Lecture # 111:
Learning Disabilities, Introduction

Objectives:

The student will be able to explain how different parts of the brain may cause reading problems.
The student will know the symptoms of dyslexia.
The student can explain how to help a person with dyslexia.
The student will understand the three criteria necessary for the diagnosis of learning disability.

The student will understand what constitutes a severe discrepancy between ability and achievement.

When John Winn looks at a page of text, he can see the letters. He can recite their names and give the sounds that these letters make. But he cannot always tell the words that these letters form. When he sees a page of text, he feels like he is seeing a wall before himself. Some words are easier to read than others. For example, John understands longer words such as "electricity", but the shorter words "year" and "key" are difficult for him to read.

John has a reading disorder that persists even though he has a good education and good intelligence. Dyslexia was described about 100 years ago. Despite research, the problem of dyslexia has not been solved. Those who can read and absorb words in print often suspect that a dyslexic's problem is laziness or obstinacy.

During the last few years, scientists have discovered that dyslexia is not a problem of human character, but of biology - the biology of the brain. People with dyslexia are not brain damaged. Brain scans show that their brains are perfectly normal and sometimes extraordinary. Dyslexics have an advantage in that they often think more creatively than other people.

Meditate Word By Word On These Verses:
Nehemiah 8:8-12.

There is increasing evidence that there is a glitch in the neural wiring of the brains of dyslexic children that makes reading extremely difficult for them. Now there are new strategies for overcoming the glitch. The most successful programs focus on strengthening the brain's ability to link letters with the sounds they represent. Some studies even suggest that, with the right kinds of instruction for the young child, the brain may actually be able to rewire itself. Then the neural glitch disappears.

With the help of brain scan research, treatment of dyslexia is improving. The research also ends a number of myths about dyslexia. For example, it was thought that dyslexia was about flipping letters, writing them backward. However, practically all children make mirror copies of letters as they learn to write. Dyslexic children just do it more often. It was thought that boys are more often dyslexic than girls, but this is a wrong conclusion as well. Boys are more likely to be noticed because they often explode with frustration. Dyslexia cannot be outgrown. Parents think that with growth their child will improve and they delay finding help for him. Instead, the child falls behind his classmates and educational level. Most children with dyslexia are diagnosed when they are between the ages of 11 and 17, but by that age it is too late. The children can still learn to read, but it will always be a struggle for them.

Dyslexic children can succeed as adults despite their disability. In fact, people with dyslexia are over represented in business, arts, and science. Perhaps because their brains work differently, people with dyslexia are often skilled problem solvers and arrive at solutions from a different orientation. They think differently than a logical, sequential person does. People with dyslexia talk about being able to see things as a multidimensional chess game. It may also be that their struggle in learning to read prepares them for adapting to adversity and changes in the world.

Question:
1. Children are dyslexic because:
(Only one of the following answers is correct.)
a) they are lazy.
b) they have brain damage.
c) there is a neurological problem.

However, the problem of dyslexia can also have a negative effect. People with dyslexia are also over represented in prison populations. Children with dyslexia are more likely to drop schooling, withdraw from friends, and attempt suicide.

In the classroom, there are slow readers who are ignored because of overcrowding or because they are a discipline problem. If action is not taken to help these children, they lose self-confidence as they see their classmates progressing. Even worse, they may be taunted by others. One young boy cried every day after school because he was so frustrated. He simply could not read what his classmates read.

Researchers are still do not know everything there is to know about dyslexia. There may be several subtypes of dyslexia. It would be dangerous to assume that every child with reading problem is uniform and has the same kinds of difficulties that prevent him from learning to read. But whatever the exact nature of the problem is, the search for answers begins with the written word.

That anyone can read is something of a miracle. Reading requires that several brain centers work together. The visual and speech processors must perceive artificial markings (words on paper) and link them with the sounds that they represent. It is not enough to simply hear and understand different words. When reading, the brain has to pull written words apart into their separate sounds or phonemes. When you see the word "cat," your brain must hear the sounds c - a - t and associate it with an animal that purrs.

