom

ersu

gges

tions

to o

ne's

job

suer

viso

rSu

mm

ariz

e on

e's

qual

ific

atio

ns in

a jo

bin

terv

iew

Sum

mar

ize

the

argu

men

tsfo

r an

d ag

ains

t aco

ntro

vers

ial i

ssue

Sum

mar

ize

for

anot

her

the

law

s/re

gula

tions

per

tain

ing

to s

ome

actio

n

Sum

mar

ize

for

fam

ilym

embe

rs a

tele

phon

eco

nver

satio

nSu

mm

ariz

e fo

r fa

mily

mem

bers

the

fam

ilyfi

nanc

ial p

ositi

on

IV. H

uman

rel

atio

ns.

Thi

s se

t of

skill

s is

use

d fo

r bu

ildin

g an

d m

aint

aini

ngpe

rson

al r

elat

ions

hips

and

for

res

olvi

ng c

onfl

ict.

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

OC

CU

PAT

ION

AL

JC

ITIZ

EN

SHIP

MA

INT

EN

AN

CE

A. D

escr

ibe

anot

her's

view

poin

tD

escr

ibe

the

view

poin

t of

asu

perv

isor

who

dis

agre

esw

ith o

ne's

eva

luat

ion

of jo

bpe

rfor

man

ce

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

frie

nd w

ith w

hom

one

disa

gree

s ab

out p

ublic

issu

es

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

reta

il st

ore

man

ager

tow

hom

one

ret

urns

mer

chan

dise

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

co-w

orke

r w

ho d

isag

rees

with

one

's r

ecom

men

datio

ns

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

I

legi

slat

or w

ho p

ropo

ses

ala

w o

ne o

ppos

es

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

fr

your

spo

use

whe

n on

edi

sagr

ees

on a

maj

orde

cisi

onD

escr

ibe

the

view

poin

t of

unio

n of

fici

als

in a

con

trac

tdi

sput

e

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

jury

mem

ber

with

who

mon

e di

sagr

ees

Des

crib

e th

e vi

ewpo

int o

f a

neig

hbor

who

com

plai

nsab

out c

hild

ren'

s be

havi

or

B.

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

co-

wor

kers

abou

t wor

k-re

late

d is

sues

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

a le

gisl

ator

abou

t pro

pose

d le

gisl

atio

n

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

spo

use

abou

tch

ild-r

eari

ng p

ract

ices

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

one

'ssu

perv

isor

abo

ut th

e st

eps

nece

ssar

y to

acc

ompl

ish

ago

al

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s op

inio

nw

ith o

ther

juro

rsD

escr

ibe

diff

eren

ces

inop

inio

n w

ith a

doc

tor

rega

rdin

g he

alth

car

e

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

cus

tom

ers

abou

t pro

duct

per

form

ance

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

in a

zon

ing

hear

ing

Des

crib

e di

ffer

ence

s in

opin

ion

with

spo

use

abou

tth

e re

spon

sibi

lity

for

hous

ehol

d ch

ores


SECTION IV


1

IV. H

uman

rel

atio

ns.

(con

tinue

d)

