1. Specific Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities was first coined by Samuel Kirk in 1963 to address a group of parents whose children were experiencing difficulties learning to read, write, spell, or solve math problems.
1975 LD was included as a special education category in

2. Video “Learning About Learning Disabilities” Phillip Schultz
The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of "My Dyslexia," Philip Schultz, talks about growing up as a child with learning disabilities and his struggle with reading. He also describes why he felt compelled to write about his dyslexia. Find out more information about dyslexia on our site:
Learning about Learning Disabilities Video
Is LD one disorder or a group of disorders? Explain
True or false: Learning Disabilities are “curable”.
Philip Schultz video
How did he feel as he was going through school?
What was the relationship between Mr. Shultz’ behavioral challenges and his academic challenges

3. What is Specific Learning Disability?
Specific Learning Disability (SLD): A disorder in which one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language. The disorder may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do math.
Most states require three criteria be met to receive services, however changes were made in reauthorization of IDEA
Discrepancy between the student’s intellectual ability and academic achievement
An “unexpected” difference between general ability and achievement
Exclusion criteria: the student’s difficulties are not a result of another known condition that can cause learning problems
A need for special education services
The student shows specific and severe learning problems despite standard educational efforts
Neurologically based disorder in learning with various degrees of severity
Basic psychological processes: (1) input (auditory and visual perception), (2) integration (sequencing, abstraction, and organization), (3) memory (working, short term, and long term memory), (4) output (expressive language), and (5) motor (fine and gross motor).
Most states require three criteria be met to receive services:
Discrepancy between intelligence and achievement
An “unexpected” difference between general ability and achievement
Exclusion of students with ID/MR, EBD, sensory or motor impairments, or those who have not had an opportunity to learn
Exclusion criterion
The student’s difficulties are not the result of another known condition that can cause learning problems
A need for special education services
The student shows specific and severe learning problems despite standard educational efforts

4. The NJCLD and the Definition of SLD
The NJCLD believes the federal definition of SLD contains several weaknesses:
Exclusion of adults
Learning disabilities can occur across the life span
Reference to “basic psychological processes”
This is a curricular issue concerning how to teach and not a definitional one
Inclusion of spelling as a learning disability
Spelling can be subsumed under “written expression”
Inclusion of obsolete terms
Includes terms that are difficult to define
Wording of the exclusion clause
Suggests that learning disabilities cannot occur with other disabilities
National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities
Obsolete terms included minimal brain dysfunction, perceptual impairments, developmental aphasia
Wording – a person may have a learning disability along with another disability but not because of another disability – LD is considered a primary disability
5-4
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. The NJCLD Definition of SLD
A general term that refers to a group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities
These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction and may appear across the life span
Problems with self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may coexist but do not themselves constitute a learning disability
Although learning disabilities may occur with other handicapping conditions or with extrinsic influences, they are not the result of those influences
In response to the problems with the federal definition The NJCLD developed a definition of LD
In 2011 NJCLD reaffirmed its position that SLD represents a valid unique and heterogeneous group of disorders that are neurobiologically based involving cognitive process and affect learning
5-5
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Response to Intervention
Response to Intervention (RTI)
Shifts the identification of learning disabilities from a “wait-to-fail” to a model of early identification and prevention
The 3 tiers of RTI
Primary Intervention to all students in the General Education Classroom, includes progress monitoring
Secondary Intervention for students struggling in the general education classroom receive small group tutoring
Tertiary Intervention individualized instruction
A local education agency may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures. Virginia has a system called Virginia Tiered System of Supports VTSS)
Recognizing the inherent problems with the discrepancy approach to determining eligibility with the large number of students being identified under the SLD category. Congress in the reauthorization of IDEA in 2004 significantly changed the way states could determine a child’s eligibility for special education under specific learning disability
This approach is called RTI
In the wording it states that states shall not be required to take into consideration whether a student has has a severe discrepancy – the LEA may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research based intervention as a part of the evaluation process
A local education agency may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation procedures
RTI can determine whether the child's struggles to learn are the result of poor or insufficient instruction or of a disability for which special education is needed.
When done well, RTI has two functions; screening/identification and prevention.
A child’s positive response to scientifically validated instruction eliminates instructional quality as a viable explanation for poor academic growth and suggests evidence of a disability.
Preventative aspect of the approach through CBM

