Definition Of Specific Learning Disability

General Overview Of Sld/ Case Study

The following text is an excerpt from: Educational Psychology. Chapter 5 : Kelvin Seifert and Rosemary Sutton. . License: CC BY: Attribution From https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/153

A specific learning disability is a specific impairment of academic learning that interferes with a specific aspect of schoolwork and that reduces a students academic performance significantly. An LD shows itself as a major discrepancy between a students ability and some feature of achievement: the student may be delayed in reading, writing, listening, speaking, or doing mathematics, but not in all of these at once. A learning problem is not considered a learning disability if it stems from physical, sensory, or motor handicaps, or from generalized intellectual impairment. It is also not an LD if the learning problem really reflects the challenges of learning English as a second language. Genuine LDs are the learning problems left over after these other possibilities are accounted for or excluded. Typically, a student with an LD has not been helped by teachers ordinary efforts to assist the student when he or she falls behind academicallythough what counts as an ordinary effort, of course, differs among teachers, schools, and students. Most importantly, though, an LD relates to a fairly specific area of academic learning. A student may be able to read and compute well enough, for example, but not be able to write.

Defining learning disabilities clearly

How Are Learning Disabilities Defined

Interpretation of the term learning disability depends on where it is used. In the UK, LD refers to global cognitive or intellectual impairments. In Australasia and the USA, LD is usually a synonym for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnosis SLD. To avoid confusion, the term SLD will be used in this paper.

The predicament for children who have SLD, as noted in the case report, is an unexpected degree of difficulty acquiring learning in one or more curriculum areas. The term âunexpectedâ is important. The student’s degree of struggle is not explained by overall intellectual capacity, identifiable medical limitations , lack of opportunity to learn to the expected degree or any other reasonable explanation.

• ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder LD, learning disability NVLD, non-verbal learning disorder.

Contrast With Other Conditions

People with an IQ lower than 70 are usually characterized as having an intellectual disability and are not included under most definitions of learning disabilities because their difficulty in learning are considered to be related directly to their overall low intelligence.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is often studied in connection with learning disabilities, but it is not actually included in the standard definitions of learning disabilities. Individuals with ADHD may struggle with learning, but can often learn adequately once successfully treated for the ADHD. A person can have ADHD but not learning disabilities or have learning disabilities without having ADHD. The conditions can co-occur.

People diagnosed with ADHD sometimes have impaired learning. Some of the struggles people with ADHD have might include lack of motivation, high levels of anxiety, and the inability to process information. There are studies that suggest people with ADHD generally have a positive attitude toward academics and, with medication and developed study skills, can perform just as well as individuals without learning disabilities. Also, using alternate sources of gathering information, such as websites, study groups and learning centers, can help a person with ADHD be academically successful.

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What Is Known About Causation The Example Of Reading Disability

Any detailed examination of biological aetiology for all SLD is well beyond the scope of this overview paper. Reading disability is arguably the best understood and is presented as an example.

During the 1960s, the US neurologist Norman Geschwind was studying relationships between neurology and cognition., With his colleague Albert Galaburda, they studied the postmortem brains of individuals who had lived with developmental dyslexia, finding distinct neurological abnormalities in brain regions close to where Dr Morgan had predicted in 1896.

With the availability of greater technologies, there is now vast research literature exploring dyslexia. The strongest examples involve genetics and neuroimaging., The work of Sally and Bennet Shaywitz is recommended for further reading.

A parallel line of research has investigated the role of neurological processing where precision timing is important. Deficits of motor timing have been identified in developmental dyslexia, along with weaknesses of perceptual temporal discrimination. Building on this early work, extensive literature has now identified the central role of phonological perception in the causation of dyslexia. Phonological perception problems have a general impact on literacy, not restricted to the English language.

Types Of Specific Learning Disabilities

Specific learning disability is an umbrella term that can describe many different types of learning issues. An educational evaluation may show that your child has a specific learning disability in a certain subject area.

For example:

• A specific learning disability in reading, also known as dyslexia
• A specific learning disability in writing, also known as dysgraphia
• A specific learning disability in mathematics, also known as dyscalculia

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What Is Specific Learning Disorder

Specific learning disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders that are typically diagnosed in early school-aged children, although may not be recognized until adulthood. They are characterized by a persistent impairment in at least one of three major areas: reading, written expression, and/or math.