APP

LIC

AT

ION

EX

AM

PLE

S

CO

MPE

TE

NC

IES

IO

CC

UPA

TIO

NA

LC

ITIZ

EN

SHIP

MA

INT

EN

AN

CE

CE

xpre

ss f

eelin

gs to

oth

ers

Exp

ress

per

sona

l rea

ctio

nsto

cha

nges

in jo

b co

nditi

ons

to o

ne's

sup

ervi

sor

Exp

ress

fee

lings

of

ange

r to

your

city

cou

ncil

pers

onE

xpre

ss d

issa

tisfa

ctio

n to

ast

ore

cler

k

Exp

ress

sat

isfa

ctio

n to

a c

o-w

orke

r ab

out h

is/h

er w

ork

Exp

ress

you

r po

sitiv

eI

reac

tions

to a

n el

ecte

dof

fici

al's

wor

k

Exp

ress

fee

lings

of

appr

oval

to a

chi

ld f

or h

is/h

er s

choo

lac

hiev

emen

tE

xpre

ss f

eelin

gs o

fdi

ssat

isfa

ctio

n w

ith c

o-w

orke

rs r

egar

ding

the

qual

ity o

f w

ork

inte

ract

ions

Exp

ress

fee

lings

of

disa

ppro

val r

egar

ding

ale

gisl

ator

's p

ositi

on

Exp

ress

fee

lings

of

sym

path

y to

a f

rien

d w

hose

pare

nt h

as d

ied

UPe

rfor

m s

ocia

l ritu

als

Intr

oduc

e on

esel

f a

the

begi

nnin

g of

a jo

b in

terv

iew

Intr

oduc

e a

mot

ion

at a

publ

ic m

eetin

gM

ake

smal

l tal

k in

cas

ual

soci

al s

ettin

gsG

reet

cus

tom

ers

Req

uest

an

appo

intm

ent

with

an

elec

ted

offi

cial

Intr

oduc

e st

rang

ers

to o

nean

othe

rC

oncl

ude

a co

nver

satio

nw

ith o

ne's

em

ploy

erIn

trod

uce

a sp

eake

r at

apo

litic

al r

ally

Intr

oduc

e on

esel

f

Ree

d. V

. A.,

1198

61. A

n In

trod

uctio

n to

Chi

ldre

n w

ith la

ngua

ge D

isor

ders

. New

Yor

k, N

Y: M

acm

illia

n.


POST-TEST QUESTIONS

Please mark the answer by placing the corresponding number inthe blank space by each statement.

1 - Strongly Agree

2 - Agree

3 - No Response

4 - Disagree

r5 - Strongly Disagree

1. Persons with learning disabilities should be discouraged frompursuing plans for a professional career. ____

2. Parents, school counselors, and students should initiate posthigh school planning between the 7th and 9th grade. ____

3. Being able to adjust language to a given listener's needs orsituation is a pragmatic (practical) skill

4. Educational and vocational rehabilitation service providersapply identical criteria for defining learning disabilities.

5. It is easier for some adults with learning disabilities toaccomplish a task if the task is broken down into steps. ____

6. Adults with learning disabilities are not as self-confident asnon-disabled people

7. Adults with learning disabilities are as likely as nondisabledadults to answer in short responses. ____

8. Adults, recently diagnosed with learning disabilities, aregrateful that a name has been given to their learningdifference.

9. One strategy to use with adults with learning disabilities is torelate new material to everyday life whenever possible. ____

10. Past negative school experiences rarely carryover into theemployment and community life of adults with learningdisabilities

11. Equal employment opportunities should be available to onlythose adults with mild learning disabilities. _

12. Specific accommodations must be offered to adults withlearning disabilities, if they are identified and request theseservices, and if the accommodations do not interfere withessential job functions

13. One should present information to the area(s) of strength foran adult with a learning disability. _

14. One can define the area(s) of strengths and weaknesses of anadult with a learning disability through academic assessmentalone. _

15. Making job accommodations for adults with learningdisabilities is very costly

16. An adult with a diagnosed learning disability does not have tomeet the same department/college requirements as othersstudents do.

17. The majority of adults with learning disabilities interpretnon-verbal language, tone of voice, or social situationsappropriately

18. One strategy to use with adults with learning disabilities is tomodel good communication strategies by letting them knowwhen you are not sure what they mean. ____

19. Increased time for task completition and frequent feedbackare appropriate accommodations in education andemployment settings. _

20. Attending IEP meetings is excellent self-advocacy practice.

EVALUATION

(Rate the course on the qualities listed)Please circle one.

PROFESSIONAL TITLEDATE

FORM

Excellent Good Average Fair Poor

I. Quality of the presentation E G A F P

2. Appropriateness of content topics E G A F P

3. Clarity of presentation E G A F P

4. Thoroughness E G A F P

5. Maintaining your interest E G A F P

Please complete the following sentence.

I. The most valuable information presented was

2. The least valuable information presented was

3. I could benefit from more information about

4. How useful, for practical application, was the information presented to you?

Very Valuable

Generally Useful

Somewhat Useful

Of Little or No Use

95 4

5. To someone in my situation I would recommend this "course":

Enthusiastically

As very good

With reservations

As something to avoid

6. Make an overall statement as to how you will use the information that you received inthis training

Comments:

