Introduction
Learning disability is a term misused severally. In essence, it applies to students who have different learning challenges. Most people associate learning disability to the development of a child, thus assuming that it is a short-term condition and disappears as the person matures. The accepted definition, provided by the National Adult Literacy and Learning Disability Center states that; learning disability is generic and refers to a composite group of disorders that become evident in the person; through observing that they have challenges in the acquisition and use of speaking, listening, reading, reasoning and execution of mathematical concepts, as well as, understanding social skills. As teachers process the learning procedure in class, they encounter various children with varied challenges, which constitute the learning disorders (Aster & Shalev, 2007). Thus, they have the obligation to accommodate those children in their lesson structure and teaching strategies.
Background information
In the learning structures, the ministry of education continues to draft guidelines in the constitution that define the expectation of the government to the teachers (Muir, 2013). For individuals with disabilities, Education Act states there should be a continuum of placement options that meet the needs of the disabled. The act further states that children with learning disabilities, can and should remain in the same class as those, not disabled; with the creation of separation classes occurring only when the nature of disability or its severity is such that the supplementary learning aids employed in the regular class do not meet the learning requirements of the disabled student satisfactorily. The education ministry expects...
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... M. G. v., M.D., & Shalev, R. S., M.D. (2007). Number development and developmental dyscalculia. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 49(11), 868-73. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195615058?accountid=458
Cañizares, D. C., Crespo, V. R., & Alemañy, E. G. (2012). Symbolic and non-symbolic number magnitude processing in children with developmental dyscalculia. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15(3), 952-66. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1439791245?accountid=458
Ministry of Education, (2005). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Mathematics.. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf
Muir, A. (2013). Developing physical literacy in children and youth with a disability. Physical & Health Education Journal,78(4), 44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1399323558?accountid=458
It is essential that all students have access to a quality education and an inclusive education system should meet their diverse needs. The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [DEECD] (2014) stipulates that education providers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support students with disabilities to comply with the standard. Graduate teachers should also demonstrate an understanding of legislative requirements and be able to identify teaching strategies that support the involvement and learning of students with disabilities (AITSL, 2014). They should understand the importance of focusing on what a student with a disability can do and work with the student’s strengths. A graduate teacher should know what resources, agencies and assistive technologies are available to support the learning needs of a student with a disability.
During the 1920's, separate schools were established for the blind, deaf, and more severely retarded (Reddy, p5). However, students that were considered mildly disabled were educated in regular schools, just thought to be 'slow learners'. Soon educators started to develop separate classes for disabled students. The reasoning for taking them out of the normal classroom (exclusion) has not changed in the last eighty years. People today, who are still in favor of exclusion, have the same justification for their belief. It was thought that students...
A learning disability is defined as any one of various conditions that interfere with an individual's ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in language, reasoning, or academic skills. The National Center for Learning Disabilities explains it as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. Basically, among people with learning disabilities there is a noticeable gap between their level of expected achievement and their actual achievement. Doctors and professionals agree there is no way to pin-point any specific causes for learning disabilities. The NCLD says some possible causes may include heredity, problems during pregnancy or birth, head injuries or nutritional deprivation after birth, and exposure to toxic substances.
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
In the video presentation of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, Richard Lavoie is able to simulate several of the difficulties that a student with a learning disability has to face at school. Some of the difficulties experienced by the students are intrinsic to the disability itself, but many other difficulties are directly related with the emotions that the student experiences when attending a class, and as a result of his or her interactions with teachers and classmates. Both the United States law and the education system, have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the learning experience of every student with disability. Students with disabilities need to be guided to a path to education that is both feasible and accessible for them; with achievable goals, and by being provided what they need in order to succeed, and to be able to overcome any obstacles.
“to the maximum extent appropriate, handicapped children, including those children in public and private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not handicapped, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of handicapped children from regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the handicap is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. (P.L 94-142, Section 1412) (Villa p. 5).
Santa Barbara, CA: Learning Works, 1996. Print. The. Girod, Christina M. Learning Disabilities. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print.
It is required that the student be placed in the setting most like that of typical peers in which they can succeed when provided with needed supports and services (Friend, 2014). In other words, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily (Yell, 2006).
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
The main obstacle faced by students with disabilities in the attempt to achieve educational equality is the continuing debate over the In...
The impact of having a learning disability are lifelong. A student with a learning disability may always need extra help to get through certain aspects of life after they graduate high school. If the student is going to college accommodations and specific learning strategies will need to be used to help them through their courses. Their personal lives may also be affected due to a learning disability. “For example, Johnson and Blalock found that, of the 93 adults studied in an LD clinic sample, 36% continued to receive counseling or psychotherapy for low self-esteem, social isolation, anxiety, depression, and frustration.” (1987) The difficulties associated with learning disabilities can affect them daily and their past experiences with it can follow them into adulthood and bring up unhappy memories of struggling with learning disabilities as a child.
Definition of Learning Disabilities – A neurological disorder that make academic and social skills difficult for students are called Learning Disabilities. This disorder affects the brain’s ability to process and receive information as well as respond and store it. A Learning Disability is not a result of poor intelligence or laziness. Learning Disabilities will vary on how they affect different children and adults.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.
To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face. Students with disabilities are far too frequently isolated and separated in the education system (Johnson). They are often provided a diluted, inferior education and denied meaningful opportunities to learn. There are many education rights for children with disabilities to p...