An estimated five to 15% of school-age children struggle with a learning disability.1 An estimated 80% of those with learning disorders have an impairment in reading in particular . Dyslexia is highly prevalent affecting 20% of the population.2 Dyslexia affects male and females equally. There is a high comorbidity of specific learning disorder with other neurodevelopmental disorders as well as anxiety.1

Specific skills that may be affected include word reading accuracy, spelling, grammar, or calculation. In addition, fluency in reading and mathematics may be noted. Difficulties with these skills often cause problems in learning subjects such as history, math, science and social studies and may impact everyday activities and social interactions.

Learning disorders are categorized as mild, moderate and severe. Accommodation and support services align with the severity to facilitate a persons most effective functioning.

Definition Of Specific Learning Disability

Introduction

A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more ofthe central nervous system processes involved in perceiving,understanding and/or using concepts through verbal language or nonverbal means. This disorder manifestsitself with a deficit in one or more of the following areas:attention, reasoning, processing, memory, communication, reading,writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social competenceand emotional maturity.

An overview of Learning Disabilities

Do not look at LD as a disability but as a different way oflearning. Ld students have to learn a coping strategy tocompensate for their methods of learning. Students havefrustration at not understanding what they are trying to learn.They turn this upon themselves saying they are dumb, and thisaffects their self esteem. They won t hazard a guess, they arelow risk takers. Emotional outbursts are anger at themselves, butan astute teacher should be able to pick up the buildup of thisfrustration and find other ways of teaching in a manner whichthey may utilize. By working with a Learning Disabilities clinicwith certified specialists and State Vocational Rehabilitation ina collaborative effort a Adaptive Computer Specialist is able tofind strengths and weaknesses of the student, and then build onthese strengths and weakness.

INPUT

How they take in information.

Perception

Auditorily

Visually

Tactually

INTEGRATION

OUTPUT

How you show what you learn

Traditional and Technological considerations

Health

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Federal Definition Of Sld

While states have some discretion as to how they measure specific learning disabilities, there are fairly detailed Federal guidelines that must be adhered to. Criteria adopted by states:

Who Makes The Diagnosis

The assessment process made to determine if a child suspected of specific learning disabilities is a child with a disability must be made by the childs parents and a team of qualified professionals, including the childs regular teacher and a person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher. The assessment must include observations in the childs classroom.

Definition of Specific Learning Disability In Detail

A specific learning disability as defined in IDEA:

Can Gemm Learning Help?

Specific Learning Disabilities Is A General Term Used To Describe A Range Of Unexpected Learning Difficulties That Are Significantly Interfering With An Individual’s Academic Or Work Performance Or Other Activities Of Daily Life

People with SLD may struggle with listening, thinking, speaking, reading, hand-writing, written language, spelling and/or maths.

Specific learning disabilities are NOT caused by:

• Intellectual disability
• Deficit in the sense organs
• Environmental and emotional deprivation
• Other disabilities

Dyslexia is the most commonly known specific learning disability but there are others that can have a dramatic impact on a persons capacity to learn. SPELD NZ also works with children and adults struggling with dysgraphia and dyscalculia plus those with co-occurring difficulties such as dyspraxia, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Why Provide Educational Services Of Accommodations To Individuals With Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are life long impairments that may impact all areas of an individuals life. It is important to provide services and accommodations that a re required by law, not just because of the legal requirement, but also because providing these services and accommodations benefits individuals with learning disabilities and society overall by facilitating full participation in society by individuals with learning disabilities.

Adopted by the LDA Board of Directors September 22, 2012

National Joint Committee On Learning Disabilities

About this Document

This statement was developed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities . Representatives of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association were Rhonda S. Work, Chair Mabel L. Rice Stan Dublinske, ex officio. Ann L. Carey, 19881990 vice president for professional and governmental affairs was the monitoring vice president. Other member organizations of the NJCLD include the Association on Handicapped Student Services Programs in Postsecondary Education Council for Learning Disabilities Division for Children with Communication Disorders Division for Learning Disabilities International Reading Association Learning Disabilities Association of America National Association of School Psychologists and Orton Dyslexia Society. This statement was approved by the ASHA Legislative Council in November 1989 . NOTE: This statement could not be published until other members of the NJCLD had approved the document.