96 1

COLLEGE TESTING SERVICES FOR STUDENTSWITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Persons with learning disabilities may obtain, if necessary,special accommodations and /or editions of either of thetwo most commonly used admissions/placements tests-theScholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) provided by the AdmissionsTesting Program of the College Board and the AmericanCollege Testing (ACT) Assessment. Extended time,cassettes, readers, large type, and marking assistance areamong the special arrangements permitted. Theserequests should be made well in advance of the exam date.The details of what is involved in special testing variesbetween the two testing services. Of particular importanceis whether or not the fact that the test is taken undernonstandard conditions is noted on the student's records.The SAT notes any test taken under nonstandardconditions. The ACT makes no references to special testingunless extended time was used. Students, parents, andcounselors may want to talk this over and decide whetheror not the disability warrants special testing. For somestudents, it may be worth the investment to take the testboth ways. For complete details about special testing andother tests provided by the testing services, contact:

ATP: Services for Handicapped StudentsBox 2891Princeton, NJ 08541

The ACT Assessment"Special Testing Guide" Test Administr_tionP.O. Box 168Iowa City, IA 52243

97 I

QUESTIONS TO ASK

As you sort through brochures from the schools in whichyou might have an interest, you may list those which seemmost like YOU and plan to visit the campus. A productivevisit will be one which you have arranged in advance byrequesting an appointment to talk with either the Dean ofAdmissions or the Disabled Student Services Officer, orProgram Director for Learning Disabled. Planning such aninterview may allow the school time to arrange for you tosleep in a dorm for the night and attend a class or two sothat you can get a I feel" for the campus. You may alsowant to talk to a learning disabled student taking coursesthere. Once you meet with a campus administrator, youmay want to ask some questions--if they have not alreadybeen answered in informal talks. Listed below are somequestions students with learning disabilities frequentlyask. If you visit several schools, you may want to comparethe answers given by each.

What are the requirements for admission?

How many students with learning disabilities are oncampus? What year are they? Are they full-time,part-time, residents, commuters, traditional age, orolder? Men? Women? Can you introduce me to oneof those students?

What are the goals and objectives of the programwhich provides support services?

What services are provided? Is there a charge forthem? How does one obtain such services?

What specialized training in learning disabilities do theservice providers have?

Is tutoring and/or counseling provided on a one toone basis or in a group? If in a group, how large is it?How frequently is it available?

What supervision is provided for non-certifiedinstructors or tutors?

How is the duration of services determined? Is itusually one semester? Two--or longer?

Who will be my academic advisor and what trainingdoes this individual have in learning disabilities?

Do students with learning disabilities take regularcollege courses? For credit?

Are any courses unavailable to students with learningdisabilities?

What modifications have faculty or administratorsbeen willing to make for students with learningdisabilities on this campus?

Are remedial courses required of students withlearning disabilities? If so, do they carry collegecredit and does the credit count toward graduation?

How many students with learning disabilities havegraduated from this college? In what fields? Whathave they done since graduation? What is the overallrate of retention?

(This list is adapted from one prepared by Dr. Susan Vogel Barat College, Evanston,II.)

99

A COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING DISABILITIESSERVICE PROGRAM PROVIDES:

A learning disabilities program coordinator.

Written policies on admissions,accommodations, and services.

Educational evaluations, based in anacademic department, to measureperformance of adults with learningdisabilities.

Mobilization of resources and staff indeveloping academic plans.

Support services including volunteer andpaid staff notetakers, readers, textrecorders, transcribers, typists, andproofreaders. Auxiliary aids for loan or useincluding 4-track tape recorders,computers with spell checkers, voicesynthesizers, color monitors, large displayscreens, photocopiers that enlarge anddarken print, an optical character scanner,and resource rooms.

Tutors employing strategies developedspecifically for students with learningdisabilities.

"Reasonable accommodations" including

Extended time on exams agreed uponby student, instructor, and learningdisabilities program cordinator.

100

Individual testing in a quietenvironment with minimal distractions.

Oral or taped exams.

Marking on the exam rather than on aseparate answer sheet.

Use of calculator and/or wordprocessor with spell check program.

Foreign language requirementsubstitution or waiver.

Reduced course load and proratedtuition.

Tape recorded lectures.

Priority registration and priority housingassignment.

Workshops to enhance awareness oflearning disability issues for undergraduateadmissions and recruitment officers,legal office, graduate school admissionsofficers, and student affairs staff.

Dissemination of information throughpublications and lectures for campus andcommunity awareness.

Student Group for Learning Disabled forpeer support and advocacy.

Self-identified learning disability facultyand staff mentor program.

