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LEARNING DISABILTIES -Issues, Trends, and Needs - Roles of different professionals in Diagnosis and Treatment - Future directions including assistive technology
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Issues, Trends, and Needs

INCREASE IN MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

Experts are seeing an increase in the number of people with LD who are diagnosed with additional disabilities, such as AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or psychiatric disabilities. This will likely lead to a better understanding of people's support needs, which will impact school, work, and service.

Identifying LD
The traditional way of diagnosing LD is to look at discrepancies in a person's ability versus their achievements. However, current thinking is moving away from using that factor as the sole identification source. Instead, use multiple sources to identify LD: Self-report Observations by parents, teachers, and others Formal assessment Informed clinical judgment from a neuropsychologist or other specialist

Increase in technology
As technology use is developing in the disability field, people are finding tools for people with LD. A lot of technology that was originally designed for people who are blind or visually impaired is useful for people with learning disabilities.

Universal design in instruction

"Universal design" means designing environments so that the largest number of people possible can function without individual accommodations. Put simply, when presenting information it's best to use as many modalities as possible-writing, presentations, computers, hands-on tasks-to convey material and allow people to show what they know.
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What is UDL?

Universal design for learning (UDL) is a set of principles for designing curriculum that provides all individuals with equal opportunities to learn. Grounded in research of learner differences and effective instructional settings, UDL principles call for varied and flexible ways to

Represent or access academic content (the "what" of learning), Plan and execute learning tasks, including expression (the "how" of learning), and Become and stay engaged in learning (the "why" of learning)

Why is UDL necessary?

Students come to classrooms with a variety of skills, needs, and interests. This diversity is confirmed by neuroscience: brain imaging technologies allow us to "see" the different ways learners respond to educational tasks and environments. Those differences can be as varied and unique as DNA or fingerprints.
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Often curriculum--which includes the goals, methods, assessments, and materials we use to teach and learn-is "fixed" and inflexible.
This turns individual differences into potential learning barriers as learners try to bend their individual styles, skills, and abilities to the curriculum's needs at the expense of genuine learning.
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In UDL : the curriculum is made flexible and customizable so that individuals can learn in ways that work best for them. A common aim of learning effectively and efficiently to high standards is achieved through many different means in the UDL curriculum.
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TRENDS IN INSTRUCTION

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INCLUSION
Accommodating students with LD in general education classrooms

Objectives: Effective teaching practices Promoting active learning Reciprocal teaching Learning strategies instruction Collaborative practices
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Types of Accommodations
Modifying the setting Modify the scheduling Modifying the presentation Modifying presentation

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Effective teaching practices

Explicit Instruction Praise and Management Attention and Emotional Climate Opportunities for Responding Time

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Promoting active learning

Encourage interactive learning Recognise the importance of prior experiences Prepare children for the lesson Encourage active involvement Structure lessons for success Teach learning to learn strategies

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Reciprocal teaching
The students are trained in four learning strategies: Sumarising the contents of the passage, Asking questions about a central point, Clarifying the difficult parts of the material, and Predicting what would happen next

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Issues in Learning Disabilities: Assessment and Diagnosis

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The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) believes that inappropriate diagnostic practices and procedures have contributed to misclassification of individuals and questionable incidence rates of learning disabilities.
Such practices and procedures result in mistakenly including individuals whose learning and behavioral problems are not attributable to learning disabilities and excluding individuals whose deficits are manifestations of specific learning disabilities.
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The NJCLD views the following issues as important to an understanding of current concerns:

lack of adherence to a consistent definition of learning disabilities that emphasizes the intrinsic and life-long nature of the condition lack of understanding, acceptance, and willingness to accommodate normal variations in learning and behavior lack of sufficient competent personnel and appropriate programs to support the efforts of teachers to accommodate the needs of children who do not have learning disabilities but who require alternative instructional methods

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insufficient supply of competently prepared professionals to diagnose and manage exceptional individuals; the false belief that underachievement is synonymous with specific learning disability; the incorrect assumption that quantitative formulas alone can be used to diagnose learning disabilities; failure of multidisciplinary teams to consider and integrate findings related to the presenting problem(s);

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lack of comprehensive assessment practices, procedures, and instruments necessary to differentiate learning disabilities from other types of learning problems; and
general preference for the label learning disability over mental retardation or emotional disturbance, which leads to the misclassification of some individuals.
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Role of Professionals

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Clinical Psychologist
Provides assessment of intellectual and emotional functioning. Provides therapy for emotional and behavioral problems for individuals and groups.

