Not so easy….

Before trying to identify an adult as learning disabled consider the following, which will affect all learning, while an LD usually only affects one area:  Limited previous education may hinder progress (e.g. classroom setting/behaviours may be completely new to some)  Lack of effective study habits  Interference of a learner’s native language (e.g. change in alphabet (Arabic to English), change in direction of reading)

 Mismatch between instructor’s teaching style and student’s learning style/expectation of the class  Stress or trauma that refugees or other immigrants have experienced (i.e. can lead to memory and concentration issues)  Sociocultural factors such as age, physical health, etc.  External problems with work, health, and/or family  Poor attendance  Lack of practice outside the classroom

 student is not making the expected progress in language learning, particular in one area (e.g. reading, writing, oral comprehension)  giving initial assessments/placement tests – written, oral and speaking comprehension  periodic milestone assessments  Interviews with students

 LDs affect every person differently, can range from mild to severe  Some adults have more than one LD  Common LD diagnosis tools are often geared to native English speakers  Often the assessments are designed for children or youth  No single assessment is enough for a diagnosis; multiple assessments are needed  LD assessment is team work (talk to other teachers with the same student for their observations)

Adults with learning disabilities may overachieve in:  Imagination  Creativity  Spoken language  Visual information  Mathematics

But they may have difficulty with:  Reading, writing, spelling  Following written instructions  Expressing ideas in writing  Completing job application forms  Finding/keeping a job  Managing time and activities

 Long attention span  Multi-tasking  Remembering sequences  Poor coordination and spatial disorientation  Problem solving strategies  Classification and organization of information

 Questions about the learner  Interview learner  Collect information about the learner’s work  Use vision and hearing tests

 A comprehensive assessment can only be done by a clinician (e.g. psychologist)  However, as an instructor you could ask questions about previous education, languages learned, medical history (non- intrusive: vision, hearing) in an initial, intake interview as part of language assessment

Instructors should answer the following questions of themselves after having worked with the student:  1. Has the problem persisted over time? (talk to colleagues who may have taught the student previously or ask the student)  2. Does regular instruction address the problem?

 3. Does the learner show consistent strengths & weaknesses in class? (e.g. consistently good at speaking & poor at writing)  4. Does the problem interfere with learning or the student’s regular life in a major way? (e.g. difficulty holding a job, filling out forms, etc.)

If you (or you in discussion with the student) answered ‘yes’ to the previous questions, you should follow with some additional collection of information.  (1) Interview – very useful to gain information about the learner such as educational/language history, social background, strengths & weaknesses, the learner’s perspective on the problem

 (2) Collect more information – keep a portfolio that can be assessed regularly and also shows progress (or lack thereof) over time. Portfolios include writing samples, class assignments along with attendance data.  Portfolios document persistence of a problem and show if teaching strategies have been effective or not.

 (3) Vision and hearing tests – it might not be a learning disability at all but rather visual or auditory impairment.

For example: Dyslexia  Comprehension texts – does the adult understand the information  Syllables – can the adult break a variety of words into syllables  Phonological memory – can the person repeat strings of words, numbers, letters and sounds of increasing length

Instructors have to weigh diagnosing & labelling an adult as learning disabled with the possibility of stigma of the label