( Available at UNO)101 14.)_

SUMMARY OF THE 504 REGULATIONS

OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

ACCESS FOR THE HANDICAPPED

Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973mandates access in such a way that "each programactivity, when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessibleto persons with disabilities and is offered in the mostintegrated settings appropriate." Disabilities included are:mobility and sensory impairments, major physiologicalillness, emotional and psychological illnesses, learningdisabilities, mental retardation, and chemical dependency.These conditions must be of a degree that they seriouslyimpair one or more of life's major activities. Also coveredwould be a person with a record of such impairments orone who is regarded as having such impairments.

The regulations affect admissions, employment, studentand staff services, and the curriculum. They givehandicapped students certain rights of which facultyshould be aware:

Classrooms, laboratories, and programs must be madeaccessible to handicapped students (see Accessibility,84.22).

If a student with a disability enrolls in a class that isscheduled for an inaccessible location, a faculty membermust contact room scheduling authorities to relocate theclass.

Students with disabilities may request "academicadjustments" such as changes in the length of time to

102

complete papers, examinations, and degree programs;adapted arrangements for completing academic work, andthey may have permission to use a tape recorder or tohave a guide dog in classrooms (see AcademicAdjustments, 84.44).

These or similar adjustments must be granted unless thefaculty determines that granting the accommodation wouldcompromise "essential" elements in the curriculum.

Students have a right to nondiscriminatory participationin required programs or internships that are co-sponsored by the University with outside groups.

FOR _Y_OURANEORMATION:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed intolaw on July 26, 1990 and is now P.L. 101-336. ADA ispatterned after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of1973. As noted above in the summary statement, Section504 prohibits discrimination against people withdisabilities in a range of areas, such as employment, socialservices, and education, on the part of entities thatreceive federal funds. ADA prohibits discrimination bypublic or private entities.

103

GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE:ADVISING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Students receiving special education and related servicesneed to take a variety of preparatory steps in order tohave real choices and viable options in senior year.

This is a check list for parents, counselors, teachers,program coordinators, and students themselves toconsider well before senior year decision time.

THE A3ASICS

DISABILITY AWARENESS(resource teacher, counselor, parent)

Encourage self-advocacy. It is essential that the student beable to discuss the learning disability and be able torequest needed accommodations.

Make sure the student understands the particular learningdisabilities involved. It is important for the student to beable to discuss strengths and weaknesses as well as whichaccommodations have been essential to success in highschool and will be needed in college.

Help the ,';tudent understand how the disability isconnected to social interactions with peers, families,teachers, and employers. For example, a visual orauditory discrimination deficit or an attention deficitdisorder frequently leads to missed cues and inappropriatetiming in conversation.

Learn about, and teach the student about, Section 504 ofthe Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and how it compares toP. L.94- 142 . Section 504 indicates types ofaccommodations that post-secondary institutions must

104

provide or allow, if a student requests them. Theresponsibility is on the student to seek appropriateservices; whereas under 94-142, the responsibility is onthe elementary and secondary schools (working withparents) to provide services.

Some families encourage the student to have a personalmembership in the Learning Disability Association (LDA),Orton Dyslexia Society, support groups for students withlearning disabilities, or other organizations which willbuild confidence and information about special programs.

PERSONAL and SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT(parent, counselor, teacher, and studen'.)

Encourage the student to develop work-related skills andinterests in case it is decided to delay entrance to collegeand work for a year or two. This may involve taking somevocational courses.

Make sure the student's knowledge of study skills isadequate. In addition to high school assistance, considerspecial study classes/programs offered at communitycolleges, private agencies, or individual tutoring.

Help the student to increase independent living skills. Thestudent needs to be able to do laundry, cleaning, and somecooking; manage a checking account and transportationsystems; and plan leisure activities.

Encourage part-time jobs or volunteer positions. Theseoffer opportunities to improve social skills and giveexperience about work situations and job expectations.

ASSESSMENTS, RECORDS, COURSE OPTIONS IN HIGH SCHOOL(parent, counselor, student)

Request the high school to provide a vocationalassessment, preferably while the student is in 7th and/or9th grades.

Plan a four-year selection of college prep courses sufficientto allow the choice to enter college.

Contact the local Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencybefore graduation. VR offers a variety of services toeligible students with learning disabilities such asvocational assessment, job placement, pre-employmenttraining, etc.