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School Psychologist
Provides assessment of learning and school related problems. Provides therapy that relates to emotional and behavioral problems evolving from school distress. Trained primarily to do both intellectual and educational testing. Assess emotional functioning. Usually practice in public school systems. Increasingly in private practice as well.
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Educational Psychologist

Provides educational testing. Some trained to provide assessment of cognitive, intellectual functioning as well.

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Neuro-psychologist
Psychologist who assesses brain processing
and functioning. May not be skilled in administering educational tests. In general does not assess emotional functioning.

Psychometrist
Assessment specialist. Often found in school systems, forensic settings, or mental health centers.
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Educational Specialist
Assessment of learning and behavioral

problems

School Counselor
Counseling and help with school problems.

Vocational Counselor
Employment counseling, assessment for
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Social Worker Therapy and counseling for emotional and behavioral problem. Help in finding resources.
Speech and Language Specialist Specialist diagnosing speech and language problems. These can be a component of a learning disability. Part of a diagnostic team.
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Occupational Therapist
Specialist working with motor and visual-motor problems. These can be a component of a learning disability. Part of a diagnostic team.

Psychiatrist
Medical doctor who specializes in the functioning of the mind. Does therapy for emotional and behavioral problems.

Physician
Medical doctor
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ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

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Assistive Technology
Learning disabilities can't be cured or fixed. But with the help of certain tools and techniques, a child with a learning disability can work around his or her difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, math,

organization or memory.

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Many children, adolescents and adults with disabilities can benefit from using tools (or technology aids) to assist with everyday activities. Complex, high-tech tools as well as common, more low-tech devices are all examples of assistive technology. The purpose of these teaching and learning tools and assistive technology devices is to help people work around specific deficits rather than fixing them. They are intended to help people with learning disabilities of all ages to reach their full potential, giving them greater freedom and independence along the way. 33

Tools for people with learning disabilities can be as simple as highlighters, color coding files or drawers, books on tape, tape recorders, calculators or a different paper color or background color on a computer screen. Complex or high-tech, assistive technology devices include: computers with print-recognition software that "read" text aloud, speech recognition systems that turn oral language into written text, talking calculators that assist people with math difficulties, and software that predicts and edits words for people who are prone to spelling difficulties.
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Assistive technology can:

minimize the extent to which individuals with LD need to ask for help (enabling them to be more independent learners) improve the speed and accuracy of work reinforce effective classroom instruction and strengthen skill development help students to 'fit in' with classroom learning and routines motivate students with LD to set high goals for themselves and to persevere
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Assistive technology cannot:

compensate for ineffective teaching make a learning disability go away be expected to provide the same benefits to different users automatically promote positive attitudes toward learning

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It is critical to keep in mind that assistive technology is meant to "assist" and not replace intentional, well-designed and implemented instruction. It is often the case that students who use tools like screen readers and calculators show some improvement in their reading and math skills over time. This may be in part due to their added exposure to and practice with the very skills that, without technological assistance, would cause them to fall behind.
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sometimes overlooked benefit of assistive technology is that it can help to reduce the enormous stress that is often experienced by students with LD. Struggling to stay current with assignments, needing personal assistance from parents, teachers, and tutors, and the frustration of not being in control can (and often does) contribute to feelings of helplessness and threats to self-confidence and self-worth. Assistive technology can be very effective in boost students' positive self-image and helping to empower them to compensate for specific disability-related limitations.

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FUTURE

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The discussion and debate over what constitutes a true learning disability are likely to continue
Most professionals and advocates for students with LD do not support full inclusion Students with LD possess positive attributes and interests that teachers should identify and try to strengthen

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Population with LD is expanding because of difficulty in identificationbased on difficulty in the definition of LDand the continual addition of different groups of children to this population.
There is some attempt to begin to identify children who may manifest LD prior to entering school. Issues in both identification and instruction of this group is yet to resolved.
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There is some general agreement on the competencies needed by a teacher of the LD. However there is little difference between these competencies and competencies expected of all special education teachers. Teacher burnout has become a problem in the field of LD. This may be related to inadequate preparation of teachers initially and continued use of ineffective treatments.

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The most effective teachers are the teachers who enjoy working with students with LD. These teachers continually read research, apply research in their classrooms and conduct research. The applications of computer-assisted instruction and assistive technology may take over the field.

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THANK YOU

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