specific learning disbality for lay person

about learning disability and IEP

1. Overview of Specific Learning
Disabilities (SLD)

4. Common Misconceptions
-Child is lazy
-He/she is pretending
-Change of school/ teacher/ syllabus will help
-This is a passing phase and he/she will outgrow it
-Once diagnosed there is no hope left for the child

5. S.L.D.
•Learningdisabilitymeansadisorderinoneormoreofthe
basicpsychologicalprocessesinvolvedinunderstandingorin
usingalanguage,spokenorwritten,whichmaymanifestin
animperfectabilitytolisten,think,read,write,spellordo
mathematicalcalculations.

7. Facts about SpLD
•5-15% school population
•Invisible Handicap
•? Genetic in origin
•Due to CNS dysfunction
•Chronic life-long conditions

8. Causes of Scholastic Backwardness
•Medical problems
•Below average intelligence
•Specific learning disability (SpLD)
•Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
•Emotional problems
•Poor socio-cultural home environment
•Psychiatric disorders
•Environmental causes

9. Medical Problems
•Preterm birth
•Low birth weight
•Malnutrition
•Worm infestation
•Hearing impairment (e.g. otitismedia)
•Visual impairment (e.g. refractive error)

10. POINTERS FOR IDENTIFICATION
•Delayed development in speech
•Poor clarity in speech, poor Language
development
•Did not crawl, delay in walking
•Clumsy; excessive tripping and bumping
•Difficulty with buttoning, tying shoe-laces and
using crayons
•Difficulty picking up rhymes, names of colors and
shapes
•Difficulty narrating stories in sequence
•Reversing alphabets and numbers (b/d, q/p)
•Confusion with Left and Right
•Poor attention, concentration etc.

13. Adolescent with L .D.
•Often becomes passive learners and have sense of
helplessness
•Poor self concept and low self esteem due to repetitive
failures
•Social and behaviour problems due to poor social skills
•Attention deficits
•Lack of motivation
•Severe deficit in basic reading, spelling and math skills
•Poor performance in subject areas
•Poor interpersonal skills.

15. Dyslexia
•Core Difficulty with -Reading Fluency, Word
Recognition, Spelling & Writing
•Symptoms: Slow reading, poor writing, mixing up
similar words
–Difficulty learning foreign languages & math
–Dyslexic Individuals do NOT “read backwards”
•Teaching Tips:
–One-on-one help
–Structured Practice along with Immediate
Corrective Feedback

21. Reading and spelling errors
Additions or insertions –
E.g: ‘PLAY’ read as ‘PLAYED’
‘END’ read as ‘ENDING’
Remedy: Choral Reading
Omission –
E.g:‘BELT’ read as ‘BET’
‘HARDER’ read as ‘HARD’
Remedy: Scan the complete word.
Substitutions -
E.g: ‘HOUSE’ read as ‘HOME’
‘CRY’ read as ‘SAD
Remedy: Flash Cards (Sight words vocabulary increases)
Help student recognize sight words

22. Reading and spelling errors
Reversal –
E.g:was –saw, dog-god
Remedy:
Teach the concept of right & left by using motor
movements
Confusion-
E.g:p & q , b & d , w & m, u & n,
Sound Blending–
Very slow, laborious rate of reading
Remedy:
Teaching meaningful word patterns, Rhyming games

23. Phonemic remedial reading lessons:
•At sat mat bat fat hat cat
•Ad mad sad lad dad
•Cacap cat
•Ha hat ham had hag
•Sa sad sat samsap
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24. Phoneme Segmentation
•Mat = /m/ + /a/ + /t/
•Big = /b/+ /i/ + /g/
•Chair= /ch/ + /ai/+ /r/
•Spoon =/s/ + /p/ + /oo/ +/n/
•train = /t/ + /r/ + /ai/ +/n/
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25. Phoneme blending
•H…e…n = hen
•F…oo….d =food
•b…i…r…d = bird
•s…w…i…m =swim
•t…o…r…ch=torch
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26. Rhymes
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27. •Pictures which start with same sound……
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28. Identify letter & find picture with corresponding sound
R
/r/ sound
D
/d/ sound
A
/a/ sound
B
/b/ sound
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29. Dyscalculia
•Affects person's ability to learn and understand
Maths
•Characteristics
–difficulty differentiating signs (+, -, =, x,), mixing up
numbers, calculating change, reading clocks, etc.
•Teaching Tips
–Graph paper, explain concepts, practice estimation
–Tutors, one-on-one attention

