WELCOME

1. WELCOME SESSION THREE

2. Learning Disability What Does It Mean? What Does It Look Like? What Can I Do? Presented by: Bernita Davis, M.S.E Director of Disability Services Eastern New Mexico University

3. WhatDoes It Mean • Definition: A “learning disability” is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding and using language spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, spell or do mathematical calculations.

4. There are two parts: First: your brain “processes” information differently than most other students. Certain kinds of information get lost or stuck while traveling through your brain

6. Second: a learning disability causes a “discrepancy” between your ability and your achievement. You are a lot smarter than you perform in school. You learn differently.

7. Information Processing Refers to how your brain • Takes in information • Uses this information • Stores information in memory • Retrieves information from memory • Expresses information

8. Six Main Types of Processing

9. Seeing differences between things Remembering visual details Filling in missing parts in pictures Remembering general characteristics Visual-Motor Coordination Visualization and Imagination Organization of their desk or room Art Students often experience difficulty in areas of math and spelling because they have trouble visualizing words, letters, symbols, etc. VISUAL

10. Specific Difficulties Writing Reading Poor Handwriting Slow speed Poor Spelling Poor comprehension (cannot visualize the word) Math Difficulty visualizing problems Difficulty with cluttered worksheets General Poor organization/planning/neatness Difficulty rechecking work for accuracy Difficulty learning by demonstration Difficulty learning by video

11. Hearing differences between sounds/voices Remembering specific words or numbers Remembering general sound patterns Understanding even when they miss some sounds Blending parts of words together Music Most difficulty with general reading, general writing, understanding and expressing language Auditory Processing

12. Reading Poor decoding of new words Poor comprehension General Difficulty following oral directions Difficulty learning in lectures Communication Difficulty with expression Poor receptive language Writing Poor spelling/mechanics Poor sentence structure Specific Difficulties

13. Short-term memory for details Long-term retrieval of details Fine-motor coordination Finding the words you want to say or write Organization of your thoughts and materials Writing mechanics (spelling, punctuation Reading speed. sounding out new words Attention to details Putting thoughts and words in order Sequential/Rational

14. Appears to be the main filing system in the brain Involved in organizing and memorizing specific bits of information including facts, figures and formulas Works very much like a computer organizes and stores information Most difficulties in basic reading, math computation, expressive language, writing mechanics Sequential/Rational cont:

15. Specific Difficulties HandwritingReading Speed/clarity Decoding (sounding out words) Letter reversals Speed/Fluency Spelling mechanics Remembering details Letters in wrong sequence Attention/Concentration (order) MathCommunication Remembering formulas/steps Finding words for verbal/written expression General Planning lengthy assignments ,Remembering details Paying attention – easily distracted by surroundings Remembering names of people/objects Following specific directions

16. Involves looking for “the big picture”, overall patterns and underlying concepts for use in higher-order thinking, creating, reasoning. Filing is like throwing things into boxes with very general labels Includes memory for themes or ideas, reasoning, spatial awareness, general knowledge, inferential thinking, estimation/approximation, conceptual understanding, creativity/inventiveness, reading comprehension, use of context, rhythm, music, and art. Conceptual/Holistic

17. Specific Difficulties ReadingMath Understanding irony, inferences, Generalizing to new sarcasm situations General comprehension Story problems Communication Written Language General language comprehensionCreative writing Understanding humor General Global/general awareness Attention – may focus too much on a specific area

18. Refers to how fast information travels through the brain. All LD students experience some processing speed difficulty when required to process information through their weakest processing “channel” or “modality” It is like having a brain that works at 40 miles per hour when the rest of the world (and all of the information) is going 55 miles per hour. Such students just can’t keep up. Processing Speed

19. Processing Speed Affects: • Short-term memory (with time pressure) • Long-term retrieval (with time pressure) • Talking speed, word finding • Writing speed • Reading speed • Attention • Reasoning (with time pressure) • General Response speed

20. Reading Reading speed Ability to stay focused while reading Math Completing a series of problems Written Language Writing speed Mechanics Clarity (with time pressure) Communication Delays in responding Slow, deliberate speech Word finding difficulties General Coping with implied or expressed time pressures Always “a step behind” Difficulty maintaining attention to tasks Exceeding time limits during tests Trouble with social pressures to perform “faster” Specific Difficulties

21. Attentional Skills Refer to how well a student is able to stay focused on activities, especially in the classroom. A student’s ability to maintain attention to tasks clearly impacts all types of learning and information to some extent. There is a high correlation between attention and sequential/rational information processing. Students with attention deficit disorders demonstrate the same learning difficulties as students with sequential processing weaknesses.

22. Ability to stay focused on tasks Short-term memory for details Impulse control/coordination Word-finding skills Organization of thoughts and materials Writing mechanics (spelling, punctuation) Ability to stay focused on reading material Attention to details Attentional skills include:

23. Problem areas include basic reading, math computation, expressive language and writing mechanics because of details. Handwriting Speed/clarity Letter reversals Spelling/mechanics Letters in the wrong sequence (order) Reading Decoding (sounding out words) Speed/fluency – skipping words or lines Remembering details Attention/concentration Math Remembering formulas/steps Communication Finding words for verbal/written expression Specific Difficulties

24. General Planning lengthy assignments Remembering details Paying attention- easily distracted by surroundings Remembering names of people or objects Following specific directions Specific Difficulties cont:

25. Does LD go away???? A true learning disability never goes away. With understanding and effort a student can learn to use their many strengths to “compensate” for the weaker processing skills. The student may be able to strengthen the weak processing skills so that the Learning disability is not as severe. Many LD people Are highly creative and “gifted” in many ways. Many famous and successful people have learning disabilities.

26. LD same as Lysdexia?? Dyslexia is simply a fancy word for a learning disability that involves reading or difficulty understanding the written word. Other terms include Dysgraphia (writing disability/difficulty expressing thoughts in writing) and Dyscalculia (math disability/difficulty performing math calculations).

27. What Does It Look Like?

43. More students with disabilities are enrolling in four-year institutions that in 1991. The fastest growing category is learning disability (15% in 1991 to 42 % in 1998) Source: American Council on Education, (CIRP Survey) 196,000 of the 428,000 students with disabilities enrolled at two-year and four-year postsecondary education institutions reported having learning disabilities Source: National Center for Education Statistics GUESS WHAT????

44. Disability Services • Bernita Davis, Director • Student Academic Services Building Room 186 • 562-2280 • Mon. – Fri. • 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Evenings by appointment