Unlike speaking ability, which any developmentally intact child will eventually use to talk by imitating others who speak, reading must be taught. Scientists estimate that the spoken word is about 50,000 to 100,000 years old. Oral histories were part of early man's passing information from one generation to another. Written word is only about 5,000 years old. Perhaps the brain of man is still trying to accommodate to the written word.

It will help us to understand a little bit about how the brain works. We have long known that the two halves of the brain tend to specialize in different tasks: the work they do is not equal. the left side of the brain is particularly adept at processing language, the right side is more adept at analyzing space and how objects are related as we see them. Within each hemisphere, different regions of the brain break down various tasks even further. So reading a book, catching a ball, or recognizing a face requires the complex interaction of a number of different regions of the brain.

Question:
2. Which side of the brain is adept at language processing?
right / left.

Most of what scientists know about the brain has come from studying people who were having brain surgery or had suffered brain damage. Clearly, this is not a convenient way to learn about the brain if one wants to know what is normal functioning. Even highly detailed pictures from computerized x-ray images could only reveal the brain's basic anatomy. How the various parts of the brain worked together was still a mystery. What was needed was a scanner that did not subject patients to radiation and that showed which parts of the brain are most active in healthy subjects when they perform various intellectual tasks. What was needed was a technological instrument not yet invented.

In the 1990's, the technology was found. It is called functional magnetic resonance imaging. Basically, this technology allows scientists to see which parts of the brain are getting the most blood meaning they are most active during some activity. Neuroscientists have determined that there are three areas of the left side of the brain that have key roles in learning. Scientifically, these are known are the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left parieto-temporal area, and the left occipito-temporal area. But when we think about reading, we can call them the "phoneme producer," the "word analyzer" and the "automatic detector." We will describe these regions in the order that they are activated, but we also need to remember that they work simultaneously, like the sections of an orchestra playing a symphony.

Using the functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists determined that beginning readers rely most heavily on the phoneme producer (left inferior frontal gyrus) and the word analyzer (left parieto-temporal area). The first helps a person say things - silently or aloud - and does some analysis of the phonemes found in words. The second analyzes words more thoroughly, pulling them apart into syllables and phonemes AND linking the letters to their sounds.

As readers become more skilled, something interesting happens: the third section or automatic detector (left occipito-temporal area) becomes more active. Its function is to build a permanent, active vocabulary that helps students learn to recognize familiar words at a first glance. As readers progress, most of the work shifts to the automatic detector and it dominates. When all goes well, reading becomes effortless. With dyslexic children, the glitch in their brains prevents them from gaining access to the word analyzer. To compensate, the brain over-activates the phoneme producer.

Match these terms with the definitions below:
A. Phoneme Producer. - B. Word Analyzer. - C. Automatic Detector.

3-1. Analyzes words and pulls them apart into syllables and phonemes.
A, B, C,

3-2. Builds a permanent, active vocabulary.
A, B, C,

3-3. Helps a child say things aloud or silently.
A, B, C,

The central weakness of dyslexia has two parts. First, there is difficulty in making sense of phonemes only.

Second, because recognizing words doesn't become automatic, reading is slow and labored. This second aspect, lack of fluency, has not been appreciated. Imagine having to deal with each word you see as if you had never seen it before. That is exactly what one mother realized about her daughter when she was in kindergarten. "I noticed that when her teacher sent home a list of spelling words, she had a hard time. We would spell a word and return to review it five minutes later, and she had no idea what it was."

What Can be Done About Dyslexia?
The human brain is particularly receptive to instruction. Different people respond to different approaches, depending on their personalities and disability. The most successful programs emphasize the same core elements: practice learning phonemes, build vocabulary, increase comprehension, and improve the fluency of reading. This type of instruction leaves nothing to chance.

In most schools the emphasis is on reading sentences. A good program teaches children to recognize sounds, syllables, then words, and sentences. There is much practice and repetition. There are also rhyming grammar rules that help them. A particularly good way to increase fluency is to practice reading aloud with a skilled reader who can gently correct mistakes. Through this practice, the brain begins to build up right associations between words and sounds.

