1. Learning Disabilities

3. Complete all questions and get 100% = A
To get a B you must complete all the questions and score 29/30
To get a C you need to get 28/30
YOU FAIL IF YOU GET LESS THAN 28 QUESTIONS RIGHT
You have 2 minutes to complete this important exam.
GO!!!!!!

4. How did that make you feel?
This is how someone with a Learning Disability might feel when facing a high stakes test or exam.

5. Characteristics of a Learning Disability
It is a neurological disorder
An LD student is as smart or smarter than their peers, yet they often do not achieve at the same academic level as their peers. There is a distinct gap between the level of achievement that is expected and what is actually being achieved.
Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:
oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding);
reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension);
written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and
mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving).
A Learning Disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue.
Few individuals exhibit LD in only one domain. More prevalent are clusters of disabilities that reflect underlying differences in neurological functioning.
Difficulties can become apparent in different ways with different people.

6. Learning Disability Disorders result from impairments
in one or more cognitive process.
These Include:
Perception
Memory ( Working Memory)
Language processing (receptive and expressive language)
Visual spatial processing (spacing, puzzles)
Executive Functions (attention, decision making, organization and behaviour)
Phonological processing (sound/symbol relationships)
Processing speed (time it takes to respond/retrieve information)
Auditory processing (to listen and understand)
When a student is designated with a Learning Disability, their specific impairments are identified and assessed in a Psycho-Educational Assessment Report.

7. What causes these impairments?
Experts are not exactly sure what causes learning disabilities.
Some research suggests that LDs may be attributed to:
Heredity - Learning disabilities often run in families
Problems during pregnancy and birth
illness or injury during or before birth.
drug and alcohol use during pregnancy
low birth weight
lack of oxygen
premature or prolonged labour
Incidents after birth
head injuries
nutritional deprivation
exposure to toxic substances (i.e. lead)

8. Learning Characteristics
As a result, children may need support in the following areas
Word Recognition
Comprehension
Spelling
Written Expression
Mathematical Computations
Problem Solving
Oral Language
Learning Disabilities may also cause difficulties with:
organizational skills
decision making
social perception / social interaction.
Learning Disabilities may coexist with other conditions including:
attention, behavioural and emotional disorders
sensory impairments
medical conditions

9. Don’t Get Confused A Learning Disability is NOT: Low intelligence
Mental illness   
Mental Retardation
Autism
A Learning Disability does NOT result from:
A lack of educational experiences
(attendance issues, frequent school changes)
Inadequate or inappropriate instruction
Socio-economic status
Lack of motivation
Cultural or Second Language Learning
*although any one of these and other factors may compound
the impact of a learning disability.

10. Incidence in Population
Statistics Canada reports that,
3.2% of Canadian children have a learning disability

11. Incidence in Population
According to a Statistics Canada report on the 2006
Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS):
More children in this country have a learning disability than all other types of disabilities combined.
Of all the children with disabilities in this country, more than half (59.8%) have a learning disability.
More than 500,000 adults in this country live with a learning disability, making it more challenging for them to learn in universities and colleges, and on the job.
Difficulty with basic reading and language skills are the most common learning disabilities. As many as 80% of students with learning disabilities have reading problems.

12. History of Learning Disabilities in Canada
Statistics Canada reports that as children make the transition from home to school, the number diagnosed with a learning disability grows by nearly 25%
Learning disabilities increased considerably between 2001 and 2006 among Canadians aged 15 and over by almost 40 per cent to 631,000 people, making it one of the fastest growing types of disabilities in Canada that isn’t related to aging.

13. Physiological Characteristics
There are no physical characteristics typically found in a
person with a Learning Disability
People you would least expect can have a learning disability
Did you know that Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was nine?
Walt Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had trouble reading all their lives.
Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab and many others have learning disabilities which haven't affected their ultimate success.

14. Identifying LD students
Identification of an LD student can be difficult because:
Their needs are not always obvious due to their ability to perform well in some areas
Academic difficulties may be misunderstood and viewed as lack of motivation
A person with an LD has no distinct physiological features
Due to the variations and severity, learning disabilities may be identified at a various stages of the student’s school life
Early identification can facilitate early intervention and may minimize ongoing learning difficulties
Late identification frequently leads to secondary emotional and behavioural difficulties

15. Identification Process for LD Students

16. Identifying LD Students
Specialized assessment is required for formal diagnosis of learning disabilities.
Level B and Level C assessments must be conducted by appropriately qualified professionals who can interpret results considering the student’s opportunities for learning, learning patterns, approach to tasks and response to instruction.

17. Identifying LD Students
A process of systematic and standardized assessment and documentation identifies students with learning disabilities based on their:
1. Persistent difficulty learning AND
2. Average or above average cognitive ability AND
3. Weaknesses in cognitive processing in one or more area

18. High Incidence Category
Ministry Category Q
High Incidence funding is included in student allocation
-each student generates $5,700
No Supplemental funding for Learning Disabilities

19. Please explore the 6 stations set up around the room

20. Comments or Questions?

21. Intervention / Adaption Strategies
A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue.
With the right support and intervention, however, children with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distinguished careers later in life.