Make sure psychological testing is up-to-date. P.L. 94-142mandates that each student be reevaluated every threeyears, and more frequently if needed. The collegeadmission and placement processes will require results oftests taken, usually, within three years of the time ofapplication.

Obtain all special testing records before high schoolgraduation. They may be needed for later applications tocollege or Vocational Rehabilitation services, and someschool systems destroy these records after graduation.

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

GETTING READY TO APPLY(parent, counselor, teacher, student)

Consult with advisors to understand fully how muchsupport or special help `2e student is receiving. The levelof services for learning disabilities needed in college shouldbe based on a realistic picture of what accommodationshave been needed for success in high school.

Challenge the student to evaluate whether he or she hashigh motivation to put in the long hours needed toaccomplish college level work. Is there a career goal? Iscollege the best transition or training for employment andindepepndence? If so...

Decide whether to arrange for special testing conditions forthe PSAT, SAT< and/or ACT. Options include extendedtesting time, readers, cassettes, and sometimes differenttest locations.

Consider community colleges, technical or proprietaryschools, specialized on-campus programs that include avocational training component, as well as colleges withsupport services.

Contact the Office for Special Student Services or theDisabled Student Services Office of colleges beingconsidered before applications are submitted. Be surewhat types of accommodations and services are available.Do they match those needed by the student in high school?Is there an LD specialist on staff? How many students withlearning disabilities attend? What documentations arerequired? Are there other pre-admissions requirementssuch as a letter of recommendation from a high school LDadvisor?

107 1/17

APPLICATION DECISION AND TRANSITION TO COLLEGE(parents, and advisors with student)

The student should make a copy of each application form.The copy should be used as a worksheet to collect theneeded information. The material should then be typedonto the original form and sent to the college

Visit colleges, while they are in session, before making adefinite choice. Consider the community around thecollege, cost, student activities, programs offered, as wellas LD services provided.

Consider enrolling in a summer orientation session foradmitted students with learning disabilities at the selectedcollege. Or, take one course in a regular summer session.Getting acclimated to the campus and knowing aboutsupport service systems builds the student's confidence.

Search for a summer study skills course designed forpeople with learning disabilities. Collect advice on how tobe organized for studying on the college.

Search out any personal contacts or suggestions that willlead the student to find an appropriate advisor, friend, ormentor on campus..Getting Ready for College; Advising High School Students with Learning Disabilities has been prepartedunder Cooperative Agreement No G00887C3052 awarded to the American Council on Education by theU.S. Department of Education. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.Government nor does mention of products or organizations imply enfdorsements by the 11.S.Government.

This publication is based on an original list by Carol Sullivan, Counsellor for students with learningdisabilities at Northern Virginia Community (Annandale, VA), and former versions by the Associationon Handicapped Student Service Programs in Postsecondary Education (AHSSPPE), and the HEATHResource Center, One Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. single copies are available free from HEATH(202) 939-9324; (800)544-3284 voice/TDD.

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DIRECTORIES FOR LD POST-SECONDARY STUDENTS

A NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF FOUR YEAR COLLEGES, TWO YEARCOLLEGES AND POST HIGH SCHOOL TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR YOUNGPEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES, FIFTH EDITION (1983)Partners in PublishingBox 50347Tulsa, OK 74150

DIRECTORY OF FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR THE LEARNINGDISABLED (1991-1992)Academic Therapy Publications20 Commercial BoulevardNovato, CA 94949-6191

HOW TO CHOOSE A COLLEGE: A GUIDE FOR THE STUDENT WITH ADISABILITY (1988-Second Printing)HEATHOne Dupont CircleSuite 300Washington, D.C. 20036-1193(Single copies of this booklet are available free of charge.)

LOVEJOY'S COLLEGE GUIDE FOR THE LEARNING DISABLED (1985)Charles T. Straughm, II and Dr. Marvel le S. ColbyMonarch Press, A Division of Simon and SchusterSimon and Schuster Bldg.1230 Avenue of AmericasNew York, New York 10020

PETERSON'S GUIDES (1992)Box 2123Princeton, NJ 08543-2123

THE COLLEGE GUIDE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (1976)Abt Publications55 Wheeler St.Cambridge, MA 02138

109 i

THE K & W GUIDE TO COLLEGES FOR THE LD (1991)Marybeth Kravets, M.A.Imy F. Wax, M.S.P.O. Box 187Deerfield, II 60015-0187

