LEARNING DISORDERS

Hifza Mahmood
Andrew Ringel

LITERARY EXAMPLES

I was, on the whole, considerably discouraged by

my school days. It was not pleasant to feel oneself
so completely outclassed and left behind at the
beginning of the race - Winston Churchill
The looks, the stares, the giggles . . . I wanted to
show everybody that I could do better and also that I
could read. - Magic Johnson

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNIG

DISORDERS

FUNCTION
Learning is acquiring
new, or modifying
and reinforcing,
existing knowledge,
behaviors, skills,
values, or
preferences and may
involve synthesizing
different types of
information.

NEUROLOGY

Learning disabilities may be due to underlying

abnormalities in the left hemisphere of the
cerebrum.
These abnormalities can only occur in the fifth to
seventh month of fetal development.
Suspected deficits, which are likely genetic,
involving specific discrimination tasks may be
caused by deficits in the structure planum
temporale, a reading associated region in both sides
of the brain.

NEUROLOGY

In a normal brain the left side is usually larger,

however in an abnormal brain the two sides are
equal.
In the brains of dyslexic children there is less
activation in a number of sites in the left hemisphere
that are related to understanding phonemes,
analyzing words, and automatic detecting words.
A specific defect in perception of visual motion may
interfere with many different brain functions and has
been noted among children with autism as well as
learning disorders.

NEUROLOGY

Non-verbal learning disabilities are deficits related to

right hemisphere brain function and are characteristic
of children who perform considerably worse at math
than reading
May include neurophsychological problems such as
poor coordination, poor judgment and difficulties
adapting to novel and complex situations
Learning disorders run in families, 35% - 45%
among families with learning disorders as apposed to
5% - 10% base rate in the population
May be linked to problems during pregnancy or
accidents after birth

THE DISORDER
A.Reading achievement/ mathematical ability/ writing
skill, as measured by individually administered
standardized tests, is substantially below that
expected given the person's chronological age,
measured intelligence and age-appropriate
education.
B.The disturbance in criterion A significantly
interferes with academic achievement or activities of
daily living that require reading skills/ mathematical
ability/ composition of written texts.

SUBTYPES

Reading Disorders
(Dyslexia)
Mathematics Disorders
(Dyscalculia)
Disorders of Written
expression (dysgraphia)
(Non Verbal/Motor dyspraxia)

HARD SIGNS

HARD SIGHNS

SOFT SIGNS
All learning disorder sub types are characterized
by IQ-achievement discrepancies. The child
shows a significant difference between general
ability and the specific ability as measured by
standardized tests.

SOFT SIGNS
Reading

Inability to distinguish or separate sounds of spoken

words
Trouble learning basic sight words
Excess errors in reading such as reversals (d/b, p/q),
transpositions (was/saw) inversion (w/m) and
omissions
Difficulty decoding words

SOFT SIGNS
Mathematics
Difficulty in excess of the norm in...

Recognizing numbers and symbols

Memorizing facts

Aligning numbers

Understanding abstract concepts such as place value

and fractions

SOFT SIGNS
Writing
Considerable difficulty with..

Visual motor abilities as shown figure copying and

rotation
Tasks that entail hand eye coordination despite
normal gross motor development
Often found in combination with reading or
mathematical disorders

SOFT SIGNS
Non Verbal
Characterized by...

Motor clumsiness

Poor virtual spatial skills

Problematic social relationships

Difficulty with math

Difficulty organizing numbers

Poor organizational skills

CO-MORBIDITY

Anxiety Disorders
Attention and
disruptive disorders
such as as ADHD and
ODD
Often exhibits
behavioral issues

STRENGTHS

Children with learning disabilities tend to have

strengths in the areas not effected by the specific
learning disorder
Children with learning disabilities tend to excel
nonacademic subjects such as art, music, dance
and/or athletics.
In adulthood, many with learning disorders use these
strengths to compensate and overcome their learning
disabilities.

ASSESMENT
Many normed assessments can be used to evaluate
skills in primary academic domains

Reading: word recognition, fluency and

comprehension
Mathematics: computation and problem solving
Written expression: handwriting, spelling and
composition

ASSESMENT
The most commonly used assessments include
comprehensive achievement tests such as

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III)

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (WIAT II)

Wide Range Achievement Test III (WRAT III)

Stanford Achievement Test10th edition

ASSESMENT
Some of the specialized test for evaluating reading
deficits in multiple areas include

Diagnostic Reading Tests2nd edition (GDRT II)

Stanford Diagnostic Reading Assessment

Those that measure sub skills include

Gray Oral Reading Test IV Fourth Edition (GORT

IV)
Gray Silent Reading Test, Comprehensive Test of
Phonological Processing (CTOPP)
Tests of Oral Reading and Comprehension Skills
(TORCS)

ASSESMENT
Observations by teachers and other professionals can
also be used as means of assessment.
The assessments mentioned above will allow for
targeted treatment in specific areas of need.

CASE STUDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hujag_HRpM0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaD79Q45eH4

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Slow language development in infancy

Reading and writing problems in school

Isolation in adolescence

Settling for less demanding and challenging jobs

and carers in adulthood

THERAPY

Treatment relies heavily on educational and

psychosocial methods.

Stimulant medication

Phonological awareness training (rhyming games)

Inclusion (mainstreaming LD children)

Direct instruction (teaching activities must be

similar to skill being taught)

THERAPY

Faultless instruction (each concept is presented so

that there is only one interpretation possible)
Cognitive behavioral strategies (monitoring thought
processes)
Computer-assisted learning
Early detection and treatment of LD has a profound
influence on the outcome

ANTITHESIS

With early detection being so critical the testing is

faulty in that it requires a significant difference in
general ability and the specific ability so that
detection may be to late
Deficits in phonological awareness occur more
frequently among population that use non standard
English.
There may be social causes to learning disabilities
Some make the argument that learning disabilities
are social in nature and have no origins in biology

ANTITHESIS

More agrarian cultures, for example, dont even use

learning ability as a measure of adult adequacy
education in the United States has been geared
toward producing citizens who can effectively
contribute to a capitalistic society, with a cultural
premium on efficiency and science
Learning disorders are prevalent in western
capitalist societies because of the high value placed
on speed, literacy, and numeracy in both the labor
force and school system

ANTITHESIS

By 1980 in the U.S., white children were labeled

more often with various learning disabilities,
whereas minorities were labeled more often
emotionally disturbed or retarded
Males are more likely to be diagnosed with a
learning disorder than females

SYNTHESIS

While there may be faults in the diagnostic testing

and assessment the deficits that some students have
can not be denied
While there may sociocultural and economic factors
involved, therapies and treatment have been shown
to improve the abilities of students with learning
disabilities
In light of these facts, the diagnosis and treatment of
learning disorders should not be completely
disregarded

SYNTHESIS

Early detection must be improved in order for the

treatment and therapies to be more effective
Therapies should include nonacademic activities
that play to the child's strength.
Children with LD should be taught how to use their
strengths so that it can be used to overcome their
LD
As an example, the arts can be integrated by using
poems in a reading or writing lesson. These poems
can be written, preformed or painted as well
These therapies should be adapted to the childs way
of learning as to facilitate better acquisition

SYNTHESIS

In order to account for some of the sociocultural

and economic factors proactive steps must be taken
Perhaps it would be wise to train psychologists and
other assessors to be less influenced by race and
economic factors
On a macro level, programs that benefit lower SES
should be expanded and should include some effort
to detect LD earlier in life