Learning Disability

KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN

BASLP,MASLP
AUDIOLOGIST
KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN

Changes in Terminology
Brain-injured child (1947)
Alfred Strauss

Minimal brain dysfunction (1966)

Peter Clements

Learning disabilities (1963)

Samuel Kirk

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Definition of Learning Disabilities

The Federal Definition: IDEA-1997 ICLD Definition

Psychological process disorder Difficulty in learning Severe discrepancy Social skills disorders Occurs with other conditions CNS disorder Heterogeneous disorders Intrinsic to the individual With other conditions

NJCLD Definition

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Common Elements in the Definitions

Central nervous system dysfunction Uneven growth pattern/psychological processing deficits Discrepancy between potential and achievement Exclusion of other causes
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Thus a person with LD is one who is not

Mentally retarded

Physically disturbed
Emotionally disturbed Culturally disadvantaged

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LD???
Myths Outgrow Cure possible Lazy Overall poor performance Retarded Facts Life span disorder Remediation Effortful Specific disability Average IQ

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Language Academic

Social/ Emotional ADHD/ Behavioral problems

CHILD WITH LD

Processing

Cognition

Motor skill

Perceptual

Meta-cognition

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Characteristics
Academic learning difficulty- Academic problems exist in the area of reading, writing, spelling and mathematics. Meta-cognitive deficits- such as planning moves, evaluating effectiveness of ongoing activities, checking the outcome and remediating the errors. Memory problems- Most students complain of poor memory. Learning disabled students fail to use strategies that nondisabled students readily use.
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Contd.
Motor Disorders- children with this problem are clumsy, unable to skip or hop. Some exhibit fine motor difficulties such as in writing and cutting with scissors, buttoning, zipping or even tying a shoelace, etc Perceptual disorder- Perceptual problems include inability to recognize, discriminate and interpret sensation. It can be in the area of auditory channel and/or visual channel.
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Contd
Attention problems and hyperactivity- LD children have short attention span, distractibility and impulsivity. Many LD students get distracted by noise, movement and visual stimuli in the environment easily and more frequently when compared to children of their age. Social/emotional problems- Continuous failures in academics, results in poor selfconcept and self-esteem.
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Indicators at pre-school level

Family history of literacy difficulties Difficulty learning nursery rhymes Difficulty with verbal sequencing (alphabet, days of the week) Poor gross motor coordination (hopping) Poor fine motor skills (copying shapes or letters) Shows little interest in identifying letters or words for fun Poor short-term memory skills (remembering names, instructions)
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Primary age
READING DIFFIULTY ( Dyslexia) - Confuses similar sounding words (e.g. our, are) - Poor single word reading - Reverses some words or letters( e.g. was and saw) - Poor rhyming - Poor reading comprehension

KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN

WRITING PROBLEMS (Dysgraphia)

Handwriting : Incorrect starting point & direction of letters Reversals of letters and words Irregular spacing between letters and words Uneven size of letters and uneven slant Pressure too heavy or too light Failure to close the letter
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 Spelling: - Avoid words they cannot spell - Spell the same word several different ways in a passage of writing - Leave out a syllable (e.g. sudly for suddenly) - Forget how to spell words
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 Written expression: - Punctuation errors - Incorrect syntax - Omission of words

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MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS (Dyscalculia)

Difficulty in multiplication Poor mental arithmetic Reverses digits (e.g. 47 for 74, 6 for 9,etc.) Difficulty learning what operation a symbol signifies Difficulty in solving statement problems.
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Assessment:

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ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Identify (School Personnel & Parents) Referral (Pediatrician) Interview (Medico social worker) Cognitive assessment (Psychologist) Educational assessment (Psycho-ed) Speech, Language, Audiological assessment (SLPA) Counseling (Counselor) IEP (Resource Teacher)
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ASSESSMENT FOR IDENTIFICATION

Discrepancy criterion Tools Combination of formal and informal assessment procedures- reflect the current status of the childs performance Intelligence: WISC-R BKT RCPM/RPM
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Contd
Neuropsychological: NIMHANS Index of Specific Learning Disabilities Achievement: GLAD (Grade level assessment device) WRAT (Wide range achievement test) ERS (test of early reading skills) Appropriate Language and Audiological tests.
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Intervention:
Team approach Compensatory and remedial strategies

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ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Pencil grips, incline boards, etc. Spell checker Word predictor Earobics Fast Forword

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MODIFICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM

Individual attention Appropriate teacher : student ratio Non distracting classroom Modified study materials according to the needs of the child and attention span Use of tape-recorder Preferential seating Hands on activities Special accommodations for test taking

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Concession for students with Learning Disabilities studying in school upto 12th standard For students with Learning Disabilities of standard 1st to standard 9th and standard 11th, along with the written test, the students shall also have an oral test for unit and semester examinations.

All students with Learning Disabilities of standard 1st to 12th shall be allowed to have 30 minutes (1/2 hour) more than allotted time for all written tests. These students are exempted from drawing figures, maps and graphs in written examination and the marks for these questions and sub questions (geometry, science and geography) should appropriately be KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN converted.

Contd..
Only failed learning disabled students, should obtain maximum 20 marks for passing in one or more subjects. Instead of three languages, dyslexic and dysgraphic students can opt for two languages and one subject from the subjects included under work experience. (Karnataka Government order No. 5(1) 178 95-96, 2000) (GO 141 PHP 92) Students with dyscalculia are allowed to give examination of 7th standard mathematics (75 marks) and work experience (75 marks) total 150 marks instead of algebra and geometry. They are allowed to use calculators during examination. KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN

Contd..
Students with Learning Disability are exempted from spelling mistakes and mathematical calculation mistakes (writing numbers in wrong order). Students with Learning Disabilities, for standard 10th and 12th examinations, can choose the centre close to their residence

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National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

Started as project on Open Schooling under CBSE in 1978.

Objectives:
- Providing quality education through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode - Providing dynamic flexible system of open schooling

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Objectives:
Acts as an apex resource centre in open schooling Education and Training for Skill upgradation and lifelong learning Need based Vocational Education for marking students entrepreneurs and not simply job seekers. Brindavan Education Trust, Jayanagar and few other places in Blore offer NIOS to children/adolescents with LD.
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How can you help?

Give them a lot of encouragement, praise and support to make them feel confident about themselves. Avoid harsh comments. Do not compare the performance of this child with other children. Make sure that the child is not ridiculed. Above all believe that All Children can learn!
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Ongoing work in the Institute

Learning disability clinic: Team of Psychologist and Speechlanguage Pathologist work together to provide intervention in a holistic approach and also parental guidance is provided. The children are identified as early as four years. Camps for LD are also conducted where children are trained on writing skills, reading skills, and mathematics, peer interaction, handicrafts etc.

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Contd..
Projects: The post-graduate students of our institute are working on various projects, such as teacher perception of children with LD, and early intervention of children with learning disability (using a checklist).

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References
Bernice Wong (1996). The ABCs of Learning Disabilities. R. Barbara, W. Judith, L David (2003). Dyslexia- a practical guide for teachers and parents.

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KUNNAMPALLIL GEJO JOHN