22. Reading Phonemic awareness Comprehension Spelling Constructing meaning
Word Recognition
Comprehension
Decoding Thinking
Phonemic awareness Comprehension
Spelling Constructing meaning
Vocabulary
Fluency
   

23. Word Recognition is…
A students ability to decode words accurately when presented out of context
This skill is assessed through the use of word lists and non-sense word lists

24. Strategies to Support Word Recognition
Provide instruction and prompting in the use of meaning, structure and visual sources of information when solving unknown words.
Does it make sense? (meaning)
Can you say it that way? (structure)
Does it look right? (visual)
Teaching common word parts and spelling patterns and develop word identification strategies including the use of analogy, cross-checking, letter-sounds and chunking
Do you know a word that looks like that? (analogy)
Can you see something that might help you? (letter-sounds and chunking)
Check it! Does it look right and sound right to you? (cross-checking)

25. Strategies Continued
Work toward fast and accurate recognition of high-frequency vocabulary
Flash cards
Familiar reading
Model oral reading and provide daily opportunities to read and re-read easy materials independently
Just-right book bin in the classroom
Send home new book for a second read at home

26. Reading Comprehension Means…
A students ability to recall information, make connections, ask questions, visualize, infer, analysis and synthesize information before, during and after reading.
This skill is assessed through oral retell activities and comprehension questions after a student has completed a reading passage.

27. Strategies to Support Reading Comprehension - from Adrienne Gear’s “Reading Power”
Through class instruction, guided reading and graphic organizers provide direct instruction in the following strategies to improve comprehension:
Making Connections
What does the student already know about the topic?
What personal experiences do they have with the topic?
Asking Questions
Model and support students to ask questions before, during and after reading to clarify meaning and deepen understanding

28. Reading Comprehension Continued
Visualizing
Encourage students to create multi-sensory images while reading to help make sense of the text
Drawing Inferences
Help students develop the ability to “fill in”, and predict based information not in the text based on what they have read
Analyzing and Synthesizing
Provide instruction in how to break down information and draw conclusions

29. Strategies to Support Spelling Skills Development
Develop students knowledge of common letter sequences and patterns
Provide opportunities to learn high frequency/everyday word
Word work
Modified spelling program
Provide instruction in the use of spelling reference materials/resources
Spell check and predictive text technology - Kursweil, Clicker 5
Dictionaries and word lists

30. A Learning Disability in Written Expression means…
The inability to form letters and numbers correctly.
The inability to write words spontaneously or from dictation.
The inability to organize words into meaningful thoughts.

31. What to look for: poor or illegible handwriting
poorly formed letters or numbers
excessive spelling errors
excessive punctuation errors
excessive grammar errors
sentences that lack logical cohesion
paragraphs and stories that are missing elements and that do not make sense or lack logical transitions
deficient writing skills that significantly impact academic achievement or daily life.

32. Strategies to Support skills in Written Expression
Use of word processor (Spell check, grammar check)
Use of a scribe (Dragon Naturally Speaking)
Prewriting activities (to focus the writing process)
Extra help (Learning Assistance or Resource Room)
Practice with specific skills (spelling ,grammar, punctuation etc.)

33. A Learning Disability in Math refers to problems with…
Math Computation Skills
Performing basic mathematical operations (+, -, x, ÷).
Understanding the relationship between numbers and the quantities they represent.
Problem Solving Skills
difficulty solving math problems that involve using math computation to solve real world problems.

34. What does a Math Learning Disability look like?
Students have trouble with:
unable to memorize many basic math facts
Not understanding the relationship between numbers and quantities (to real life objects)
They may misread signs or carry numbers incorrectly
Difficulty with time concepts
Difficulty organizing by number or quantity
Difficulty performing practical math tasks such as measuring for recipes
Reading Disability = Math Disability (Problem Solving)
Inability to visualize mathematical concepts (
Behavioural: frustration due to extreme effort

35. Intervention Strategies for Math Computation…
Regular diagnostic testing – to target specific problems
Differentiated Instruction of basic skills
Hands on materials (math manipulatives, real-life objects (blocks, coins), models, etc.)
Repeated reinforcement and specific practice of straightforward ideas can make understanding easier.
Use graph paper for students who have difficulty organizing ideas on paper.
Work on finding different ways to approach math facts (Van De Walle)
Practice estimating as a way to begin solving math problems.
Introduce new skills beginning with concrete examples and later moving to more abstract applications.

36. Intervention strategies for Problem Solving…
Review Problem Solving Strategies:
find a pattern, make a table, draw a picture, guess and check, make a list, write a number sequence, logical reasoning, work backwards
Help the Student visualize the problem
Use hands on materials
“Chunking” problems and working step by step through question.
Extra time to work through strategies

37. October is LD Awareness Month!
“The October 2010 theme for LD Awareness Month is to increase national awareness of learning disabilities by changing the perceptions of learning disabilities and provide hope and optimism. When we support people with learning disabilities, everyone wins!” 
For more information, go to:
Learning Disabilities Association of Canada Website

38. Resources and Links
Statistics Canada report on the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS).
Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
LD ONLINE
LD RESOURCES
Learning Disabilities Association –South Vancouver Island Chapter
Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and Guidelines