1. God,
Please grant us the serenity to accept the things we
cannot change, the courage to change the things we can
and the wisdom to know the difference. So far today, we’ve
been doing alright. We have not gossip, lost our
temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or self-
indulgent. We have not whined, complained , cursed or
eaten too much calories. But we will be studying in a
minute and we know we will really need your help then.
Thank you Father.
Amen

2. LEARNING
DISABILITIES
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL EDUCATION 1

3. A STORY ABOUT
NOAH

4. Noah felt like he was always
hitting the books. While his
friends were meeting for
pickup soccer games after
school, he was back home in
his room reading and
rereading the same material.

5. But no matter how hard Noah
studied, he had difficulty
remembering things and his
grades stayed average.
Meanwhile, his friend Sean, who
never seemed to study, always
aced tests. It didn't seem fair.

6. Because Noah was so
frustrated, his dad and teachers
made an appointment with the
school psychologist. She diagnosed
Noah with a learning disability.
Although Noah felt relieved to know
what was going on, he was also
worried.

7. He didn't like the "disability"
label. And he was concerned
about what it might mean for his
future. Would he be able to go
to college and study
engineering as he'd hoped?

8. is acquiring new, or modifying
existing
knowledge, behaviors, skills, value
s, or preferences and may involve
synthesizing different types of
information.

9. DISABILITY
-any restriction or lack
(resulting from any impairment)
of ability to perform an activity
in the manner or within the
range considered normal for a
human being.

10. Learning disability
• are problems that affect the brain's
ability to receive, process, analyse, or
store information
• can cause a person to have trouble
learning and using certain skills.
• is a classification including several
areas of functioning in which a person
has difficulty learning in a typical
manner, usually caused by an
unknown factor or factors.

13. There is no "cure" for learning
disabilities. They are life-long.
However, children with learning
disabilities can be high achievers
and can be taught ways to get
around the learning disability. With
the right help, children with
learning disabilities can and do
learn successfully.

14. Preschool signs and symptoms
of learning disabilities
• Problems pronouncing words
• Trouble finding the right word
• Difficulty rhyming
• Trouble learning the
alphabet, numbers, colors, shap
es, days of the week

15. • Difficulty following directions or
learning routines
• Difficulty controlling
crayons, pencils, and scissors or
coloring within the lines
• Trouble with
buttons, zippers, snaps, learning
to tie shoes

16. Grades K-4 signs and symptoms of
learning disabilities
• Trouble learning the connection
between letters and sounds
• Unable to blend sounds to make
words
• Confuses basic words when reading

17. • Consistently misspells words and
makes frequent reading errors
• Trouble learning basic math
concepts
• Difficulty telling time and
remembering sequences
• Slow to learn new skills

18. Grades 5-8 signs and symptoms
of learning disabilities
• Difficulty with reading
comprehension or math skills
• Trouble with open-ended test
questions and word problems
• Dislikes reading and writing;
avoids reading aloud

19. • Spells the same word differently
in a single document
• Poor organizational skills
(bedroom, homework, desk is
messy and disorganized)
• Trouble following classroom
discussions and expressing
thoughts aloud
• Poor handwriting

20. A learning disability can cause a
person to have trouble learning and
using certain skills. The skills most
often affected are:
• reading,
• writing,
• listening,
• speaking,
• reasoning, and
• doing math.

21. • difficulty with
words, both
spoken and
written
• have trouble
with the act of
writing
• difficulty
processing
what they see
• have trouble
making sense of
visual details like
numbers

22. If, like Noah, you've been diagnosed
with a learning disability, you're not
alone. Nearly 4 million school-age
kids and teens have learning
disabilities, and at least 20% of them
have a type of disorder that makes it
difficult to focus.

24. Tom Cruise

25. What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning
disability that manifests primarily as a
difficulty with written
language, particularly with reading
and spelling.

27. Signs of reading difficulty
include problems with:
• letter and word
recognition
• understanding words
and ideas
• reading speed and
fluency
• general vocabulary
skills

28. dyscalculia
• Learning disabilities in math vary
greatly depending on the child’s other
strengths and weaknesses.
• A child’s ability to do math will be
affected differently by a language
learning disability, or a visual disorder
or a difficulty with
sequencing, memory or organization.

29. dysgraphia
Learning disabilities in writing can
involve the physical act of writing or
the mental activity of comprehending
and synthesizing information.

30. • Basic writing disorder
refers to physical difficulty
forming words and letters.
• Expressive writing
disability indicates a
struggle to organize
thoughts on paper.

31. Symptoms include the problems
with:
• neatness and consistency of
writing
• accurately copying letters and
words
• spelling consistency
• writing organization and
coherence

32. dyspraxia
-refers to problems with
movement and
coordination
-whether it is with
fine motor skills or
gross motor skills

33. aphasia/dysphasia
-involve the ability to understand or
produce spoken language.
-Involves the ability to retell a story
and the fluency of speech,
-as well as the ability to understand
the meaning of words, parts of
speech, directions, etc.

35. Neuroplasticityrefers to the brain’s
natural, lifelong ability to change.
Throughout life, the brain is able to
form new connections and generate
new brain cells in response to
experience and learning.

36. Arrowsmith program
use strategic brain exercises to
identify and strengthen weak
cognitive areas.
A Camperdown Academy
student participating in the
Arrowsmith Program.
Only 24 schools in the
U.S. offers the program
(oct.2011)

37. “90 to 95% of
reading impaired
children can
overcome their
difficulties if they
receive
treatment.”-
Kathryn
Drummond, Ph.D.
-ABCLITERACY.ORG