Title: INTRO:
1- INTRO
- Richard Evans
- Husband
- Father
- Educator
2BUT Most Importantly to you a person with
- Learning Disabilities
- Reading
- Writing
- Dyslexia
- ?
3What does LD look like?
- Average IQ range
- Normal appearance
- Invisible disability
-
- Then how can you tell a person has a learning
disability?
4Define the term
- Learning Disability A term used for disorders
that effect a student's ability in the areas of - language
- mathematics
- written expression
5Define the term
- Dyslexia - A learning disability characterized by
difficulties in single word decoding.
6Dyslexia is
- one of several distinct learning disabilities
- a specific language-based disorder of
constitutional origin - characterized by difficulties in single word
decoding - reflecting insufficient phonological processing
abilities
7Dyslexia is
- manifested by difficulty with different forms of
language - Including problems with reading
- Problems with acquiring a proficiency in writing
and spelling
8The early school years
- Played games (K)
- Never really disliked school
- Started with Phonics 1st grade
- See and say 1st 2nd grade
- Reading groups
- One of those students
9The trials and tribulations of 3rd grade
- Lack of progress 3rd grade
- Hearing checked
- Eyes checked
- Chapter 1 program
- Parent conference
- Encore performance in 3rd grade
- Same worksheets no improvement
- The problem had to be me
10Moved to Dallas TX
- Finished 3rd Grade
- Talking with the principal
- Meeting with counselor
- Testing
- Learned to look busy
- Moved again at the end of the year
114th and 5th grades A true bottom up experience
- 4th grade
- Young teacher
- Look busy and dont say anything
- Ms. Little the experienced Teacher
- Daily trips to the office
- Hanging out with the bad kids
- Honing a new learning skill
12Moving back to West Texas
- Junior High School
- The new way of learning worked
- When it didnt, I relied on old skills
- Coaches paddled for any grade below a C
- Getting finished with school became a priority
13High School
- I was convinced I wanted out
- Ag shop and football kept me in
- Why couldnt I learn this stuff
- English
- History
- Algebra
- DECA
14Quituation
- Worked full time 230 Midnight M-Th
- Sleeping in class was a new problem
- Meeting with teacher and principal
- I dropped out -- 1976-77 school year
15A number of dead-end jobs
- Manufacturing Plant building trailers
- Working as a Mechanic
- Driving a truck
- Buying my own trucks
- Driving cross country
- Drugs become a problem
16- 1985 -- admitted
- Learning problem
- Problem with Drugs and Alcohol
- Started to teach myself to read
- 1992
- Enrolled full-time in College
- Commitment to discover how to learn
171985-1991 (7 year Transition)
- Learning to learn
- Family support (sometimes)
- Higher power
- Adult Literacy council (Tom Green County)
- Read elementary book
- Read the dictionary
- Hanging out on Campus (Angelo State Un.)
- Parking lot
- Around campus
18Characteristics/labels (from list)
- Lazy
- Dumb
- Zoned out"
- Daydreamer
- Hyper
- Confused
- Left/right
- Over/under
- Spells
- Phonetically
- Inconsistently
- Difficulty
- Managing time
- Being on time
- Learning sequenced information
- Easily frustrated
19Define Learning Disability
- Learning Disabilities Association of Texas (LDAT)
says - a person with average or above average
intelligence who is unable to learn by
traditional teaching methods (may be LD)
20What does this mean?
- A student with a true learning disability lacks
the ability to excel in the traditional manner in
the area for which the disability is associated.
21Do you know this child?
- Below grade level achievement in one or more
subjects - Slow language development
- Short attention span
- Poor memory
- Hyperactivity
- Poor impulse control
- Aggressiveness, immaturity, disorganization
(LDAT, 2002) - These are possible characteristics
- of a student with LD
22I learned that Being "learning different" means
- That academically I do things a little differently
23Being "learning different" means
- I like to see the whole picture first, I want to
spend time getting to experience the idea
24Being "learning different" means
- I want to discover the parts of the idea or
object for myself
25Being "learning different" means
- I need good concrete models to foster learning
26Being "learning different" means
- I must discover in different ways the knowledge
that others have learned through memorization
27Being "learning different" means
- I do most things with average or above average
success however there are a few things that I
will have great difficulty
28Being "learning different" means
- The ability
- to see multi-dimensionally, all at once, or from
any one place at a time - to think in pictures and to register those
pictures as real - I dont see maps, I see models
29- I have a real talent for thinking
3-dimensionally, in pictures like computer
graphics - I am always rapidly creating in my mind, so that
I rarely hear what others really say - But this talent interferes with symbols, print,
spoken language, balance, movement, and the sense
of time
30Being "learning different"
- Affects my sequential thinking and my ability to
stay on task - Affects my language rate, so that my speech
either speeds up or slows down
31My present difficulties
- Difficulty decoding words, identifying words in
isolation, sometimes in content - Omission of word endings or small words when
reading or writing - Difficulty in coding words or spelling
- Occasional reversals or inversion of letters or
numbers b/d, p/g, 25/52 - Persistent difficulty with oral reading
32My difficulties (cont-)
- Occasional problems with reading comprehension
especially at higher levels - Difficulty with handwriting
- Difficulty expressing thoughts in written form
- Difficulty with rote automatic recall of facts
33My difficulties (cont--)
- Imprecise or incomplete interpretation of
language that is heard - Struggles with word retrieval
- Difficulty expressing thoughts orally especially
when language is requested on demand - May require longer periods of time for mental
processing
34- Can Persons with LD
- Learn ?
- Compete academically ?
- Have a normal life ?
35- Research assistant
- Special education k-12
- Elementary 1-6th
- Math 1-8th
- Science 1-8th
- Administrator certification k-12
- Instructor Blinn College
- 3rd Year PhD student
36Things that work for me
- Record lectures (tape/MD)
- Colored overlays and highlighters
- Object to fiddle with
- Organizers
- Calendars (big and small)
- Palm Handheld
- Technology
- Spell check
- Grammar check
- Thesaurus
- Text reading software
- Text typing software
37Can Persons with LD be successful
- or
- Am I just the exception to the rule?
38- That is for us to decide
- teachers
- Parents
- Persons with LD
- But I believe
- all means all
- I am not an exception to the rule but rather, I
am the rule--All Students Can Learn
39QUESTIONS?
- PowerPoint slides
- can be found at
- http//www.raevans.com
- THE END