Learning Disabilities Lec 1

 Learning Disability
A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, spell, or to do
mathematical calculations”.
What is a learning disability? Input
Having trouble:
integration
 Processing information
 Organizing information memory
processing
 Applying information
What is the process of processing?
output

Causes or Presumed causes of Learning Disabilities

 NO real causes
 Might be caused by:
 Hereditary
 Teratogenic
 Medical
 Environmental
Incident Rates
 Estimated 15 % of the U.S. population
 6 % to 8 % of school age population
Characteristics of Learning Disabilities
How will I know if my student has a LD?
 Most students exhibit uneven areas of ability
 Student is physically “normal”
 Average or above average intelligence
 Many LDs need to be medically diagnosed
INSTRUCTIONAL IDEAS: ASSISTANCE WITH AUDIO AND VISUAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING
Teachers may find the following helpful:
  Repeat and summarize oral lecture notes and give students written versions of key points.
 Verbalize what is being written on the chalkboard and read aloud material contained in handouts.
 Send students a copy of booklist for upcoming semester/school year so that students can “get a
jump on” the reading assignments.
ASSISTANCE DURING ASSESSMENTS:
The teacher may wish to:
 Choose an alternate exam site away from the general education classroom. Ensure that this
alternate locale is free from auditory and visual distracters.
 Avoid confusing or complicated language and/or consider a substitute exam/assessment.
 Allow student extra time to complete exams/assignments, especially if there are unique demands
regarding reading and writing skills.
TECHNOLOGY USED
COMPUTERS:
 For writing assignments, students with LD should be allowed to use a computer (if available) so
that they can get spelling support through the spell check program.
 Students with dyslexia may find that writing assignments are more easily completed on a
computer.
 Consider trying computer software, like Kurzweil 3000, which reads textbooks and other
materials to students.
OTHER ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Teachers may:
 Allow students to use calculators during Math, when the goal is concept attainment (and not
automaticity of math facts)
 Allow students to tape record lectures and/or tape notes for students.
 Allow students who cannot speak clearly to use a speech synthesizer
Assessment:
 Allow for alternate forms of assessment by allowing students to demonstrate learning through
such things as portfolios, slide presentations, photographic essays, or taped interviews.
INTERESTING TIDBITS
 Because many people with dyslexia are right-brained thinkers, they may be more artistic and
creative, becoming poets, actors, inventors, and artists.
 Children with dyslexia use “almost five times as much brain area as other children while doing a
simple language task” (Silverstein et al., 2001, p. 22).
EMOTIONAL ISSUES
 Students with learning disabilities may suffer from
emotional problems/depression, and/or low
self-esteem. This may cause students to withdraw
from social interaction.
 These same students may turn to drugs or alcohol for relief
from feelings of low self-worth.
 As many as 35% of students with learning disorders,
drop out of High School (Girod, 2001, p. 31).
 “Teenagers with dyslexia …[are] more likely to…think about
and to attempt suicide than other young people their age” (Landau, 2004, pp. 48-9).
 Disability models Lec-2
The Status of People with disabilities
• A person with a physical, mental, intellectual, emotional or sensory impairment and who, due to a lack
of receptiveness and adaptability in existing social structures and otherwise, encounters obstacles to
participation on equal or equally effective terms will all others in all aspects of the community; or
• A person with a record of such impairment or
• A person who is so regarded by third parties
Education Act 1999
• The total or partial absence of a person’s bodily or mental functions, including the absence of a part of a
person’s body;
• The presence in the body of organisms causing, or likely to cause, chronic disease or illness;
• The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person’s body;
• a condition or malfunction which results in a person learning differently from a person without the
condition or malfunction
• a condition, illness or disease which affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions
or judgement or which results in disturbed behaviour
National disability Authority Act 99
• “disability”, in relation to a person, means a substantial restriction in the capacity of a person to
participate in economic, social or cultural life on account of an enduring physical, sensory, learning,
mental health or emotional impairment
Nagi Model in 1965
 Active Pathology: Interruption or interference of normal processes and efforts of the organism to regain
normal state.
 Impairment: Anatomical, physiological, mental, or emotional abnormalities or loss.
 Functional limitation: Limitation in performance at the level of the whole organism or person
 Disability: Limitation in performance of socially defined roles and tasks within a socio-cultural &
physical environment
World Health Organization Definitions (1980)
• Impairment A loss or abnormality of psychological or anatomical structure or function
• disability any restriction or lack (resulting from impairment) of the ability to perform an activity in the
manner or within the range considered normal for a human being;
• Handicap: a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or a disability that limits
or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal for that individual (in relation to age, sex, social and
cultural factors)
ICIDH
International Classification of Impairments, disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) published by WHO in
1980
 Disease: Intrinsic pathology or disorder
 Impairment: Loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function
at organ level
 Disability: Restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a normal manner
 Handicap: Disadvantage resulting from impairment or disability that limits or prevents fulfillments of
a normal role ( Depending age, sex, socio-cultural factors for the person)
Sequence of Concepts ICIDH 1980
Disease or disorder impairments disabilities Handicaps
Americans with Disability Act (ADA) in 1990
 A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such
individual; b) a record of such an impairment or c) being regarded as having such an impairment”.
 Major life activities:????
 ADA covers an estimated 900 disabilities.
International classification of Functioning, disability (ICF) and Health by WHO in 2001.
 Body Functions and Structures: Changes in body functions (physiological) or structures (anatomical).
Change may be positive or negative(impairment)
 Activities: Functioning at an individual level
 Participation: Functioning at a societal level
 Activities and participation can be viewed in terms of capacity and performance
 Disability occurs when activities are limited or participation in societal roles is restricted.
 Example: child with spastic diplegia
Statistics of disability
 Globally: 10% of the total population or 650 million people are disabled (source: disabled world)
 80% of disabled people lives in developing countries
 USA: 43,000,000 are disabled (US census bureau 2007)
 Pakistan: 2.5% people are disabled (1998 census)
Classification of disability
 Physical Disabilities:
 “A person with a disability that has any of the long-term long-lasting conditions that substantially limit
one or more physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying. (Erickson
& lee 2008).
 Statistics:
 USA: 19 million
 Pakistan: 19%
Intellectual disability
• A disability characterized by significant limitation s both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive
behaviors. Which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the
age of 18. (AAIDD)
• Intellectual functioning: reasoning, problem solving
• Adaptive behaviors: social skills, interpersonal skills, social responsibility
 More than 750 causes
Blindness/Visual Impairment
 Def. “Blindness is the total inability to see. While visual impairment is a severe reduction in vision that
cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses, and reduces a person’s ability to function at
certain or all tasks.”
 Statistics:
 USA: 6.5 million
Pakistan: 8% of total disabled
Deaf/Hearing impairment
Def. “deafness is a condition wherein the ability to detect certain frequencies of sound is completely or partially
impaired”.
  Statistics:
 USA: 10.2 million
 Pakistan: 7%
Learning Disability
• Def. “A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in
using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, spell, or to do mathematical calculations”.
 Statistics:
 USA: 13 million between 5-17 years of age
 Pakistan: they fall in either mental retardation or others category ( 43%)
 Four aspects should be included in a fair definition of LD and taken into account when assessing
children suspected of LD
 Functional facets
 Cognitive facets
 Emotional and motivational facet
 Contextual facet

