Learning Disabilities Fact Sheet: What Does It Look Like?

Federal definition of Learning Disability: A specific learning disability is a disorder in

at least one of the basic psychological processes essential for understanding and
using spoken and written language. This includes listening, thinking, speaking,
reading, writing, spelling, or doing mathematical calculations.
An alternate definition by NJCLD: a varied group of disorders characterized by
significant difficulties in learning and using listening, speaking, writing, reading,
reasoning, or mathematical abilities; intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due
to dysfunction of the central nervous system, can be life-long; these difficulties do
not result from another handicap.

Characteristics of children with learning disabilities: No two are exactly alike.

Academic

Have relatively normal intelligence

Reading disabilities: difficulties with fluency, comprehension
Academic problems have a correlation with poverty (a student with learning
disabilities who lives in poverty is more likely to also have academic
struggles, possibly due to lack of resources)
Writing may be illegible, written stories may be very simple or may be
missing key elements
Spelling difficulties can stem from issues with phonemes
Dyscalculia: difficulties with mathematical computations or word problems,
may be caused by a dysfunction in the brains retrieval in long-term or shortterm memory
Difficulty with memory
o Trouble remembering assignments and due dates
o Trouble remembering math facts or problem solving strategies
o Further aggravated by test anxiety
Tend to not use strategies when solving problems (spurs dyscalculia with
word problems, where application of strategies is essential)
Poor metacognitive skills, inability to self-regulate while learning
Difficulty motivating themselves, believe that life is driven by external rather
than internal factors, have little faith in their ability, little determination

Social

Social problems also have a correlation with poverty

Boys are three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with LD
Increased risk for depression, social rejection, suicidal thoughts, loneliness
o Life-long struggle
Difficulty with social cognition: reading social cues and interpreting the
thoughts and feelings of others

Learning Disabilities Fact Sheet: What Does It Look Like?

Nonverbal learning disabilities: problems with social interaction are linked to

difficulties with math, visual-spatial activities, tactual activities, selfregulation, organization, and trouble reading the emotions of others, similar
to a students with autism spectrum disorder
o Trouble seeing from anothers perspective

Behavioral

Boys are three times more likely than girls to be suspected of having LD by
teachers due to bad behavior such as hyperactivity
Distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsivity
o Unable to focus on one task for extended time
o Do not listen to others
o Talk excessively and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind
o Inability to make plans
o Many (about half) of students with ADHD also have LD

Functional

Usually a life-long struggle, but can learn coping mechanisms

May have trouble carrying conversations
Perceptual disturbances (visual and auditory)
o Auditory: struggle to differentiate between similar-sounding words
o Visual: struggle to differentiate between similar-looking shapes (like
dyslexia)
Trouble with motor skills (fine or gross), more often activities that require use
of visual and motor skills
Learned helplessness: very little self-efficacy, vicious cycle
Have problems holding a job
Some cannot live independently

Potential Strengths

Fearlessness
Physically gifted (Muhammad Ali)
Highly creative thinkers who learn with their hands (Thomas Edison)
Able to understand and lead people (Winston Churchill)
Actors and comedians (Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Orlando Bloom)
Able to empathize with others that have LD, teach them coping mechanisms
Think differentlygive a new perspective
Determination
Accepting

Learning Disabilities Fact Sheet: What Does It Look Like?

Evidence-based instructional strategies

Self-instruction: uses procedure to make students aware of stages of

problem-solving
Self-monitoring: keeping track of their own academic behavior by writing it
down and evaluating it, a type of progress report
Scaffolded instruction: teacher helps student as they are learning a concept,
then gradually reduces the amount of help given until the student is doing
what they learned by themselves
Reciprocal teaching: similar to scaffolding, allows students to be coinstructors and teach each other
Approaches for reading
o Phonics instruction for phonemic awareness
o Practice reading aloud to increase fluency, repeated readings
o Increase vocabulary by reading different types of materials
Approaches for writing
o POW+WWW, What=2, How=2
Approaches for math
o Explicit instruction rather than discovery methods
o Monitor progress during class and after
o Immediately address errors and explain mistakes
o Review concepts
Approaches for Science and Social Studies
o Rely on textbooks and reading skills, memory, vocabulary, prior
knowledge
o Activities can be problematic
o Review and monitoring progress are essential
o Graphic organizers show hierarchy, cause and effect, comparisons,
cycles, linear sequences
o Mnemonics use pictures or words to aid retention
Direct Instruction
o Scripted plans have been tested, highly structured
o Mastery learningdo not move on until you have mastered the
concept
o Frequent Q&A, back and forth between teacher and students
o Grouped by ability
o Frequently monitor progress through assessment
o Most successful for students with LD because it does not involve
puzzles/ figuring it out

Common classroom accommodations

Very prevalent: half of children identified as needing special accommodations

have learning disabilities

Learning Disabilities Fact Sheet: What Does It Look Like?

Testing accommodations: more time or a smaller, private room

Effective methods for communicating with parents

Parents must be part of the IEP if there is one

Educator resources (websites, professional orgs, journals, books)

http://www.nifdi.org/ : all about direct instruction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcbh9o3OgNc : The National Center for
Learning Disabilities
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home : Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
http://www.ldonline.org/about/partners/njcld : National Joint Committee on
Learning Disabilities