UNLOCKING POTENTIAL COLLEGE AND OTHER CHOICES FORLEARNING DISABLED PEOPLE: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE (1987)B. Scheiver and J. TaipersAdler & Adler, Publishers, Inc.4550 Montgomery AvenueBethesda, Maryland 20814

UNLOCKING THE DOORS: MAKING THE TRANSITION TOPOST-SECONDARY EDUCATION (1987)AHEAD PublicationsP.O. Box 21192Columbus, OH 43221-0192(614) 488-4972 (V/TDD)(614) 488-1174 (FAX)

ON THE JOB TIPS FOR EMPLOYEES WITH LEARNINGDISABILITIES

A. The first and most breakable rule is:Never, never, never, use LD as an excuse for nottrying to do your best, not getting along withothers, not trying to control your behavior, orrefusing responsibilities that you can live up to!

B. Differentiate between discussion of yourdisabilities with those who have a need to know,and between talking to others about your ownpersonal difficulties in a manner that causesothers to perceive you as seeking sympathy,making lame excuses for your own failures, ortrying to make yourself the center of attention.

C. Work off some of your hyperactivity by runningerrands rather than waiting for others.

D. Do not allow yourself to become overlydependent upon your boss to the point wherehe or she is telling you how to carry out everyassignment you are given even after you aresupposed to be at a full performance level.

E. Plan things you need to do both for the day andthe week.

F. If you can find a co-worker to serve as a mentorto offer you personal advice about the mostsensitive aspects of your work behaviors andsocial skills on the job, you will find that this isone of the most valuable means of improvingyour work performance, even though at timesyour feelings may be hurt.

G. For short-term memory problems, keep copiousnotes on anything important.

H. For eye-hand coordination problems, find timeto practice the skills when you are not underpressure.

I For visual perceptual problems, have a place foreverything important and put everything inthe proper place at all times.

J. If your job requires driving, help yourdirectional problems by looking for landmarksalong your regular route.

K. If you have a short attention span, work onseveral assignments for a short time each,rotating around several projects in one day.

L. If you have some troubles dealing with aconversation and reading or some other similarintersensory problem, it is not impolite to ask aperson speaking to you to wait until he or shehas your full attention.

M. It is very important that you try to relax to thefullest extent possible.

Source: Robinson, Elizabeth. "Techniques for Job Hunting," Journal of Rehabilitation,April/May/June 1984.

JOB SUGGESTIONS FOR ADULTS WITHLEARNING DISABILITIES

PLACE PEOPLE IN AREA OF STRENGTH BUT DO NOT LIMIT THEM

WEAKNESSES

DISTRACTIBILITY

STRENGTH POSITION

RESTAURANTHOST/HOSTESS

HYPERACTIVITY GUARD DUTYRETAIL SALESPOSTAL DELIVERY

SHORT-TERM MEMORY DOMESTIC ENGINEERGROCERY STOCKERDATA ENTRY

ATTENTION SPAN "FLOATER" TO RELIEVECOLLEAGUES

TELEMARKETING

TEMPORAL PROBLEMS FLEX-TIME JOBS

ORAL LANGUAGEPROBLEM

WRITTEN LANGUAGE

RESEARCHERSIGN PAINTERFACTORY WORKERSTOCK ROOM

FACTORY WORKERSWITCHBOARD

OPERATORSALESCHEF/COOK

113 1 b

JOBS THAT MIGHT NOT BEAPPROPRIATE FOR LD ADULT WITH THIS

PARTICULAR DIFFICULTY

PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR

DIGIT REVERSAL

BRICK LAYER,CARPENTER

EQUIPMENTMONITOR(GARAGE)

LABORATORY WORK

AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL SWITCHBOARDOPERATOR

VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SEWINGFILLING OUT FORMSDATA ENTRY

AUDITORY MEMORY TELEPHONE SALES

ORAL LANGUAGE SALESRECEPTIONIST

WRITTEN LANGUAGE SECRETARY

SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKING WITHADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

1. Break down tasks into small increments oflearning and present them in a paced,sequential manner. Present a variety of shortassignments.

2 Make sure the adult has acquired one skillbefore presenting the next skill in the sequenceof learning tasks.

3. Structure assignments for the adult andprovide frequent feedback about the quality andappropriateness of work completed.