7. Identifying SLD by Assessing Responsiveness to Instruction (RTI)
Basic premise of RTI:
Measuring low-achieving student’s response to increasingly intensive, scientifically validated instruction can determine whether the child’s struggles to learn are the result of poor or insufficient instruction or of a disability for which special education is needed
Two functions of RTI
Screening/identification
Prevention
Trustworthiness of RTI depends on
The consistent, rigorous implementation of research-based interventions
Accurate, reliable, easy to use measures for monitoring student progress
5-7
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Response to Intervention

9. Benefits and Goals of RTI
Earlier identification of students using a problem- solving approach instead of a “wait-to-fail” approach
Reduction in the number of students referred for special education
Reduction in the over-identification of minority students
Provision of more instructionally useful data than those provided by traditional methods of assessment and identification
Increased likelihood that students are exposed to high-quality instruction in the general education classroom by stipulating that schools use evidence- based instructional practices and routinely monitor the progress of all students
Service to all students with achievement problems, so that only those students who fail to respond to multiple levels of intervention efforts receive the label learning disabled
5-9
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Characteristics of SLD
The Defining Characteristic
Specific and significant achievement deficits in the presence of adequate overall intelligence
The performance gap becomes especially noticeable and handicapping in the middle and secondary grades
The difficulties experienced by children with learning disabilities, especially for those who cannot read at grade level, are substantial and pervasive and usually last across the life span
5-10
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Reading Problems:
Dyslexia: neurobiological in its origin. It is characterized by difficulties with word recognition, poor spelling, and decoding abilities. These difficulties usually are the result of a deficit in the phonological component of language.
Phonological Awareness: the understanding and knowledge that language is made up of sounds
Phonemic awareness: the knowledge the words have separate sounds
80% of students identified as LD are referred to special education because of reading problems
Phonology is the study of sounds
How many letters does the English language have? 26
How many sounds does the English language have? 48 – we get 48 different sounds from the 26 letters, therefore some of the letters have more than 1 sound.
For example: we have the letter “t” in table which gives us the /t/ sound. We have the letter “h” in hat which gives us the /h/ sound but when we combine these letters we get different sounds.
How many sounds do we get when we combine “t” and “h”? 2
Sound out the word THREE – repeat it a few times
Sound out the word THERE – repeat it a few times. How does the sound differ
Phonemic awareness allows an individual the ability to manipulate individual sound units.

12. Watch Piper Otterbein video
Piper video
Published on Jan 12, 2013
Piper Otterbein is a senior at Cape Elizabeth High School. Piper was born in New York, but she has lived in Cape Elizabeth for the past eleven years. When Piper was in first grade, she was diagnosed with a learning disability. While Piper struggled throughout elementary school, it was not until 7th grade that this disability was identified as dyslexia. Piper and her family spent a great deal of time and resources trying to fix her dyslexia; during her middle school years, Piper spent countless hours after school in tutoring programs. Although she was determined to be successful in school, work took a long time to complete, and she frequently found herself frustrated and exhausted. When Piper entered high school, she had a revelation; rather than focusing all of her energy on the challenges in her life, she decided to alter her outlook and focus instead on her strengths. While she remained a conscientious student, Piper threw herself into what she loved most: the arts, event organizing, and community involvement. Today, Piper has a strong presence in the CEHS community. She juggles painting, ceramics, and drawing with her involvement in student council, SEED, the planning of the TEDx youth conference at CEHS, and her part-time jobs working in a furniture store and babysitting. All of Piper's talent and hard work has paid off; next fall, she will be attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she will study interior design and accessory design. What are ways that Piper had to approach everyday reading and writing tasks differently than her peers?

13. Written Language Deficits:
Problems with and written expressions tasks: vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, spelling
They produce poorly organized writing compositions
Explicit instruction, involving motivation and feedback, is an effective method for helping students to improve their skills
Many students with learning disabilities have problems writing and spelling.

14. Math Underachievement:
Problems with numerical reasoning, calculations, retrieving number facts, and solving story problems
50% of students with learning disabilities have IEP goals in math
Social Skills Deficits:
75% of students with learning disabilities exhibit deficits in social skills
Deficits in social skills lead to rejection, low social status, fewer positive interactions, difficulty making friends, loneliness
Students with LD perform lower than typically achieving children on every type of arithmetic problem at every grade level
More than 50% of students with learning disabilities have IEP goals in math
The also benefit from explicit, systematic instruction

15. Attention Problems and Hyperactivity:
There is a high degree of comorbidity (two conditions occurring in the same individual) between ADHD and learning disabilities
Behavioral Problems:
Higher than usual incidence of behavior problems among students with disabilities
It is important to plan educational programs for students with learning disabilities that have skill in deal with social and behavioral deficits.
Also have low rates of self-esteem/self-efficacy than peers without learning disabilities – don’t use positive self statements
It is very important as the adult (influence) in a young persons life to recognize and value useful skills and interest possessed by each child and help the child to maintain an positive outlook.

