LESSON 2: LEARNERS WITH LEARNING DISABILITY

Read article about the movie “Like Stars on Earth, Every Child is a special”.
You may watch video clips in Youtube or download the movie. Share your greatest takeaway
from the movie by writing a poem.

Every child is special

shining brightly just like a star
Some learn slow, some learn fast,
But with love and care, they shine at last.

Ishaan’s world, so full of color,

Was hidden behind learning disorder.
With love and care, he found his place,
And lit the world with his bright face.

From the movie, I learned today,

That kindness goes a long, long way.
With support, each child can grow,
Just give them time, and it will show.

Answer the following questions:

1. Differentiate dyslexia from dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

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Dyslexia is when someone has difficulty in reading, spelling, and word recognition.
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Dyscalculia is when someone is struggling with numbers, and problem solving. Dysgraphia
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is when someone has trouble in writing, spelling, and organizing ideas on paper.

2. In what environment does learners with learning disability learn?

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They learn better in a classroom that is kind and helpful. The teacher should explain
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slowly, use pictures and real things, and give them more time and support.
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3. What are the causes of learning disability?

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It can be genetics or family history, problems during
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pregnancy or birth, and environmental factors.
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LEARNING DISABILITY

Definition
 Gargiulo (2012) common components on the definitions of a learning disability.
 intellectual functioning within normal range
 Significant gap or discrepancy between a student’s assumed potential and actual
achievement
 inference that learning disability is not primarily caused by other disability or extrinsic factors
 Difficulty in learning in one or more academic areas
 presumption of Central Nervous System (CNS) dysfunction.
 NATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION ON LEARNING DISABILITIES (1990):
 Learning disability is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders
manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading,
writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities.
 These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system
dysfunction, and may occur across the life span.
 Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with
learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability.
 Specific Learning disability is characterized by difficulty in basic learning and applying knowledge. It
includes difficulty in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or using
language, both spoken and written that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak,
read, think, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.
 It delays higher level thinking skills such as organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long and
short term memory and attention.
 it is important to realize that learning disability can affect an individual’s life beyond academics and
can create an impact to the relationships with family, friends, and in the workplace.
 The term Learning Disability is a general term under which other difficulties are subsumed: The specific
Leaning Disabilities are: dyslexia, difficulties with reading, spelling and oral reading fluency;
dyscalculia, difficulties in math computation, problem-solving, and analysis; and Dysgraphia,
difficulties with handwriting and written expression.

Dyslexia Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia

Characterized by difficulties with A specific learning disability that A specific learning disability that
accurate and/or fluent word affects how students acquire and affects the development of writing
recognition and by poor spelling develop their arithmetic skills abilities which may display as
and word reading abilities that despite average intelligence spelling, handwriting difficulties
result from a deficit in phonological (Shalev 2011) and ,may manifest as resulting from problems in
processing abilities. The difficulties difficulty in retrieval of math facts organizing and putting thoughts on
often unexpected in relation to and understanding number paper (NCLD 2007 as cited in LD
other cognitive abilities and the concepts or using symbols or Online 2019)
provision of effective classroom functions.
instruction (IDA 2002). Limited
vocabulary and background
knowledge as well as problems in
reading comprehension may result
as secondary consequences, (IDA
2003).
Identification
 In identifying students with learning disability, a discrepancy between academic achievement and
intelligence needs to be established using tests that measure intelligence and standardized
achievement tests.
 Children with learning disability oftentimes display average to above average intelligence but
perform below their grade placement in achievement tests of reading, spelling, math, and written
expression.
 The use of clinical testing, teachers can provide essential information about student’s patterns of
abilities and difficulties.
 Conducting student observations, interviews, and error analysis of schoolwork will provide the
supplementary information needed to determine ways to help a child who maybe at-risk and or
have signs of a learning disability.
 A clinical/educational psychologist and/or a special education diagnostician use all available data
from norm-referenced tests, teachers’ observations, analysis of achievement tests, and parent
interview to determine if the learning difficulties may be attributed to the presence of a learning
disability.