4. Provide activities that allow the adult toexperience small successes in order to enhancehis/her self concept.

5. Use as many modalities (seeing, hearing,speaking, touching) as possible when presentingmaterial. Making information available throughdifferent senseshelps adults to be activelearners and to use their strongest channels toget information.

6. At the same time, try to capitalize on the adult'sarea(s) of strength. For example, if the adult isa good listener and can carry out oral directionswell, be sure to present materials orally.Teaching through the adult's strengths helps toremediate weak areas.

li5

7 Teach new concepts in as concrete way aspossible. It's often easier for learning disabledadults to learn the theory after its practicalapplication.

8. Relate new material to everyday life wheneverpossible. This can make abstract concepts moreunderstandable.

9. Control the complexity of directions. Manylearning disabled adults benefit from havingdirections broken down into steps, with one steppresented at a time.

10. Use color whenever possible. Visual impact iseven sharper in color, and color coding is an aidto learning.

11. If possible, provide the opportunity to repeatverbally what has been learned as a check foraccuracy.

Adapted from Adult Basic Education Programs for Disabled Adults. library for the Blind andPhysically Handicapped Free Library of Philadelphia.

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REFERENCES

REFERENCES

Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. AdultBasic Education, Program.s__fo_r__Disable_d Adults Suggestionsfor _Working with Adults with Learning Disabilities.Philadelphia, PA.

Barsch, J. & Creson, B. (1980). "Spelling Plus": LearningStyle Inventory. Novato, CA: Academic TherapyPublications.

Baker, B. & Blanding M. (1985). Post-secondaryexperiences: Student characteristics. (Available fromDeka lb Community College, Clarkson, GA).

Baker, B. & Blanding, M. (1985). Post-secondaryexperiences: Preparation for admission. (Available fromDeka lb Community College, Clarkson, GA).

Brown, D. (1980). "Be Clear About the Kind of Help YouNeed." (Available from Closer Look Parents' Campaign forHandicapped Children and Youth, Washington, DC).

Brown, D. (1980). Steps to Independence _for _P_eople withLearning Disabilities. Coping with Specific Disabilities (pp.35-40). Washington, DC: Closer Look Parents' Campaignfor Handicapped Children and Youth.

Brown, D. (1980). Steps to Independence for People withlearning_Disabilifies. Dealing with your DisorganizedCerebral Nervous System (pp. 40-43). Washington, DC:Closer Look Parents' Campaign for Handicapped Childrenand Youth.

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Davie, A. (1990). Getting ready for college: Advising highschool students with learning disabilities. Washington, DC:American Council on Education.

Dowdy, C.A. (1990). Differences in transitional needs ofhigh school students with or without learning disabilities.Journal of _Learning Disabilities, 23 (6), 343-348.

Gajewski, N. & Mayo, P. (1988). Social Skills Strategies.Wisconsin: Publishers Thinking.

Jarrow, J. (1987). Integration of individuals withdisabilities in higher education: A review of the literature.Journal _of _Postsecondary__Education and Disability, 5 (2),3 8 -5 7 .

Reed, V.A., (1986). An Introduction to___Children withLanguage Disorders. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Robinson, E. (1984). Techniques for job hunting: On thejob tips for the employee with learning disabilities. Journalof. Rehabilitation, 50 (2) 93-95.

Weisgerber, R. (1989). Social Competencies andEmployability Skills Curriculum. Rockville, MD: AspenPublications.

Wren, C., Adelman, P., Pike, M. B., Wilson, J. L. (1987).College And_ The High School _Student With _learningDisabilities__The_Student!s_Perspective. Project LearningStrategies (PLuS) DePaul University, Chicago, IL.

"How Difficult Can this Be?" (F.A.T. City Workshop) (1990).(Available from PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place,Alexandria, VA 22314; (800) 424-7963 or (803) 739-53 80).

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"Living with a Learning Disability". (Available from LD-CASE, Room 117 EAB, University of Nebraska at Omaha,Omaha, NE 68132).

"Going to College with a Learning Disability." (Availablefrom LD-CASE, Room 117 EAB, University of Nebraska atOmaha, Omaha, NE 68132).

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Documents

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 358 618 EC 302 180 TITLE ...DOCUMENT RESUME ED 358 618 EC 302 180 TITLE LD-Case Training Manual for Vocational Service Providers. INSTITUTION Nebraska Univ., Omaha