Transcript A Tutor’s Training on Students with Disabilities

Tutoring Students with Learning Disabilities
Online Tutoring Training Workshop
The Learning Center
The University of Louisiana-Lafayette
1. Learning disabilities occur in approximately 15% of the population.
2. Children with learning disabilities are often recognized in the early grades.
3. More and more learning disabled students graduate from high school.
4. More and more students with learning disabilities go on to college or universities.
5. Some students will talk openly about their disabilities.
6. Other students will reluctantly talk about their disabilities.
7. Many students at the college level have not yet been identified as having a
learning disability.
8. All of these students can learn better from an instructor or tutor who is aware of
and empathetic to their particular needs.
The term learning disability is used to refer to a range of neurological conditions that
affect one or more of the ways that a person takes in, stores, or uses information.
Learning disabilities are specific, not global, impairments.
Academic
• Silent reading
• Reading aloud
• Writing
• Spelling
• Learning languages
• Math
• Expressing what is known and understood
• Having to re-do the school work at home
• Having no time off because everything takes longer
• Dropping out
Social/Emotional
• Feeling dumb, stupid
• Being called stupid, lazy
• Being put down by teachers, friends or even parents
• Feeling embarrassed, frustrated, anxious
• Being isolated from others, lonely
• Nobody understands
• Feeling the need for help
• Fearing rejection
• Fearing failure
• Always having to cover up, act a role
Career/Vocational
• Lack of basic skills
• Lack of social skills
• “It’s never cured”, “It never goes away”
• Having to cover up
• Never feeling adequate
• Low expectations
• Jobs don’t last
1.
The brain receives information from the five senses.
2.
Information processing: the brain needs to process the information
received to make sense of it.
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Once the information is received, processed, and understood, the brain
can produce a response.
4.
A malfunction at any point in this process can interfere with information
transmission.
5.
People with learning disabilities are said to have brains that are “wired
different”, so that some of the normal functions of the brain do not work
the same for them.
6.
The problem can occur at any stage of the processing, and can appear at
more than one point, in visual perception, for example, and at the same
time in organization, or in written expression.
What a LD Is:
• Average or above average intelligence
• A pattern of uneven abilities
• A processing problem presumed to be due to central nervous
dysfunction (taking in, sorting, and retrieving information)
• Manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of:
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Reasoning
Mathematics
Social Skills
• Permanent
What an LD Is Not:
• An intellectual disability
• The result of:
1. Poor academic background
2. Emotional disturbance
3. Lack of motivation
4. Visual or auditory acuity problems
5. Physical handicap
• A homogenous group of disorders
Definition
First, it must be established that dyslexia is not a single
syndrome. It is a multifaceted problem. Like the word
“disease” refers to a broad category of problems.
Those who have dyslexia (dys = disability, lexia =
reading) vary from slight to profound difficulty in
learning to read.
Causes and/or History
Dyslexia has many causes and many different manifestations.
• Across all races and social classes
• Dysfunction to the central nervous system
• Lack of pre- or neo-natal medical care
• Heredity
• Birth defects within the nervous system
• Injuries to the brain
• See attached handout for characteristics and learning tips.
Definition
Dysgraphia is an impairment in the ability to write
Causes and/or History
Dysgraphia or learning disabilities in writing involve neurological
processing problems and more than a lack of either motivation by
the student or good instruction by the teacher or tutor.
See attached handout for characteristics and learning tips.
Definition
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is the latest name given
to a clinical syndrome of symptoms which typically
includes inattention, impulsivity, distractibility and
possible hyperactivity and aggression.
Causes and/or History
Although there is no one definitive cause of ADD, the commonly
suspected causes have included:
• Heredity
• Biochemical imbalance
• Lead poisoning
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Chromosomal abnormalities • Birth trauma
• Fetal alcohol syndrome
• Neurological immaturity
See attached handout for characteristics and learning tips.
Definition
Dyscalculia is the learning disability associated with the
inability to comprehend numbers or use them in working
mathematical problems, as is the numbers were the
letters in words of a foreign language.
Causes and/or History
The definition of dyscalculia has been broadened to
include a range of math disabilities. For the learning
disabled, problems in math calculation and math
reasoning are believed to result from central nervous
system dysfunction.
See attached handout for characteristics and learning tips.
Many college students with learning disabilities are
intelligent, talented, and capable. Typically, they have
developed a variety of strategies for compensation for
their learning disabilities. However the degree of
severity varies from one individual to the next.
Difficulties may be manifested in the following areas:
Reading Skills
• Slow reading rate and/or difficulty in modifying reading rate
in accordance with material’s level of difficulty
• Uneven comprehension and retention of material
• Difficulty identifying important points and themes
• Incomplete mastery of phonics, confusion of similar words,
difficulty integrating new vocabulary
• Skipping of words or lines of printed material
• Difficulty reading for long periods of time
Written Language Skills
• Difficulty planning a topic and organizing thoughts on paper
• Difficulty with sentence structure, especially in specialized and
foreign vocabulary
• Frequent spelling errors, especially in specialized and foreign
vocabulary
• Difficulty effectively proofreading written work and making
revisions
• Composition limited in length
• Slow written production
• Poor penmanship, ex. Trouble with spacing, overly large
handwriting, incorrect use of capitalization
• Inability to copy correctly from a book or the blackboard
Oral Language Skills
• Inability to concentrate on and to comprehend spoken language
when presented rapidly
• Difficulty in orally expressing concepts that they seem to
understand
• Difficulty speaking grammatically correct English
• Difficulty following or having a conversation about an
unfamiliar idea
• Trouble telling a story
• Difficulty following oral or written directions
Mathematical Skills
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Incomplete mastery of basic facts
Reversal of numbers
Confusion of operational symbols
Copying problems incorrectly from one line to another
Difficulty recalling the sequence of operational concepts
Difficulty comprehending word problems
Difficulty understanding key concepts and applications to aid
problem solving
Organizational and Study Skills
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Difficulty with organizational skills
Time management difficulties
Slowness to start and to complete tasks
Repeated inability, on a day-to-day basis, to recall what has
been taught
Lack of overall organization in taking notes
Difficulty interpreting charts and graphs
Inefficient use of library and reference material
Difficulty preparing for and taking tests
Attention and Concentration
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Trouble focusing and sustaining attention on academic tasks
Fluctuating attention span during lectures
Distraction from outside stimuli
Hyperactivity and excessive movements may accompany the
inability to focus attention
• Primary failures in communication
• Secondary effects of academic failure
• Interference with normal interpersonal relationships
The person with a Learning Disability may:
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Miss or misinterpret verbal cues
Miss or misinterpret body language
Misinterpret other people’s moods
Be unable to express him/herself adequately
Appear socially awkward
Be often late, or completely forget things
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Frustration
Loss of self-esteem
Rejection
Learned helplessness
Inability to accept success
Attribution to others
Loss of motivation
The person with the Learning Disability may:
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Have difficulty making and keeping friends
Be overly dependent on family, even as an adult
Be naïve and unworldly
Not be understanding of different kinds of relationships
Lack of self-discipline
Feel guilty, ashamed, and always inadequate
What factors could you use to help the students’ learning
experience in The Learning Center
• Roadways to Success
by James C. Williamson, Debra A. McCandrew, and
Charles T. Muse, Sr., Pearson Education
• Focus on College Success
by Constance Staley, Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Take the Quiz!
To receive Tutor Training credit for your CRLA
certification requirements, please complete the
Quiz via the link below, and sign, print and bring
the completed form to
The Learning Center Coordinator – Lee 204b
LEARNING DISABILITIES QUIZ
LEARNING DISABILITIES HANDOUT