32. Dysgraphia-Symptoms
•Generally illegible writing (despite appropriate time and attention given the
task)
•Inconsistencies: mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lowercase, or
irregular sizes, shapes, or slant of letters
•Unfinished words or letters, omitted words
•Inconsistent position on page with respect to lines and margins.
•Inconsistent spaces between words and letters
•Cramped or unusual grip, especially:
Holding the writing instrument very close to the paper, or
Holding thumb over two fingers and writing from the wrist
•Teaching Tips
–Early Writers –Exaggerated Movements, Multi-Sensory Techniques
–Proof read after a delay
–Encourage low-stress writing opportunities

33. Remedial methods
•Language Experience Method
–First child dictates and teacher writes the story. Then, the child
writes the story. Encouragement and ideas should be given by
teacher.
•Motivation through grading
–Encourage the child to express ideas. Give grades for punctual
and skill in expression
•Personal and functional writing
–Creative expression of thoughts and experiences (poetry, story
writing)
•Frequent writing
–Encourage the child to write a certain number pages everyday
(personal journal)

34. Readiness activities for writing:
•Muscular coordination-develops through manipulative
experiences like cutting with scissors, finger painting, tracing,
coloring and blackboard activities
•Eye-hand coordination-drawing circles, coins, balloons and
copying geometric patterns
•Visual discrimination-shapes, sizes and details aids the visual
awareness of letters, find hidden letters
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35. Motor development activities
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS:
•Walking activities: forward ,
backward and sideways walk,
steeping stones
•Throwing and catching balls of
various sizes.
•jumping jack, hopping,
skipping
•Balance beam
FINE MOTOR SKILLS:
•Tracing
•Water control
•Scissoring
•Stencils and templates
•Lacing
•Beading
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36. Social skill deficits
•Poor social comprehension
•Inattentive
•Impulsive
•Over-aggressive

37. Why early diagnosis ?
•Early acceptance
•Early intervention
•Reduction in emotional problems
•Effective main-streaming
•Optimum development

38. What Professionals Will Do
•Obtain detailed information regarding the
child-parents, school
•Assess the child on psychological tests
•Provide remedial training and academic
support
•Provide emotional/behaviouralinterventions
•Parental counseling to help reduce stress for
the whole family

39. Ideal Procedure
•Referral Stage
a) Pre-referral screening
b) School committee review
•Assessment Stage
a) Multidisciplinary evaluation
b) Case conference, team meeting
c) Writing of IEP
•Intervention Stage
a) Implementation of IEP
b) Monitoring student progress

40. CHECK LIST
Sr.
No.
Statement Never SometimesFrequently
1. Makes mistakes in reading like
omits/substitute words/adds words or skip
lines
2. Can answer questions orally but has difficulty
in writing answer/oral work is better than
written work.
3. Writes or reads figures or letters in wrong way
eg. 15 for 51, 6 for 9, b for d
4.
Difficulty indifferentiating letter sounds for
vowels and blends e for I, ch for sh.
5. Difficulty in rhyming words and repeating
them

41. Cont….
6 Difficulty taking notes or copying from
black board and books
7 Confusion with maths symbols (+,-,x)
8 Difficulty in spellings.
9 Difficulties with spatial orientation and
direction eg. Confusion between left
and right, east and west, up and down
10 Misplaces upper and lower cases
letters, eg. BeTTer, n for N

42. What is Remedial Education?
•A specific method of instruction/teaching
•Based on specific deficits in performance of child
•Starts after collecting relevant information about the child’s
performance
•Develops on the strengths
•Fills in the gaps in learning
•Enables child to achieve academic skills

43. Important Points about Remedial
Education
•One-to-one basis in a child friendly environment.
•Minimum one hour duration.
•Two to three sessions per week
•R.E. should continue all the year round and not only
during vacations or schooldays. However, the sessions
could be intensified during the vacation.

