Learning Disabilities

Federal Definition
According to IDEA, Specific learning disability means a disorder in
one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may
manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write,
spell, or do mathematical calculation, including conditions such as
perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disability does
not include a learning problem that arises primarily as the result of
visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of
emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic
disadvantage. (IDEA 20 U.S.C. 1401 [2004], 20 C.F.R. 300.8[c][10])
(Friend, 2014, 137).

Dyslexia Dysgraphia Dyscalculia

May have Difficulty with Difficulties with
significant reading oral language or mathematics.
problems. disorder related to
written language.
(Friend, 2014, 140)

Cognitive Characteristics
Although students with learning disabilities typically have average or above-average
intelligence, they usually display weaknesses in one or more areas of cognition, including
attention, perception, memory, and thinking/processing (Friend, 2014, 143).
Attention- Students may have poor selective attention. This means that they might
have difficulties focusing on the what they should be focusing on. They tend to notice
the little things that many people block out. For example, a plane flying overhead can be
just as loud to them as the teachers voice (Friend, 2014, 143).
Perception- The way in which the students acts based on what they have just heard
and seen. For example, a student with a visual perception problem may see perfectly
well the words on a page. However, when asked to read the words, the student may skip
some o them (Friend, 2014, 144).
 Memory- Students may experience troubles with memory, whether it be short term
memory (ex: remembering a phone number) or long-term memory (ex: remembering
a childhood song) (Friend, 2014, 144).
Thinking/Processing- Students may experience difficulties with thinking about
thinking also known as metacognition (Friend, 2014, 144).

Academic Characteristics
By far the most commonly noted characteristic of students with learning disabilities is their
struggle with school learning. Their difficulties may occur in reading, spoken language,
written language, mathematics, or any combination of these (Friend, 2014, 145).
Reading- Within reading the students may struggle with comprehension, oral fluency or
phonological awareness. Those that struggle with reading comprehension, struggle
with comprehending what they have read. As for students who have trouble with
oral fluency, they struggle with reading fluently and with correct rhythm. Lastly,
student who struggle with phonological awareness have troubles with making
connections between letters and their sounds (Friend, 2014, 145).
Oral Language- Phonology (using correct sounds to form words), pragmatics (ability to
successfully interact with others), semantics (meaning of words or phrases) and
syntax (rules of grammar) are all areas in which students may have troubles in
when it comes to oral language (Friend, 2014, 145).
Written Language- Students may struggle with punctuation, spelling, capitalization and or
motor coordination. Students that struggle with motor coordination may have
illegible handwriting making it nearly impossible to read what they have written. As
far as spelling, punctuation and capitalization, students may struggle with the
spelling of words and unsure of punctuation and or capitalization (Friend, 2014, 146).
Mathematics- As for mathematics, there are several areas in which students may struggle
in. These areas include basic math facts, fundamental computations, estimation
probability, mental math, fractions, decimals, measurements, geometry. Some issues
may be caused by inability to read and understand the problem, they may not be able
to reason the answer they found, not understand correct procedure or determine necessary
information from unnecessary information (Friend, 2014, 148).

Social and Emotional Characteristics

Understanding the social and emotional characteristics of students with learning disabilities
is as important as appreciating their cognitive and academic traits. Further, their
accomplishments in life may depend on this ability to interact effectively with others. Two
areas are particularly relevant: social perception and motivation (Friend, 2014, 148).
Social Perception- Often times students are less accepted by their non- disabled
peers and tend to have a lower self- esteem. They may be less desirable to other
classmates because of their academic struggles and or because of their ability to
comprehend subtleties of interpersonal interactions (Friend, 2014, 148-149).
 Motivation- Students with disabilities often lack the drive or motivation to learn. We
would like for all students to be intrinsically involved meaning that they are curious
about learning but often times they are not due to what is known as locus of control.
This when students say that they are dumb if they do not pass a test or if they do pass the
test than it was good luck (Friend, 2014, 149-150).

Behavioral Characteristics
For some students, difficulties in communicating with others may lead to inappropriate
behaviors. For others, the prospect of not being able to complete an academic task might
cause them to act out in a sort of learner road rage. (Friend, 2014, 150).

Recommended Educational Practices

Direct Instruction- Direct instruction is when teachers give immediate feedback on
the students work. This approach includes clear demonstrations o new information in
small segments, practice that is teacher guided, and immediate feedback to students on
their work (Friend, 2014, 163).

Strategy Instruction- Techniques, principles, and rules that guide students to

complete tasks independently (Friend, 2014, 165). This type of instruction teaches students
how to do something rather than doing it for them. It is just like the Chinese proverb,
You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to
fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime. Essentially, strategy
instruction teaches students how to fish rather than just feeding them.

Additional Resources
Richard D Lavoie. How Difficult Can This Be?: understanding learning disabilities. The FAT
City Workshop. PBS. Video.
This video is a simulation of what children with disabilities face on a day to day basis. Lavoie
makes eye opening points about how a childs disability is not only in the classroom.
www. Ncld.org. (22 February 2017). National Center for Learning Disabilities.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities website provides information such as statistics
about those with learning disabilities compared to those without learning disabilities. These
statistics include how many received a high school diploma, how many are working, etc.
www.understood.org. (22 February 2017). Understood.
This website contains information that may be helpful to parents such as what schools they
may want t look at as well as different ideas for parents when handling certain situations. It
also has a tech finder which helps to find games and apps which are beneficial to students.

Resource
Friend, Marilyn. (2014). Special Education: contemporary perspectives for school
professionals. 4th Edition. Pearson Publishing.