It also helps to use a student's interests. For one student, using a computer game was the stimulus to learn to read. She wanted to play Pokemon on her family computer. "I had to read to get to more levels", she said. The computer game also showed her the value of reading beyond only school work assignments. In the same way, the Harry Potter books series has increased interest in reading.

As you might expect, early intervention gives the best results. And ideally, all children should be screened for dyslexia in kindergarten to minimize delay in treatment and preserve self-confidence. How do you know that a child has dyslexia before he has learned to read? Certain behaviors such as not rhyming words are good clues the something is wrong. Later you may notice that the child is memorizing books instead of reading them. If the kindergarten teacher observes that a child doesn't seem to understand the basics of reading, it should be a call to action.

If a child's reading problem is recognized soon enough, it may be reversed. Children with dyslexia in kindergarten and first grade had a year long targeted instruction now resemble their peers. Also the brain scans are more like those of children who have no difficulty reading.

Question:
4. What seems to be the best way to help children learn to read?
(Only one of the following answers is correct.)
a) phonemes, vocabulary, comprehension.
b) vocabulary, reading with parent, rhyming words.
c) phonemes, vocabulary, fluency.

For older students, there are other ways to compensate by using the right side of the brain. If a person is about to graduate from high school and does not have phoneme awareness, it is a bit late to start with "b" is for "бабушка". Technology can help. Books on tape recordings can supplement the reading of a person with dyslexia. Voice recognition software for computers helps these students write papers and reports. There have been some studies done that show increases in word recognition, reading comprehension, and spelling through voice recognition software. It is thought that when a person can say, hear, and see words almost simultaneously, the brain reading centers are able to improve.

Symptoms
Here are some symptoms of dyslexia according to age grouping:
Ages 3-5: Preschooler

Does not like playing games with language sounds, repetition, and rhyming;
Have trouble learning nursery rhymes;
Frequently mispronounces words and persists in "baby talk";
Fail to recognize letters in his name;
Has difficulty remembering the names of letters, numbers, or days of the week.

Ages 5-7: Kindergartener

Fails to write or recognize his or her name or uses invented spelling for words;
Has trouble breaking spoken words into syllables;
Continues to have trouble with rhyming words;
Fails to connect letters with sounds (ask the child: What does the letter b sound like?);
Fails to recognize phonemes (ask the child: What starts with the same sound as cat, or man, or car?).

Age7: First Grader

Continues to have difficulty with recognizing phonemes;
Fails to read common one-syllable words;
Makes reading errors that fail to connect sounds and letters;
Fails to recognize common, irregularly spelled words;
Complains that reading is hard to do and refuses to do it.

Age 7 and Older

Mispronounces complicated words;
Confuses words that sound alike;
Speaks haltingly and use vague words such as "things" or "stuff";
Has trouble memorizing dates, names, and telephone numbers;
Guesses wildly at multi-syllable words rather than sounding them out phonetically;
Skips parts of words when reading;
Has a deep fear of reading aloud;
When reading, substitutes easy words for more complicated words;
Spells terribly and have messy handwriting;
Has trouble completing homework or finishing tests on time;
Has trouble with small function words such as "in," "under," "that."

How do Teachers and Parents Help their Children?
As noted above, parents can help their children by sitting with them and reading books that are appropriate for the child's grade and knowledge level. There are special programs and schools for children who have dyslexia. Often classes are conducted for the child in school. However, sometimes schools simply do not have the financial funding to teach a child with dyslexia. Then the parents must assume responsibility for getting help for their child.

Parents can also help their child by encouraging him to increase his other strengths. For example, some children have abilities in sports, mathematics, arts, or music. Children need adequate praise in order to succeed; therefore the parents can be encouragers to the child in the areas in which they succeed. Just because he has dyslexia does not mean that his whole life should revolve around that problem. Parents can also educate themselves through reading, monitoring the child's progress, and via computer programs that help children learn.

