Chapter 6 - Class PDF

Children & Youth with Learning Disabilities History of Learning Disability: The term learning disability was coined in 1962 by Samuel Kirk. -​ The term describes a heterogeneous group who have a neurologically based problem that affects learning in various ways....

Children & Youth with Learning Disabilities History of Learning Disability: The term learning disability was coined in 1962 by Samuel Kirk. -​ The term describes a heterogeneous group who have a neurologically based problem that affects learning in various ways. How Are Learning Disabilities Defined? ​ Neurodevelopmental disorders that are not caused by intellectual disabilities, specific sensory deficits, or other extraneous factors (DSM-5) ​ A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, spell, or do mathematical calculations. (U.S. Department of Education) How Are Students With LD Identified? Discrepancy Formulas: the degree of discrepancy between intellectual ability (IQ) and achievement and/or performance. -​ This formula leads to inclusion of students with any type of learning problem, not just LD Response to Intervention: identifies students who do not respond adequately to evidence-based interventions (not under MTSS) -​ Involves progress monitoring to track response to intervention Comprehensive Assessments to determine learning strengths and challenges What Is Dyslexia? ​ A specific learning disability that is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities ​ These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language ​ Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge ​ Students may experience visual perceptual problems, making it difficult to identify letters and decode words  ​ When students focus on letter ID and decoding, their brain has little capacity for making meaning as they read ​ In effective reading, decoding is automatic so the reader can make meaningful and process what they are reading Causes of ID: -​ Neurological differences; differences in brain functioning and organization -​ Genetics (evidence from both family studies and twin studies) -​ Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to performance in each domain of learning -​ Inadequate prenatal care Prevalence of LD: ​ 37% of individuals ages 6 to 21 who are receiving special education and/or related services have specific learning disabilities ​ Learning disabilities is the largest category of disability among all racial and ethnic groups Challenges in Identification: ELL ​ 23% of school-age children come from homes where a language other than English is spoken ​ English Language Learners are overrepresented in LD ​ Appropriate identification of children with learning disabilities whose first language is not English presents a special challenge ​ Many educators view emergent English and bilingualism as deficits ​ When bilingual students are assessed in only one language, we do not gain a full picture of their linguistic strengths ​ Assessors must be culturally competent Characteristics of Children With Learning Disabilities: ​ Each individual has a unique profile of strengths and challenges ​ Individuals with LD have difficulty processing information -​ This can lead to problems in language development, academic learning, motor coordination, social and emotional self-regulation, and focusing attention ​ There may be sensory perceptual problems -​ Visual perception -​ Auditory perception -​ Sensory integration -​ Oversensitivity to sensory input ​ Problems with processing and thinking -​ Difficulty with memory -​ Difficulty organizing thoughts and ideas -​ May cause frustration ​ Types of memory: 1.​ Semantic: stores concepts, words, symbols, and generalizations; the most frequently used form of memory in school 2.​ Episodic: the ability to recall whole scenes or episodes from the past 3.​ Motor: the ability to learn body movement patterns and retain them for future use ​ There may be problems in the expression of ideas and thoughts -​ Developmental Aphasia: difficulty with speech, including word retrieval and speech fluency -​ Dysgraphia: difficulty with the motor mechanics of handwriting -​ Difficulty understanding and producing gestures and facial expressions that correspond with feelings and emotions ​ There may be problems with executive functions -​ Controls attention, decisions about information to be stores, strategies for storing information -​ Includes self-regulation / self-monitoring, through which we continuously adapt our thoughts, speech, and actions to accomplish our goals ​ Have experienced repeated failures ​ May be frustrated with learning or with skills in areas of challenge ​ May experience stress and anxiety in anticipation of further failure ​ May have low self-confidence in learning and using skills ​ May demonstrate misbehavior due to difficulty reading teacher’s facial expressions and body language  Educational Responses for Students with LD: ​ Most (73%) students with LD spend 80% or more of their school day in general education classes -​ Students with LD do not require intensive instruction from a teacher with specialized skills, and are typically pulled for parts of the day ​ Students with LD typically participate in the same learning activities, focus on the same content standards, and take the same assessments as their nondisabled peers ​ Accommodations: -​ Preferential Seating: close to teacher, away from distractions, alternative seating options, etc. -​ Technology: calculator, word processor, audio books, speech-to-text, spell-check, etc. -​ Learning Supports: graphic organizers, outlines, color-coded visual aids, focus questions, lecture notes, etc. -​ Tactile Materials & Manipulatives: hands-on science, math manipulatives, sentence cubes, etc. -​ Alternative Assessments: projects, photo journals, video/films, models, performances, etc. -​ Additional Supports: