History and Medical Aspects of
Students with Learning Disabilities
• Special Education terminology
• Reauthorization of IDEIA
• Organizations and practicing theories
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Brain functioning
Unknown causes
Attempted therapies (quick fixes)
Recent medical findings
Warm-up Activity
• Is there any single cause to a LD?
• What are some examples of prenatal, perinatal,
and postnatal causes?
• Name a few results from brain research on
students with LD.
• What are some aspects to different disorders?
– Spoken language; written language; perceptual/motor
• Explain the chronology of the term learning
disabilities. Were the earlier thoughts incorrect?
• What have been the outcomes of most LD
treatments?
Special Education terminology
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LD; ID; EBD; ASD
ADD or ADHD
IEP
IFSP; 504 plans
LRE; REI
IDEA and IDEIA
EHA and ADA
Explicit, systematic and
direct, teacher-directed
• Others?
IDEA 1997
(longer lists from LDOnline on class site)
• Adding to PL 94- 142 and IDEA 1990
• IEP
– includes the general education teacher and increases the
emphasis on the parent as a member
– Requires an annual review
– Emphasizes the general education curriculum first
• Transitional IEP
– Established by age 16
– Statement needed by age 14
IDEA 1997 changes
• Discipline
– Manifestation determination
• If not manifested by the disability then removal from
placement cannot exceed 10 days
– Functional behavioral assessment
• Required when a child has been removed more than 10 days
– Positive behavior intervention plan
• Must be based on the FBA and teach replacement behaviors
– Interim Alternative Educational Setting
• Up to 45 days; services and curriculum must match IEP
needs; inappropriate behavior must be addressed
2004 IDEiA information
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IEPs
Who comprises an IEP team
Assessment - from discrepancy to RtI?
Research-based v research-supported
instruction
• Clarified 45 school days for removal in
disciplinary situations
• and more… (see
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/special_edu/cwp/view.asp?a=177&q=112563)
Enlarging the 504 fine print
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Virtually all public school districts are covered by Section 504 because they
receive some Federal financial assistance. Most public and private colleges and
universities receive some type of Federal financial assistance also.
The main difference between Section 504 and Title II of the ADA is that one
applies to the recipients of grants from the Federal government (Section 504) and
the other applies only to state and local public entities (Title II).
The law also highlights organizations that are "principally engaged in the business
of providing education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and
recreation."
Each Federal agency has its own set of Section 504 regulations that apply to its
own programs and to the entities that receive Federal aid from them. These
regulations generally include requirements for reasonable accommodation for
employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with
people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction
and alterations.
An agency does not have to provide an accommodation that would impose an
undue hardship on the operation of the agency. In determining an undue
hardship, the Federal agency is required to weigh the cost and type of the
accommodation against the size, budget, and nature of the agency. The agency
need not make an accommodation that would require significant difficulty or
expense.
© Witzel, 2007
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Organizations
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CEC
CLD
DLD
LDA
ADA
Journals of interest: Remedial and Special Education; LD:
Research and Practice; Exceptional Children; Journal of LD;
Intervention in School and Clinic; Teaching Exceptional Children;
Preventing School Failure; Phi Delta Kappan; Journal of Special
Education Leadership; Journal of Special Education Technology
Practicing Theories
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Heterogeneity and Assessment
Preschool and Post-secondary services
Teaching practices
REI to inclusion
Collaboration and Professional Services
Technology
Psycho-social concerns
Minimal evidence of a direct connection.
Thus, we are not certain which came first,
the academic issues or the processing
issue. However, what are likely concerns?
– Bullied more often
– Heavily influenced by peers
– Increased anxiety
– Depression
May mirror that of students with ADHD (San Miguel, et al., 1996)
Brain Research and
Neuropsychology
• MRI- magnetic resonance imaging shows size,
shape, and location of brain structures
• fMRI- functional magnetic resonance imaging
shows brain activity while people complete
complex tasks
• PET- positron emission tomography measures
metabolism with the brain thus determining
glucose in the brain of a child with hyperactivity
Medical Aspects: Brain functions
• Correlational data
• Wernicke’s and Broca’s
areas
• Motor development
• Memory
• Stimulations and
stimulants
• http://www.articlesforeducators
.com/dir/learning_disabilities/u
nderstanding_the_brain.asp
Recent medical findings
• Poor readers share the same inactivity areas in
the brain while reading difficult passages.
• Behavior has much to do with inputs and how
brain processes reality.
• Neuron wiring changes with knowledge
Results on dyslexia
• Left parietal sulci emits lower energy for low
memory
• Planum temporale is symmetric in dyslexic readers
• Frontal regions of the brain are more symmetric
and smaller than other people’s
• Good readers use the front and back of their brains
for phonological processing while students with
dyslexia use only the front
• We need to teach using strategies effective at
developing activity essential to parts of the brain
(ie., connect sounds and symbols)
Medical Needs of Children
• The physical needs of children must be
met before learning can be optimized
• Aside from brain development and wiring
concerns, what other medical factors
affect learning?
– Hearing
– Vision
– Psychological
“Quick fixes”
• Pros and Cons of Ritalin; Cylert; Dexedrine (p.228229)
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Megavitamin
Feingold diet
Tinted lenses
Perceptual training
D.O.R.E.
Scare and boot camp techniques
Where to go for more information..
• Brain research – Lyon; Shaywitz
• Legal changes – National Information Center for
Children and Youth with Disabilities; LDOnline
• Technology – Evers
• Inclusion – Everington; Giangreco
• Any others???
Summary
• Why study instructional methods meant for
students with learning disabilities?
• What do we know about the medical aspects of
people with dyslexia?
• What behavioral aspects are explained in IDEA
1997 and 2004?
• How do some of the contemporary practices in
special education affect students with learning
disabilities?