One of the most popular programs is called the Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Approach. Orton was a neurologist who suggested that learning whole words was too difficult for dyslexic children. He proposed a phonetic approach where the child begins to learn sounds of letters and then progresses to reading. In 1965, Gillingham made Orton's recommendations into a practical course. Gillingham wanted students to learn letters and their sounds in reading, spelling, and writing tasks.

Thus students are taught to see a letter (visual) and say its sound (auditory), hear a sound (auditory) and write it (kinesthetic). Initially, instruction is based on 5 letters of the alphabet. When they have been practiced until they are correct 80 per cent of the time, 5 more letters are introduced and practiced until all 10 have been mastered. When all the letters of the alphabet have been learned, the student begins to use them in 3 letter words. Repetition is also a key to this type of learning.

Computers are now an integral part of teaching this method to students. Via computer they hear the letters and the words. They are able to say them to a teacher as they hear them. All of the sentences and short stories that the student reads are from the words he already knows. The computer is a patient teacher and its ability to repeat phrases and sentences is unlimited! Thus this is a progressive program that uses the knowledge that the student has already learned.

(If you want more information about this program, search for "Orton-Gillingham" on the Internet.)

Question:
5. What is most helpful to children who are dyslexic?
(Select the best answer.)
a) a computer.
b) a computer and a learning program.
c) a computer and parental supervision.

There are not quick fixes for children with dyslexia. These students often have work many more hours at homework than naturally skilled readers do. The results are worth it. When John Winn was in seventh grade, he was reading at a first grade level, but after four years of daily training, he has nearly caught up with his classmates. He passed the high school exit examinations for reading. There is another important skill that children with dyslexia learn - to persevere and John has indeed persevered. He now wants a career as an underwater welder. He is not afraid of the course work and reading he must do to complete his studies, because he has conquered the written word.

Historical Background of Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities is a broad category of problems children have in learning to write, think, use language, listen, speak, or do mathematical calculations. Special education developed for mentally retarded children, emotionally disturbed, cerebral palsied from the medical profession who diagnosed these problems and treated them. Medical personnel were the first people who were confronted with problems of children who are now in special education programs. Once a group of children was diagnosed as abnormal, a distinct area of special education with its own techniques and philosophy was developed to teach them. Since medicine has a long history of treatment, most areas of disability could be built on a common foundation of ideas.

In contrast, the development of learning disabilities education did not start with medical treatment. Medical professionals were involved in identifying learning disabled children, but other professionals such as psychologists and educators also developed their theories. Thus there was a wide degree of opinion on the causes of learning disabilities and the theories of treatment. Perhaps if the educational profession had established a specialty of special education, it would have best treated the needs of these students. Many types of theories and educational plans have been developed without the basic medical foundation and distinct research for learning disabilities. But fortunately, many of the concepts used today for learning disabled have been borrowed from education of mentally retarded and brain-injured soldiers from WWI.

Personal Description
Patricia dribbles the ball down the court. She looks left. She looks right. She throws a long shot to the basket .... it's good! B-z-z-z-z: the buzzer on her alarm clock sounds.

"Patricia! Turn off your alarm clock and get up," shouts a voice from the kitchen. A tall, groggy twelve-year-old fifth grader gets out of bed and slowly makes her way to the kitchen. It is 6:30 A.M. and her mother has breakfast waiting for her. She eats in 15 minutes and then runs from the apartment house to the parking lot to her mother's car. It is cold, but Patricia doesn't mind: starting her mother's car is one reward she gets for bathing and dressing before she catches the school bus.

At school, Patricia finds her best friend and goes to her first class. After social studies, she walks to the special education room where Ms. Rider, the learning disabilities teacher, helps her and one other student work on a weakness: writing arithmetic numerals as words. Patricia then waits patiently to ask a question while Ms. Rider gives an oral test to three other students. Another teacher helps four other students in a reading group. Once Patricia has her question answered, she quickly completes her work.

