Understanding Learning Difficulties

2

Characteristics of Students with Learning Disabilities

GeneralDisorders of attention distractibility hyperactivity perseveration

Possible difficulties with spatial orientation time concepts directions manual dexterity social perceptions organization memory perception

AcademicInefficient learning strategies

Reading difficulties decoding comprehension

Mathematics difficulties basic skills quantitative thinking

Written or oral language difficulties

spelling grammar ideation handwriting copying/note taking vocabulary listening speaking

3

What is a Learning Disability?A person with a learning disability has difficulty taking in, remembering, or expressing

information.

The learning process can be divided into 5 steps:

1. Take in information through the senses.

2. Figure out what it means.

3. File it into memory.

4. Later, withdraw it from memory and “remember” it.

5. Feed it back to the outside world through some form of expression –speech, writing, action. (Duncan, 1983).

Thus, for someone without a learning disability the learning process typically follows this path:

INFORMATION MEMORY EXPRESSION taking it in decoding then filing to giving feedback memory through expressionFor someone with a learning disability there is a breakdown somewhere in these steps. It’s like having a short circuit in the central nervous system. Learning or recalling information can become an overwhelming task.