Learning Disabilities
Several definitions of specific learning disabilities exist. The definition most often used in higher education is that of the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration. This definition reads as follows:
A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the central nervous system processes involved in perceiving, understanding, and/or using concepts through verbal (spoken or written) language or nonverbal means. This disorder manifests itself with a deficit in one or more of the following areas: attention, reasoning, processing, memory, communication, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social competence, and emotional maturity.
Each definition of specific learning disability concludes that individuals with this disability have:
- Average to superior intelligence
- A chronic disorder of neurological origin which causes difficulty in receiving, processing, integrating, and/or expressing information
- A severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual capacity in one or more areas that did not primarily result from inadequate sensory acuity; environmental, economic, or academic disadvantage; emotional disturbance; or mental retardation.
Often people assume that students with learning disabilities are unmotivated and unintelligent. Many question whether these students can succeed in college. Students with learning disabilities are not intellectually limited. They have the potential to succeed in higher education.
Some of the terms referring to disorders included under the umbrella term “specific learning disabilities” are dyslexia (difficulty with reading), dysgraphia (difficulty with writing), dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematics), and ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
Adelman and Olufs (AHSSPPE, 1986) describe some of the problems characteristic of college students with learning disabilities. Naturally, no student will have all of these problems.
Study Skills
- Inability to change from one task to another
- No system for organizing notes and other materials
- Difficulty scheduling time to complete short-term and long-term assignments
- Difficulty completing tests and in-class assignments without additional time
- Difficulty following directions
Interpersonal Skills
- Impulsivity
- Difficulty delaying resolution to a problem
- Disorientation in time ~ could miss class and appointments
- Poor self-esteem
Reading
- Difficulty reading new words, particularly when sound/symbol relationships are inconsistent
- Slower reading rate ~ could take longer to read a test and other in-class assignments
- Difficulty comprehending and retaining material read
- Difficulty interpreting charts, graphs, scientific symbols
- Difficulty with complex syntax on objective tests
Writing
- Challenged in the organization and sequencing of ideas
- Difficulty with sentence structure
- Incorrect grammar
- Frequent and inconsistent spelling errors
- Difficulty taking notes
- Poor letter formation, capitalization, spacing and punctuation
- Inadequate strategies for monitoring written work
Oral Language
- Difficulty concentrating in lectures, especially lectures of several hours
- Poor vocabulary, difficulty with word retrieval
- Difficulty with grammar
Math
- Difficulty with basic math operations
- Difficulty with aligning problems, number reversals, confusion of symbols
- Inadequate strategies for monitoring errors
- Difficulty with reasoning
- Difficulty reading and comprehending word problems
- Difficulty with concepts of time and money
Additionally, an adult with a learning disability may have social skill problems due to inconsistent perceptual abilities. He or she may be unable to detect the difference between a joking wink and a disgusted glance. The student may not notice the difference between sincere and sarcastic comments or be able to recognize other subtle changes in tone of voice. These difficulties in interpreting nonverbal messages may result in lowered self-esteem for some adults with learning disabilities and may cause them to have trouble meeting people, working cooperatively with others, and making friends.
Although a learning disability cannot be “cured,” its impact can be lessened through instructional intervention and compensatory strategies. Appropriate academic adjustments made for students with learning disabilities may include some of the following strategies.
Suggested Modifications
- Give priority registration.
- Provide for late withdrawal from a class without penalty.
- Consider the possibility of allowing substitutions for otherwise required coursework on an individual basis. This would occur only if the course is not found to be essential to the area of study and if making a substitution would not require a “substantial change in an essential element of the curriculum.”
- Provide extended time to complete a course.
Textbooks and Printed Course Material
- Provide taped textbooks. Students who have textbooks on tape as an approved accommodation can often obtain them from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. If the needed text cannot be found, the college will have readers record the text.
- If the textbook has a study guide or computer tutorial, suggest that the student use it and help him or her obtain it.
- There is an Adaptive Computer Technology Lab on campus that may be used by students with learning disabilities.
- Double space all material.
- Provide handouts in high contrast form.
- Make the syllabus available prior to the first day of class to allow students to begin their reading early.
Lectures
- Use multimedia presentations.
- Use notetaking modifications:
- A notetaker may be requested. This person should be an attentive student who takes complete notes.
- The classmate's notes may be photocopied or the classmate may prefer to take notes with carbonless paper (available through Student Disability Services Office).
- Provide copies of the instructor's notes for those classes the student attends.
- Permit students to tape record lectures.
- Provide copies of transparencies.
- Read aloud material that is written on the chalkboard or that is given in handouts or transparencies.
Written Assignments
- When the purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate knowledge or opinions allow alternative formats of equal difficulty such as taping, visual displays, oral presentations, etc.
- Guide the student to arrange to dictate to a scribe or to dictate and transcribe his or her own dictation.
- Support and work with the student to use a word processor for in-class writing assignments.
- Minimize penalties for misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and poor grammar unless the object of the assignment is to demonstrate written skills. Examples abound of scientists, mathematicians, and others who have poor reading and writing skills due to learning disabilities.
- Support the student's use a dictionary and/or electronic spellchecker.
- Critique an early draft of the paper.
Math
- Permit use of a basic, four-function calculator in class.
- Examine the test for types of errors. It may be appropriate to give partial credit for work shown even when the final answer is incorrect due to transposed numbers, etc.
Evaluation
- Provide for the student to take tests to be taken in a quiet environment with minimal distractions.
- Provide for the student to use a blank card or paper to assist reading.
- Provide for extended time.
- Provide alternatives to computer-scored answer sheets (e.g., allow the student to mark the exam rather than a separate answer sheet).
- Provide for the student to respond orally to exam questions. Answers may be relayed directly to the instructor, tape recorder, or scribe.
- Give the student prompt, explicit feedback, both written and oral.
- Consider alternative test designs. Some students with learning disabilities may find multiple choice formats confusing. A student with a perceptual impairment will have trouble with tests requiring students to match different items.
- Consider alternative or supplemental assignments to evaluate students' mastery of the course material. Taped interviews, slide presentations, photographic essays, or handmade models may lead to more accurate evaluations of mastery.
Taken from Gugerty, J. and Knutsen, C. (Eds.). 2000. Serving Students with Significant Disabilities in Two-Year Colleges: Office of Disability Services * Springfield Technical Community College , Springfield , Massachusetts . Madison , WI : Center on Education and Work.