task-analysis for large projects, checkpoints for progress, review of drafts, editorial assistance, study sessions, etc. -​ Additional Time to Complete Assignments: extra time for reading materials, extra time for completing assessments and assignments, allowing breaks as needed ​ Modifications: -​ Focus on the most essential aspects of learning (select the most important math problems, reduce copying tasks) -​ Grade on effort, not just final product -​ Offer choices so students can select topics of interest for projects and reports -​ Provide alternative readings on similar topics/themes to match student’s independent reading levels -​ Offer partial credit for work, provide extra credit opportunities, grade only on content and not on mechanics of writing -​ Offer self-assessment opportunities \  Accommodations & Modifications Student struggles with recognizing letters & Text passages are read aloud to student decoding Student struggles with organization Task analysis & check-in for large projects Student is easily distracted away from Preferential seating close to the front of the learning room Student struggles with spelling and Grade content essays on content, not handwriting mechanics Student struggles with motivation Allow students to select their own research topics Evidence-Based Practices: 1.​ Explicit Teaching: teachers use precise, concise language; provide clear examples; provide schemas to organize information to be learned 2.​ Strategic Teaching: teachers provide instruction in specific learning strategies such as mnemonics, graphic organizers, making connections, etc. 3.​ Scaffolding: teachers move from concrete to abstract, simple to complex, and supported to independent 4.​ Metacognition: teachers help students understand how to “think about their thinking” as they work to solve problems, activate or select strategies to use, and anchor learning in their memory 5.​ Modeling: teachers demonstrate a skill using “think aloud” to share thinking processes. Students take over steps and build independence High Leverage Practices: High Leverage Practice 8: Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior. The purpose of feedback is to increase motivation, engagement, and independence in learning and behavior. Effective feedback must be strategic, goal directed, timely, positive, and constructive. Providing positive and constructive feedback is an essential component of both academic instruction and social/emotional/behavioral guidance. Assistive Technology for Students with LD: ​ Text-to-speech readers ​ Speech-to-text for writing ​ Audiobooks ​ Voice recorders ​ Voice-activated software ​ Spell check ​ Word prediction ​ dyslexiefont.com IEPs and 504 plans specify what assistive technologies are needed by each student. Information Processing Model ​ Learning is a function of how well an individual processes information ​ Deep processing is necessary to understand information so that it can be used in meaningful ways ​ Deep processing occurs when we transform information to make it ours ​ Executive function is the decision-making component of this model -​ Self-regulatory skills: we monitor ourselves so that we can continuously adapt our thoughts, speech, and actions to accomplish our goals -​ In learning, self-regulation allows us to monitor our understanding ​ Both emotional environment and internal emotional state impact learning -​ Repeated experiences of failure and frustration can lead to anticipatory anxiety in new situations  Meeting the Needs of Students with Learning Disabilities: Information Processing & Universal Design for Learning UDL Representation UDL Engagement UDL Assessment Executive Function ​ Books on tape ​ Kinesthetic ​ Discussions ​ Graphic ​ Manipulatives activities ​ Debates organizers ​ Video / pictures ​ Discussions ​ play/drama/ ​ Thinking maps ​ Graphics / charts ​ Debates dance ​ Concept maps ​ Storyboards ​ plays/drama/ ​ drawing/ ​ Learning frames ​ Timelines dance sculpting ​ Outlines ​ Matrices ​ Music / song ​ Music / song ​ Advance ​ Highlighting ​ Building models ​ Building models organizers ​ Color coding ​ Role playing ​ Experimentation ​ Study guides ​ Large / bold font ​ Simulation ​ Writing activities ​ Highlighting ​ Audio files games (journals, poetry, ​ Prompts (verbal, ​ Tactile graphics ​ Critical thinking stories, reports, visual) ​ Use of all senses ​ Creative thinking plays, essays) ​ Metacognitive ​ Research skills ​ Charts / graphs strategies ​ Data collection ​ pictures/ photos ​ Learning ​ Data analysis strategies ​ Study skills Supporting Self-Regulation: The Secret Signal Teachers help students to develop self-awareness and self-regulation of impulsive behaviors or misbehaviors Step 1: Identify the target behavior Step 2: Discuss the behavior with the student: Why is it a problem? What is a more positive replacement behavior? Step 3: Agree on a secret signal with the student to indicate when the student is engaging in the target behavior Step 4: Practice using the signal with the student Step 5: Use the signal when you see the behavior occurring in class Summary: ​ Students identified with learning disabilities are the largest group within special education ​ Individuals with learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group, and they each have their own unique set of strengths and challenges ​ These strengths and challenges can present through input, output, or processing of information ​ The most commonly accepted cause of LD is a problem related to how individuals process information at the neurological level ​ Comprehensive evaluation is particularly difficult for students that speak a language other than English, because mastering more than one language is difficult in and of itself ​ The MTSS approach promotes the collaboration between general and special educators needed to fully support students with learning disabilities