Learning Disabilities
A. Learning Disability- is defined as a childhood disorder characterized by difficultly with certain skills such as reading or writing in individuals with normal intelligence. Learning disorders affect the ability to interpret what one sees and hears or the ability to link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many ways-as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to school work and can impede learning to read or write, or to do math.(www.medterms.com) Medical Dictionary
Learning disability as a working definition –Learning disability can affect the way in which a person takes in, remembers, understands, and expresses information. People with learning disability are intelligent and have abilities to learn despite difficulties in processing information. Living with learning disability can have an ongoing impact on friendship, school, work, self-esteem and daily life. People with learning disability can succeed when individualized self-management skills and strategies are developed and relevant accommodation is provided.(Australian Learning Disability Association)
-“Learning disability and learning difficulties are used in the US and sometimes elsewhere, however it has been argued that intellectual disability is a more accurate term.” Prof. Roy McConkey (chair of Learning Disability, University of Ulster)

B. Implications of teaching
I will be teaching in the elementary school regular education kindergarten classroom. The number one thing I need to do is understand what learning disability my student or students have. Then I can and will how to modify their curriculum. Some of the things I will look for as a elementary regular education teacher are as follows. Whether my students are learning new vocabulary, speaking in full sentences, can retell a story, how play with peers, holding their pencil, reading accurately, remembering routines, can draw and copy shapes, modulating voice ( may speak to loudly or in monotone), understands how to play age appropriate games. (www.dldcec.org) Working in the elementary regular education kindergarten classroom as I will be looking for these behaviors. It is said that 4 to 6 percent of all students classified have some sort of specific learning disability in the nation’s public schools. Knowing this there is bound to be some in my kindergarten room. That is why to be successful requires me focusing on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. Despite obstacles, recent research tells us that we can teach these students how to learn. (LDA) I know that as a elementary Kindergarten teacher regular education, I can help them have success by taking the proper steps and approaches. In my regular education classroom one way I can help my students who are over whelmed with homework because of a learning disability I will do as follows. First communicate with the parents and make suggestions on how to provide homework assistance. Second compare amount of time the student requires to complete homework assignments as needed. Third learn students feeling about the home work level of difficulty by having the rate the work easy, too difficult, or just right. Then I modify assignments as needed. Use a homework assignment planner. This will be used to communicate with the parents and help the student keep track of the homework they have to do each night. A planner will be a great tool for the parents and me. I will even try as a kindergarten elementary school regular education teacher to assign a peer model to work with the learning disability student. They can help the student when we do more difficult homework. The students a can learn from each other. Last at the end of the day I will have plan for making sure all homework and planner are properly placed in the students backpack. These are a few of the things we has elementary regular education teacher can do to help with the over whelming amount of homework. I will just have to assesses the learning disability and plan accordingly. Let me leave you with this quote:
“Consider the following four dead-end-kids. One was spanked by his teachers for bad grades and a poor attitude. He dropped out of school at 16. Another failed remedial English and came perilously close to flunking out in college. The third feared he’d never make it through school—and might not have without a tutor. The last finally learned to read in third grade, devouring Marvel comics, whose pictures provided clues to help him untangle the words. These four losers are respectively, Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, John Chambers, and David Boies.” http://lucarinfo.com/insire/ This just goes to show that we as elementary regular education educators have to pay attention and help our students with learning disabilities because they could be the next president.
C. Technology
Assistive technology (AT) - any device, piece of equipment, or system that is used to bypass, work around, or compensate for an individual’s specific learning deficits.
Hand-held calculator- used for a child who struggles with math, can be used to keep score while playing a game with friends.
AT- a teenager with dyslexia may benefit from AT that will read aloud his employer’s online training manual.
AT tools can help a student with listening, math, organization, memory, reading, and writing.

Abbreviation expander, Alternative keyboards, Audio books and publications, electronic math worksheets, free-form database software, Graphic organizers and outlining, Information/data managers, Optical character recognition, Personal FM Listening Systems, Portable word processors, Proofreading programs, Speech recognition programs, Speech synthesizers/screen readers, talking calculators, talking spell-checkers and electronic dictionaries, variable speed tape recorders, word prediction programs.
Instructional software- is used to develop specific academic skills. If differs from assistive technology in that it provides instruction rather than bypass strategies.
Universal Design for learning(UDL)-is a philosophy that encompasses learning models, methods, and products to enhance the educational experience of diverse learners (whether they have learning disabilities or not). In this approach, AT if often built into educational materials and can be customized to help students with disabilities be successful with the general curriculum.(UDL is not yet widely available to most students.)
D. References
AT- www.greatshools.net – had a lot of useful information on technology used for learning disabilities.
Assistive Technology for kid’s learning disabilities- by Kristen Stanberry and Marshall Raskind, Ph.D.
Australian Learning Disability Association - great information on the definition of what a learning Disability is.
Bryan T. and Sullivan-Burstein K. (1997) Homework-to’s. Teaching Exceptional Children, 6.
www.dldcec.org –good information on how to help students with homework.
Including All Students- by Ben Clay Kansas Curriculum Center
http://lucarinfo.com/insire/ -I got a inspirational quote from this sight.
Prof. Roy McConkey (chair of the Learning Disability, University of Ulster)- quote about learning disabilities and difficulties
Medical Dictionary- www.medterms.com – great definition of Learning Disability