Chapter 4
Children with
Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities: Historical
Overview
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Orton (1936) explained that LD was due to damage in
the left hemisphere of the brain or a deficit in the brain.
• Myklebust (1954) discussed the problems in terms of
language disorder.
• Frostig (1964) and Getman (1962) investigated
perceptual and motor processes.
• Fernald (1943) and Gillingham and Stillman (1960) saw
the issue as a disorder primarily in the area of writing.
Because of the diverse approaches, the problem
remained unfocused until Samuel Kirk (1962) proposed
the term learning disabilities.
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Federal Definition
“Specific learning disability” means a disorder in one or
more of basic psychological processes involved in using
language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in
an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell,
or do mathematical calculations. The term includes such
conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal
brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
The term does not include children who have learning
problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing,
or motor handicaps, of mental retardation, of emotional
disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic
disadvantage.
(Federal Register, 1977, p.650; NICHCY, 2000)
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• According to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), a “specific learning
disability” means a disorder in one or more of
the basic psychological processes involved in
using language, spoken or written, that may
manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen,
think, speak, read, write, spell, or do
mathematical calculations.
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Discrepancy model & Wait To Fail
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Learning Disability Definition : Can be based upon discrepancy and
exclusion of any other cause.
Problems with Discrepancy Model
– Young children: Discrepancies between IQ and
achievement/performance are difficult to measure with young
children
– “unexplained underachievement” : Discrepancies between
IQ and achievement/performance may exist for any number of
reasons; thus, this approach is really just helping us find
children with “unexplained underachievement” that may or may
not be due to a learning disability
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the “wait-to-fail” model To find discrepancies, we must wait
until the gap between IQ and achievement/performance is wide
enough to measure, and this means that we must wait until the
child has experienced substantial failure with learning. The
“wait-to-fail” model creates a situation in which the primary
problems a child is experiencing get worse and are frequently
compounded by secondary problems with behavior, selfconcept, and academic readiness
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NEW EVALUATION PROCEDURES for
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES
Local educational agencies (school districts) shall not be required to
take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy
between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression,
listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill,
reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical
reasoning….
ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY… in determining whether a child has a
specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a
process that determines if the child responds to scientific, researchbased intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures.
I
DEA, 2004 includes the response to intervention model as one option
that schools can use to identify students with learning disabilities.
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RTI: Response to Intervention
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Response to intervention is an alternative method to identify and
serve students with learning disabilities. This permits early and prereferral intensive interventions based on the student’s needs without
waiting for the student to “fail.”
An intervening hierarchy with three or more tiers. Tier I is a highquality general learning environment and the additional tiers provide
more help for students whose needs require more intensive
supports.
Evidence-based interventions meets the students’ needs, also
called standard protocol approaches.
Collaborative problem solving involves a multidisciplinary team
working together with parents to design services that address the
students needs.
Progress monitoring uses data on student's achievement,
performance, etc. to monitor progress, guide decision making, and
plan for future needs
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Learning Disabilities Prevalence
• 4.3 percent of children (ages 6-21)
• 48 percent of all children receiving special
education have a learning disability.
From U.S.Department of Education, 2005.
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How do we identify children with learning
disabilities?
• 1)Someone, usually a teacher or parent, refers the child
for evaluation;
• (2) the referral is evaluated by a committee of teachers
and special education professionals to determine
whether the child should be assessed by a
multidisciplinary team;
• (3) once an assessment is approved, parental
permission for the assessment is obtained;
• (4) IEP: a comprehensive evaluation is conducted by a
multidisciplinary team including psychologists, social
workers, the classroom teacher, and the special
education teacher.
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Comprehensive Evaluation
of Learning Disabilities will include:
1. Description of auditory-verbal behavior
2. Review medical records (exclude other)
3. Study family for factors in home contributing to
disability
4. Use formal and informal assessments
(discrepancy or RTI model)
5. Determine what child can and cannot do
6. IEP members hold a conference and decide
whether the child is eligible for special
education; if eligible, the IEP is formulated and
the child is placed in the appropriate service
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Causes of LD (etiology)
• No one has uncovered a single cause for the
disorder of learning disabilities. For years,
researchers have concentrated on the
subgroups that exist within learning disabilities
and the results have now led us to reject the
single-cause or single-deficit theory.
• There is general agreement that learning
disabilities arise from neurological deficits in
the brain, sensory perception factors,
Genetic factors, Biochemical factors and
other environmental factors
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The information-processing
model (IPM)
• It describes learning as a series of four
components that involve sensory
stimulation/input, processing/thinking,
output or the sharing of what has been
learned, and the executive function.
• A learning disability can have a strong impact on
a student’s ability to process information.
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When the learning difficulty occurs because of input problems, a
sensory-perceptual/acuity problem can exist.
