LEARNING DISABILITIES :

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LEARNING DISABILITIES Getting the DL on LD
Presented by Tasha Runkle
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Learning disabilities are specificneurological
disorders.
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10 percent
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WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?

• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Listening
• Organization
• Memory
• Motor skills

LDs affect children in ways similar to a
telephone switchboard that has some problems in
the circuitry of the system, causing difficulties
with incoming and/or outgoing messages. (Reif and
Heimburge, 169)
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SEVEN AREAS OF DEFICIT

• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

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• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

Childs behavior Difficulty cutting, pasting,
coloring Can point to correct spelling but
cannot copy it accurately
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• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

Childs behavior Cannot recognize a
joke/pun Cannot compare how things are alike or
different
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• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

Childs behavior Does not benefit from oral
instruction Cannot tell direction sound is
coming from
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Childs behavior Reversals b for d p for
q Loses place frequently Rereads lines/skips
lines

• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

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Childs behavior Slow to memorize
rhymes/poems Cannot remember spelling for common
words

• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

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• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

Childs behavior Cannot keep columns straight
in math Gets lost even in familiar surroundings
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Childs behavior Letters not on line Letters
collide with each other

• Visual Perceptual
• Visual Motor
• Auditory Perceptual
• Spatial Relationships
• Conceptual
• Memory
• Motor Output

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a few common disorders

• Dyslexia affects how language is processed
• Dyscalculia affects math skills
• Dysgraphia affects written expression
• Dyspraxia affects fine motor skills

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Average to above average intelligence

• More common in boys
• Tends to run in families

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Accommodations

• Tape recorders
• Smaller amounts of work
• Extra space for writing/math
• Flexible work time
• Provide outline or overview of info
• Allow tests to be retaken orally

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DID YOU KNOW?

• 75 of children with LD have social skills
  deficits
• A child can have a LD and be gifted
• Tom Cruise, John Lennon, Walt Disney,
• Whoppi Goldberg and Beethoven all had a
• LD
• SLD (Specific learning disability) is the term
  used in Fed. law for any LD

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GREAT RESOURCE!(for kids!)

• SPARKTOP.ORG
• Where no two brains spark alike

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A REAL VOICEfrom a friend who is dyslexic

• I knew I had a learning disability by the time I
  was in 4th grade.
• It took me 3 hours to do what others could do in
  one.
• I still dont know my times tables.
• Timed tests! Forget it!
• I would cry over homework.
• I can remember getting a test back with a 26.

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Her advice to teachers

• If you notice a student is struggling, do
  something about it!!!

Students who dont understand the work or need
help that they are not getting will not be
successful no matter how much effort they put
forth. (Thompson, 427)
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LUCKY FOR ME, DANCING IS NOT PART OF THE STANDARD
CURRICULUM!
I CANT DANCE!!!
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Creating a Compassionate Classroom
At the beginning of the school year, have
the class come up with a list of accommodation
that are used for people in the real
world. Vegetarians People with food
allergies Hearing Impaired International signs in
airports Women who are pregnant

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Works Cited

• Child Development Institute. (2007). About
  learning disabilities. Retrieved January 26, 2007
  from http//www.cdipage.com
• LD Online.(2007). What is a learning disability?
  Retrieved January 22, 2007 from
  http//www.ldonline.org
• Mercer, Cecil D. Ann. R.(2001). Teaching
  students with learning problems. Upper Saddle
  River, New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• National Center for Learning Disabilities.(2007).
  What you should know about learning disabilities.
  Retrieved January 26, 2007 from
  http//www.ncld.org
• Pierangelo, R. Giulani, G. (2001). What every
  teacher should know about students with special
  needs Promoting success in the classroom.
  Champaign, IL Research Press.
• Raskind, Marshall H., Margalit, Malka, Higgins,
  Eleanor L. (2006). My LD Childrens Voices on
  the Internet. Learning Disabilities Quarterly.
  Fall 2006. pp253-268.
• Reif, Sandra F. Heimburge, Julie A. (1996) How
  to reach and teach all students in the inclusive
  classroom. Paramus, NJ The Center for Applied
  Research in Education.
• Thompson, Julia G. (2002). First-year teachers
  survival kit. San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.

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In Review
10 percent