Health Condition
 Psychosocial aspect of learning disabilities LEC-3
Learning disabilities
 Learning disabilities are disorders that affect one's ability to understand or use spoken or written
language, do mathematical calculations, coordinate movements or direct attention.
 Although learning disabilities occur in individuals of all ages, disorders are usually not recognized until
a child reaches school age.
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY BY ERICK ERICKSON
 Erik Erikson ‘s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in
psychology.
 Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages.
 Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social
experience across the whole lifespan.
 One of the main elements of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity.
 Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction.
 According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experience and information
we acquire in our daily interactions with others.
 In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also motivates behaviors
and actions.
 Each stage in Erikson’s theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life.
 If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which he sometimes referred to as
ego strength or ego quality
 If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.
ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES SUMMARY CHART
• Stage-1-infancy birth to 18 months) Trust vs. mistrust
 Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care,
 and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.
• Stage-2 Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Toilet Training Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
 Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and sense
 of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of
 shame and doubt.
• Stage-3 Preschool (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt Exploration
 Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in
 this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power
 experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.
• Stage-4-Industry vs. Inferiority School Age (6 to 11 years)
 Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a
 sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
• Stage-5 Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs. Role Confusion Social Relationships
 Teens needs to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an
 ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense
 of self.
• Stage-6 young Adulthood (19 to 40 years intimacy vs. isolation relationships
 Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success
 leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation
• Stage-7 Generativist vs. Stagnation Work and Parenthood Middle Adulthood (40 to 65
years)
 Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or
 creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of
 usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world.
• Stage-8 Maturity (65 to death) Ego Integrity vs. Despair-Reflection on Life
 Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage
leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.
PSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL

Psychosocial aspect of LD
 The literature suggests that to be socially accepted, students should be cooperative, share, offer pleasant
greetings, have positive interactions with peers, ask for and give information, and make conversation
(Gresham, 1982).
 Behavioral, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) is an umbrella term to describe a range of complex
and chronic difficulties experienced by many children with learning Disability.
 Some children with LD have a real strength in the area of social skills. However, several characteristics
of learning disabilities, such as those noted concerning language, can create difficulties in social and
emotional life (Smith et al., 2004).
 In the early years they are often rejected by their peers and have poor self-concepts (Sridhar & Vaughn,
2001).
Emotional issues with learning disabilities…a child
 may experience increased levels of anxiety. they tended to feel more often that events beyond their
control were happening to them. Increased levels of anxiety are also reflected in more frequent somatic
complaints like headaches or stomach aches by students with learning disabilities (Margalit & Raviv,
1984).
 may be at greater risk for depression. Fristad et al. suggested that the "additional difficulties
experienced by [depressed] children [with learning disabilities] in the classroom may be due to the stress
and frustration caused by their learning disabilities"
 experience higher levels of loneliness.
 may have a lower self-concept (self-esteem) related to their school functioning, but not necessarily to
their global self-concept.
 Low motivation level.
 are at greater risk for substance abuse.
Social Aspect of Learning Disabilities
 learning problem can also impair a child’s social skills and prevent him from having successful
relationships with family members, peers, and other adults. The extent and impact on social skills varies
with the child, depending on his basic temperament and the nature of his learning problem.
What is social competence?
 Social competence refers to a person’s interpersonal skills with family, friends, acquaintances, and
authority figures, such as teachers and coaches
 If a child has a learning problem, such as a language processing disorder, he may have difficulty
understanding what another person says or means. He might also have trouble expressing his ideas in
speech. Either of these problems can interfere with interpersonal communication.
The three elements of social interaction
 Social Intake – noticing and understanding other people’s speech, vocal inflection, body language, eye
 contact, and even cultural behaviors.
 Internal Process – interpreting what others communicate to you as well as recognizing and managing
your own emotions and reactions.
 Social Output – how a person communicates with and reacts to others, through speech, gestures, and
body language.
Social intake: Reading social cues
 Social interactions require a child to interpret, or “read,” what other people communicate. Picking up on
spoken and unspoken cues is a complex process.
 A child with learning problems may misread the meaning or moods of others.
 inability to read facial expressions or body language (kinesis)
 Misinterpreting the use and meaning of pitch (vocalics)
 Misunderstanding the use of personal space (proxemics)
Internal process: Making sense of it all
 “Emotional intelligence” is a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor feelings and
emotions in self and others; discriminate among feelings; and use this information to guide thinking and
action.”
 If child misses or misinterprets another person’s words, meaning, or mood, he’ll end up
processing incorrect or incomplete information. This can lead him to inaccurate conclusions and
inappropriate reactions. And if child is impulsive, he may react before processing all the social cues and
deciding on an appropriate response.
Social output: Responding to others
 After a child interprets and internalizes social cues from other people, he then responds.
 Inappropriate responses can take many forms. If the child didn’t understand a question or comment, his
response may seem silly (such as nervous giggling) or unintelligent (an irrelevant answer).
 Another child may overreact with angry words or actions.
 Finally, if a child has really tuned out, he might not react at all, even when a response is required or
expected from him.
 Understandably, such responses can cause problems and confusion with family members, friends,
classmates, and teachers.
Social skills deficits include the following:
 Acceptance by peers
 Difficulty making friends
 Being seen by peers as overly dependent
 Being less likely to become leaders
 Resolving conflict
 Managing frustrations
 Initiating or joining a conversation or play activities
 Listening
 Demonstrating empathy
 Maintaining a friendship
 Working in groups