Visual perception problems can involve figure-ground (i.e., seeing
an object against the background), closure (i.e., completion of a
figure), and spatial relationships.
Any one of these visual perceptual problems can make learning very
difficult. If these are combined with auditory perceptional
difficulties—figure-ground auditory problems (i.e., hearing speech
against background noise) or difficulties in sound discriminations
and/or sound recognition—then learning becomes even more
difficult (Lerner, 2005).
The area of sensory integration (S.I)problems is another area of
input problems. This occurs when there is oversensitivity to sensory
input. This can be in the area of lights, sounds, smells, touch, or
taste. An example of this heightened sensitivity is tactile
defensiveness when it evolves the sense of touch. This can trigger
acute discomfort when an individual is touched (Packer, 2004).
Sensory Integration video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtszqdr4GW4
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Processing Problems
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Problems in processing include difficulties with memory and
organizing ideas and thought in meaningful ways. Memory is divided
into sensory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory involves holding information for a few seconds
while a task is completed.
Short-term memory is the type of memory that temporarily stores
and allows for manipulating of information necessary for complex
tasks, such as mathematical calculations.
Long-term memory stores information that we have made our own to
draw on for future use. Problems with any of these forms of memory
lead to major learning difficulties. However, the greatest impact
occurs when students struggle with long-term memory storage and
retrieval.
Memory is also studied by the way we store information. The three
types of memory are semantic, episodic, and motor memory.
Semantic memory stores concepts, words, symbols, and
generalizations. Episodic memory is our ability to recall whole
scenes or episodes from our past. Episodic memories are often
associated with strong emotions that can be either positive or
negative.
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•
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Motor memory is our ability to program our body movements. Our
bodies learn patterns and retain them for future use. We learn to ride
a bicycle, play the piano, or write our names. Some motor memories
seem to last after we no longer use them.
Processing problems can also occur in the areas of organization of
thoughts and ideas and the process of thinking. Students work with
information to interpret it and combine it with prior knowledge as
they create meaning for themselves by constructing their own
understandings. If there are problems in this process, learning can
be seriously affected. Deep processing of information is necessary
to understanding information so that it can be used in meaningful
ways. Deep processing occurs when we transform the information to
make it ours (Willis, 2008). If the information is not organized and
put into memory, correct deep processing cannot occur.
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Output Problems
• For students with learning disabilities, output problems
affect the area of expression of ideas and thoughts.
This problem with expression can take the form of verbal
expressive problems, for example, developmental
aphasia.
• Dysgraphia, or problems with written expression, can be
another form of output problem that may affect many
students with disabilities.
• The third problem area is concerned with nonverbal
communications. This can effect how an individual
interprets emotional nuances, gestures, facial
expressions, and body language. Individuals with these
problems may have additional problems with social skills
and interpersonal relationships.
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Executive Functioning Problems
• The executive function, or metacognition, is the
decision-making component of this model. There
are several problem areas within this
component. Students with learning disabilities
can have problems with self-regulatory skills.
Self-regulatory skills help us adapt to the
environment, and they are essential for learning
(Wong 2004). Self-regulation implies that an
individual is in control of and responsible for
his or her own actions. Self-control, a selfregulatory skill, is important both for learning and
for social success.
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Emotional Content
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The emotional context of information processing can also interfere
with learning and social success. One’s internal emotional and
external environmental state can have a dramatic impact on a
person’s ability to learn
A student with a stressed internal emotional state that has
experienced failure and frustration can develop anticipatory anxiety
in new situations. This anticipatory anxiety can sabotage success by
undermining self-confidence at the very start of a new experience.
Anticipatory anxiety can also lead to heightened sensitivity and
defensiveness, which further erode an individual’s ability to respond
to new situations and opportunities. Difficulties in the area of
executive functioning can also show up as an attention disorder or
ADHD. When students are unable to screen out irrelevant stimuli,
they can easily become distracted or act impulsively. This can also
affect the student’s ability to “think” and make “good judgments.”
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Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder :ADHD
• It can be considered a specific form of learning disability
related to an individual’s inability to attend to or focus on
a given task.
• Neurological basis
• Many of the teaching strategies we use to respond to the
needs of students with ADHD are similar to the supports
we use with children who have other forms of learning
disabilities. The organization for Children and Adults with
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) defines
ADHD as follows: “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) is a condition affecting children and adults that
is characterized by problems with attention,
impulsivity, and overactivity.”
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Information Processing Model
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Teaching Approaches
• Intervening Hierarchy for RTI
– Tier I: The General Education Classroom
– Tier II: Collaborative Interventions
– Tier III: Individualized Educational Services
• Progress Monitoring
• Information-Processing Model Support (input,
processing, output)
• StrategiesTechnology—Software programs, multimedia
instruction is a computer-based environment that uses
graphics, motion videotext, and sound. These programs
stress basic skills and mastery learning.
• Educational Adaptations
• Collaboration with parents
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