16. Prevalence Prevalence
Learning disabilities make up the largest of all special education categories
42.3% of all school-age students with disabilities received special education services under the specific learning disabilities category
This is about 4% of the school-age population
There is a ratio of 3:1 (males to female) receiving special education services

17. Causes
Causes
In most cases the causes of a child’s learning disability is unknown
Different learning disabilities are likely to have different causes
4 suspected causes
1. Brain damage
2. Heredity
3. Biochemical imbalances
4. Environmental factors
Brain damage or dysfunction
In most cases there is no evidence of brain damage
Neuroimaging research has been reasonably consistent in revealing functional and/or structural differences in the left temporal lobe of the brain of individuals with dyslexia
Educators should refrain from placing too much emphasis on theories linking learning disabilities to brain damage or brain dysfunction
Heredity
Siblings and children of people with reading disability have a slightly greater than normal likelihood of having reading problems
There is growing evidence that genetics may account for at least some family links with dyslexia
Biochemical imbalance
Most professionals give little credence to biochemical imbalance as a significant cause of or treatment for learning disabilities
Environmental Factors
Impoverished living conditions early in a child’s life and limited exposure to highly effective instruction probably contribute to achievement deficits
The tendency for learning disabilities to run in families suggests a correlation between environmental influences on children’s early development and subsequent achievement in school
Many students’ learning problems can be remediated by direct, intensive, and systematic instruction

18. Identification and Assessment
Standardized Intelligence and Achievement Tests
Used to measure the discrepancy between achievement and general intellectual ability
Response to Intervention
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Used to measure the growth of student’s proficiency in the core skills that contribute to success in school
Direct Daily Measurement
Used for observing and recording a child’s performance on a specific skill each time it is taught
Criterion-Referenced Tests
Used to compared a child’s score with a predetermined criterion
Intelligence tests are norm reference tests constructed so that one student’s score can be compared with the scores of other students of the same age who have taken the test
All measures administered must be valid and reliable
Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) is a formative evaluation – provides information on a student learning as instruction takes place
- multiple, ongoing measures of child performance over time and instructional decisions are based on visual inspection if graphs of the data – students whose teachers use CBM data achieve better academically than do students whose teachers do not use CBM
Criterion referenced tests identify the specific skills the child has already learned and the skills that require instruction.
5-18
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Educational Approaches
Content enhancements are used to enhance the organization and delivery of curriculum content
Graphic Organizers and Visual Displays
Note-Taking Strategies
- Guided Notes
Mnemonics
A learning strategy is an individual’s approach to learning tasks
Students use task-specific strategies to guide themselves successfully through a learning task or problem
Mnemonics combine special presentation of information with explicit strategies for recall = helps students remember large amounts of unfamiliar information or make connections between two or more facts or concepts
Letter strategies (PEMDOS) – parenthesis, exponents, multiply, divide, add, subtract for the order of operations
Keyword – link unfamiliar words with familiar information (strada (Italian) = straw – strada means road so a picture of straw on a road)
Pegword – employs rhyming words for numbers (insect has six legs – so a picture of an insect on a stick) stick = 6
Proficient learners approach tasks and problems systematically – a learning strategy helps individuals with disabilities acquire and use effective learning strategies. Often a mnemonic is used to help the individual remember the strategy - POW+TREE
5-19
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. Educational Placement Alternatives
General education classroom
During the 2008–2009 school year, 62% of students with LD were educated in general education classrooms.
Research on the academic achievement of students with LD in inclusive classrooms is mixed.
Consultant teacher
Provides support to general educators who work directly with students with learning disabilities
Works with several teachers and thus indirectly serve many children
Most consultant teachers have little direct contact with students
5-20
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. Educational Placement Alternatives
Resource room
A resource room is a specially staffed and equipped classroom where students with LD come for one or several periods during the school day to receive individualized instruction
The resource room teacher works closely with general educators to suggest and plan each student’s program
During the school year, 28% of students with learning disabilities were served in resource rooms
Separate classroom
A special education teacher is responsible for all education programming for 8–12 students with learning disabilities
During the school year, 8% of students with learning disabilities were served in separate classrooms
5-21
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Watch the video on the Cole twins
Think about their school experience; was it similar or different to the experiences discussed in previous videos?
5-22
Heward
Exceptional Children, 10e
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.