Learning Characteristics

 In language development, they often display delays in learning how to speak, have difficulties in
naming objects and retrieving words from memory, and have limited vocabulary in comparison to
typically developing peers. Students with LD oftentimes struggle with having to organize their thoughts
that they are unable to use precise words to express their ideas. On the other hand, there are students
with LD who are better at oral expression in relation to their reading and writing skills.
 In terms of reading skills, students with dyslexia display delays and difficulties in phonological
processing, word reading/decoding, spelling, and oral reading fluency. Fundamental to reading is
phonological awareness, or the knowledge that all words can be segmented into phonemes, and
that letters in a written word correspond to these sounds.
 In written language, students with LD have tendencies to reverse words, have poor spelling skills, and
display difficulties in the quality, organization, sentence fluency, and application of writing
conventions, including handwriting, spelling and grammar, as well as motivation to write. (Graham,
2017)
 As for math skills, the difficulties manifest in relation to students’ age and grade (Shalev 2004). They
are known to have incomplete or inadequate procedural knowledge of algorithms, which are
reflected in the way they misuse or substitute arithmetic signs, forgetting to regroup, misplacing digits,
not following the proper alignment of digits when solving, or solving from left to right.
 Students with LD also display problems with short-term and working memory, deficits metacognition,
display attention problems, and hyperactivity.

Strengths:
 Have strong artistic abilities and visual-spatial skills.
 Creative, divergent thinkers, imaginative, and high curious.
 They are weak in decoding but maybe compensated through other strengths such as reasoning,
concept formation, comprehension, general knowledge, problem solving, vocabulary, critical
thinking, and reasoning ability. That is the reason why they are active in class recitations but struggle
with literacy tasks that involve reading and writing.
General Educational Adaptations
 The use of Universal Designs for Learning (UDL) principles, such as providing multiple means of
representation, expression and engagement.
 Application of UDL in an inclusive classroom:
UDL Principle Examples
 Audio books alongside real books
 multimedia presentations and videos to supplement textbooks
 Math-manipulative materials and illustrations to reinforce lessons
Multiple means of
 Hands-on experiences, use of multisensorial activities in addition to
representation
teacher-talk
 Use reading materials that include rich visual representation in the
form of photos, graphic organizers, diagrams, etc.
In addition to traditional measures of assessment, provide variety of ways to
demonstrate understanding of concepts/lessons:
 debates
 build models
 experimentation
Multiple means of
 digital audio presentations
expression
 writing activities
 portfolio assessment
 photographs/pictures
 blogs
 draw pictures/ use graphic organizers to illustrate concepts or content
Provide varied activities to support student engagement through:
 hands-on, kinesthetic activities
 plays/drams/dance
 simulation games
Multiple means of
 role playing
engagement
 discussion and debates
 give opportunity for student choice (i.e., range of reading materials,
activities)
 use inquiry-based learning and project-based approach

Activity 1: ON THE LENSE

Determine the learning characteristics of the Specific Learning Disabilities by completing the table
below.
Specific Learning Disabilities Learning Characteristics Sample Strategies in Teaching
Dyslexia Can’t read well, mixes Use pictures and let
up words and letters them listen to stories
Dyscalculia Use blocks, drawings, and
Trouble with numbers
and math problem give small steps
Dysgraphia poor hand writing. Let them type, use
struggles in spelling drawing or simple notes
 Activity 2: On-the-Spot

Read about the success story of Charles Schwab. What was his experienced that made him realized
that he has the condition called dyslexia? You may attach picture.

Charles Schwab found it hard to read and write in school. He always

mixed up words. But he was smart in other ways and got really good
in business. He found out he has dyslexia later in life. His story
shows that even if you struggle in school, you can still be successful.

Answer the following questions:

1. Define Learning Disability using your own words.

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It means someone has a hard time learning things like reading, writing, or math, even if
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they try their best.
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2. When can you tell that a particular student has learning disabilty?
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If a student keeps struggling in school, gets low scores, or gets confused easily
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even when they try, they might have a learning disability.
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3. How can you help students with learning disability to overcomes their difficulties in learning?
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Be patient and kind. Use pictures, easy steps, and give
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them time. Make them feel they can do it.
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 Aligada-Halal, Cristina N et. Al. Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education. Rex Bookstore, Manila.
2020.
 Inclusive Teaching: Intellectual Disability - ADCET