Enactment of the Education For All Handicapped Children Act mandated changes in the assessment and education of individuals with varying disabilities. The Act provides the basis for securing a systematic methodology for the identification, assessment, and education of children and youth with disabilities. Of specific interest to the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities are those individuals identified categorically within the Law as having learning disabilities.

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Specific Learning Disabilities And Disability Benefits

Indias RPWD Act 2016 defines Specific Learning Disabilities as a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit inprocessing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia.

What Is A Specific Learning Disability Definition Of Specific Learning Disorder

To understand what a specific learning disability is, its helpful to know what it is not. It isnt an intellectual disability . Intelligence isnt a factor in the inability to learn certain things. In fact, most people with a learning disability are of average or above-average intelligence. The issue with specific learning disabilities is that kids cant acquire certain academic skills.

A specific learning disorder definition is academic underachievement that is unanticipated. A child is doing poorly in school, and at first this is surprising to teachers and parents. When a kids potential is strong, but their academic performance is weak, specific learning disability is often at work.

Some factors that describe what a specific learning disorder is include:

• Low scholastic achievement despite potential
• High levels of support needed for average achievement
• Fewer academic skills than agemates
• Deficiencies not explained by developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, neurological disorders, sensory disorder, or motor disorders
• Unrelated to external circumstances like poverty or a lack of education in the childs family
• Persistencelearning problems dont improve with time

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Definition Checklist And Characteristics

Specific learning disability refers to a disorder in one or more of the basic processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or perform mathematical calculations.

Specific learning disability categories include dyslexia, executive function disorder, perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, and developmental aphasia.

SLD does not include learning problems related to physical difficulties , emotional disturbance, cultural factors, environmental, or economic disadvantage.

Specific Learning Disability is mentioned in the IDEA , the idea being that to qualify for an IEP a specific disability must be identified according to Federal guidelines.

Why Doctors Should Be Involved

• ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder APD, auditory processing disorder SLD, specific learning disabilities.

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What The Doctor Can Do

Your role is to screen, and better understand, rather than undertake definitive assessment. Accordingly, consider your assessment of a child’s learning to serve the purpose of obtaining a clinical impression, just as physical examination precedes imaging studies. Testing for reliable quantitative results requires appropriate training.

Second, it is preferable to use tests that are also utilised and understood within local school systems. In this way, communication of findings is more likely to be understood and accepted by educators.

Finally, it is worthwhile to consider how to best communicate the information you have . Standardised scores or severity categories are not necessarily well understood by parents and teachers. An alternative, more intuitive nomenclature is to use age- or grade-equivalent levels of function .

Difficulty In Classifying The Specific Learning Disabilities

SLD is a clinical condition which is not always synonymous with learning disabilities as defined by the educational system: not all children with learning c deficits diagnosed by the school system would fit the definition for a DSM-5 clinical diagnosis of SLD .

Learning disabilities are diagnosed using both educational and medical perspectives . The most commonly used definition from an educational perspective, is found in the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association defines LD from the medical perspective . A considerable overlap in the definition of LD used by professionals in educational and medical settings can be observed .

A specific learning disability is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, whether spoken or written, that manifests itself in the inability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or perform mathematical calculations. Perceptual impairments, brain damage, mild brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developing aphasia are all included in this category. It clearly establishes that specific learning disabilities are not primarily the result of visual, hearing, motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage .

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Critique Of The Medical Model

Learning disability theory is founded in the medical model of disability, in that disability is perceived as an individual deficit that is biological in origin. Researchers working within a social model of disability assert that there are social or structural causes of disability or the assignation of the label of disability, and even that disability is entirely socially constructed. Since the turn of the 19th century, education in the United States has been geared toward producing citizens who can effectively contribute to a capitalistic society, with a cultural premium on efficiency and science. More agrarian cultures, for example, do not even use learning ability as a measure of adult adequacy, whereas the diagnosis of learning disabilities is prevalent in Western capitalistic societies because of the high value placed on speed, literacy, and numeracy in both the labor force and school system.