Learning Disabilities and Language Disorders

Study Notes

Learning Disabilities and Disorders

Learning disability encompasses a wide range of disorders affecting language abilities, including reading, speaking, writing, and listening.
A reading disorder mainly affects reading skills, such as decoding and comprehension.
Dyslexia, a subset of reading disorders, manifests as difficulties with word recognition, spelling, and decoding.

Syntactic Characteristics of Children with LLD

Children with Language Learning Disabilities (LLD) struggle with understanding and producing complex sentence structures.
Common errors include misinterpretation of clause order and misunderstandings of passive voice and adverbial modifiers.
Their sentences may appear simple despite being longer because they use fewer features for sentence condensation.
Key metrics for analyzing syntax include error types, language complexity (C-units, average CU length, dependent clauses), and fluency in oral and written language.

Derivational Morphology

Derivational morphology enhances word knowledge, recognition, and decoding, increasing reading comprehension and spelling proficiency.
It involves adding morphemes that can change the part of speech or phonetic structure, crucial for vocabulary expansion.
Understanding morphemes aids in deducing definitions of unfamiliar words, facilitating academic success amid exposure to new vocabulary in educational settings.

Lexical and Semantic Characteristics of Students with LLD

Students with LLD typically exhibit delayed vocabulary development, impacting expressive and receptive language skills.
They often have a limited vocabulary dominated by high-frequency words and struggle with verbs and multi-meaning words.
Poor lexical memory leads to challenges in categorization and word association formation.

Hidden Curriculum

The hidden curriculum encompasses implicit expectations regarding behavior and communication in the classroom, which are seldom explicitly taught.
Students must interpret verbal and nonverbal cues during interactions; failure to meet these expectations can be mistaken for behavioral issues.

Conversational Characteristics of Children with LLD

Children with LLD often have difficulties initiating and maintaining conversations, leading to poor topic maintenance.
They struggle to provide adequate information for understanding and require assistance asking for or giving clarifications.
Their conversational language may come off as unfriendly or incomplete, and they may seem withdrawn due to lack of engagement.

Importance of Narrative Skills

Narrative skills connect conversational and expository discourse, critical for academic performance.
Narrative analysis involves examining macrostructure (organization, story grammar, cohesiveness) and microstructure (productivity, complexity).
The type of storytelling should consider vocabulary usage, episodic structure, and linguistic elements that emphasize story highs, alongside employing a literate language style.

Challenges with Expository Discourse

Expository discourse, predominantly found in academic contexts, utilizes advanced vocabulary and syntax that is often abstract and unfamiliar.
Challenges arise from texts being decontextualized and requiring prior background knowledge, making them harder to comprehend.
In contrast, conversational and narrative discourse relates to immediate experiences, enhancing relevance and contextual understanding.

Metacognitive Skills

Metacognitive skills include reflecting on and managing one’s cognitive processes, allowing for effective planning and task management.
These skills enable individuals to monitor understanding during listening and to navigate conversational breakdowns effectively.
Importance lies in shaping how individuals learn, evaluate methods, and adapt strategies for future tasks.

Description

This quiz covers essential concepts related to learning disabilities, particularly language learning disabilities (LLD) and their impact on communication skills. It includes an overview of reading disorders, such as dyslexia, and syntactic characteristics exhibited by children with LLD. Test your knowledge on the nature and metrics of language abilities in affected children.