44. Cont….
•Should be started as early as six to eight years of age.
•R.E. is not equivalent to giving tuitions but done by
special educators or by the teachers specially trained
in remedial education.
•R.E. has to be given in addition to regular school
work.
•R.E. should be continued throughout school life.

45. Management of Poor School
Performance
•Child may be having ≥1 reason
•Refer early for evaluation
•Information from parents, classroom teachers & school counselor
crucial
•Information should clearly describe child’s academic difficulties,
behavior & social functioning

46. Multidisciplinary approach
•Pediatrician
•Ophthalmologist
•Otolaryngologist
•Counselor
•Clinical Psychologist
•Child Psychiatrist
•Special Educator

47. Treatment
•If any specific ‘medical’ reason identified, pediatrician should treat
it as effectively as possible
e.g. optimum control of asthma or epilepsy
•Correction of hearing and/or visual impairment
•Children irrespective of their physical, sensory, or neurobehavioral
deficits, must beeducated in regular mainstream schools
(“inclusive education”)

48. Prevention of Poor School Performance
•Teachers trained to suspect emotional problems, SpLD,
and ADHD so that they are diagnosed and treated early
•School feeding programs (mid-day meal)
•Regular vision and hearing screening camps in schools
•Good sleeping habits
•Alleviation of poverty
•Proper ante-natal and peri-natal services
•Exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months

49. Role of Provisions
•SpLD distorts scores causing them to be too low
•Provisions formulated to help SpLD children continue
in regular mainstream school
•Provisions function as ‘corrective lens’: distorted
array of observed scores back to where they ought to
be
•Provisions serve to "level the play field“: academic
performance now commensurate with intellectual
ability

50. Provisions at SSC board examination
•Extra time of 30 minsfor written tests, spelling mistakes overlooked
•Employing writer for children with dysgraphia
•Exemption of 2
nd
language, substituting with work experience subject
•Exemption of standard X mathematics (algebra and geometry),
substituting with standard VII mathematics and work experience
subject
•Choice is to be made from a range of 39 work experience subjects
[e.g. Typewriting (English), Introduction to Computer, Book Binding,
Hand Embroidery, Drawing & Painting]

51. Experiences with Parents
•Just do not accept diagnosis
•Do not begin remedial education
•Instead private tuitions
•Omit remedial education early
•Refuse provisions as it restricts future career options
(e.g., child who has opted for lower grade of
mathematics cannot later have career in engineering)

52. Experiences with Schools
•Regular Awareness Workshops conducted
•School Principals targeted first
•School Teachers sensitized to suspect SpLD
•Initially, many schools uncooperative
•Implementation of Govt. rules mandatory
•Cannot detain child if provisions not given

53. Recent High Court Judgment
•Two PIL’s filed in 2005 by parents whose children were
denied provisions
•VincyD’Silvavs.St. Mary’s High School (ICSE school at
Mazgaon)
•Robin Machado vs.Atomic Energy Central School (CBSE
school at AnushaktiNagar)
•All schools (SSC, ICSE, CBSE) will now be held in contempt
of court for non-compliance

54. Salient Features of High Court Judgment
•Schools should keep record book for each SpLDstudent
•Stds. I to X: 25% extra time during exams
•Final results on average of written & oral tests
•Writer or typewriter facility
•Exemption from: spelling errors, long descriptive answers
in home work, drawing figures, diagrams, charts, maps,
graphs
•Grace marks of 20, instead of 15
•Use of tape recorder in class during lessons

55. •Not to enforce cursive writing
•For dyscalculia: mathematics a grade or two lower;
pardon number reversals and errors in mathematical
symbols
•Nearest exam center of choice for Board exams
•Expert panel to devise standardized check list for
screening SpLDin students not doing well in school
work
•However, expenses for testing and remediation to be
borne by parents
•Use of computer for typing or calculator not permitted

56. Key message
•L.D.commonly present as school problems
•Early detection :Early intervention
•Clinical features vary with age & with achievement of
developmental skills
•Multi-disciplinary approach
•Remedial Education
•Provisions
•Parent Support and school support