At recess, one of Patricia's strengths is on display. She plays basketball, dominating most of the other students because she is the tallest student in her grade. Then, she talks to the other students on the basketball court. She returns to the special education room for English language. She stays in the room for nearly half of the day. She is working on a story about a basketball star with her own illustrations included. She has been working on the story for three weeks and struggles with spelling and organizing her story ideas, but she is proud of what she has done thus far.

At the end of the school day, the bus drops Patricia off near her apartment complex. She takes her books inside and gets her bike. During the next hour, she rides around with friends. Soon her mom returns from work and calls her home. Patricia says, "See you later!" to her friends and rides home.

After supper, she works on her story that must be finished by tomorrow. "Mom, how do you spell dribble?" Her mom pulls a chair beside her daughter and spells, "D-r-i-b-b-l-e… no, put an 'e' on the end. That is good, but you better write a little more neatly."

After the story is finished, Patricia watches TV before going to bed. Before she shuts off the light, her mom pokes her head in the door and says, "Good night, superstar!"

Question:
6. What are Patricia's strengths, what are her weaknesses?

Definition of Learning Disabilities
There is a lot of controversy among legislators, parents, and other professionals about how best to define learning disabilities. Thus a definition has been written that attempts to cover all the criteria of the diverse learning disabilities. Here it is:

Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language (spoken or written) which may be shown through an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, or do mathematical calculations. It also includes perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning problems that are the result of visual, hearing, or mental retardation.

These disorders are specific to an individual's internal condition and thought to be due to central nervous system dysfunction and happen across a life span. Problems with self-regulatory behavior, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities, but these are different concepts. Although learning disabilities may occur with other handicapping conditions (mental retardation, emotional disability) or with outward influences (cultural differences, insufficient instruction), they are not the result of these conditions or influences.

There are three criteria to be met in order to classify a child as having a learning disability:

A demonstrated discrepancy between the child's potential and his actual achievement, as measured by standardized testing. (inclusionary criterion),
A determination that the learning disability is not the result of other factors such as sensory impairment, mental retardation, or cultural differences (exclusionary criterion),
A demonstrated need for special education services. (need criterion).

Inclusionary Criterion. A student with a learning disability must have a significant gap between perceived ability and actual achievement. This gap is called a severe discrepancy. Perceived ability is often called potential, aptitude, or intellectual ability and is measured by an aptitude or intelligence test. Actual achievement of academics is measured by a standardized test that includes basic academic skill areas: reading, written language, and mathematics. Patricia is a student who meets this first criterion. She has at least normal intelligence, but her mathematical and language skills are well below the normal standard for a child her age.

Exclusionary Criterion. The second criterion is the exclusion of other causes, conditions, or factors. A learning disability cannot be the result of another disability. If other disabilities are suspected, the student is evaluated by the appropriate testing and professionals to decide the reason for the disability. If a student has a disability that has not caused the learning disability, he is eligible for learning disabilities services. Patricia does not have any exclusionary characteristics.

It is sometimes hard to make decisions about factors such as the lack of opportunity to learn - particularly if the student has moved several times from one school to another or from one town to another. Perhaps the student has never had an opportunity to master the skills of reading, mathematics, or writing. Lack of mastery is shown up on achievement tests.

Need Criterion. The third criterion is the need for special education services. Students with learning disabilities often require curriculum and teaching methods specifically tailored to their learning needs. For a student who has difficulty with writing and reading, his teachers will notice that in subjects that require much reading such as history, science, and literature, the student has difficulty completing assignments on time. This type of student also has difficulty comprehending abstract ideas or concepts.

Match these terms with the definitions below:
A. Need Criterion, - B. Exclusionary Criterion, - C. Inclusionary Criterion.

7-1. A significant gap between the person's ability and his actual achievement.
A, B, C.

7-2. A need for special curriculum or teaching.
A, B, C.

7-3. An exclusion of other causes for learning difficulties.
A, B, C.

Lecture # 111: Learning Disabilities, Introduction

Lecture # 111:
Learning Disabilities, Introduction