For Students With Learning Disabilities

Classroom Accommodations Required

Characteristics

Students with specific learning disabilities may exhibit some of the following characteristics:

• inappropriate social behavior
• poor notetaking skills
• impulsivity
• poor study skills
• attention disorders
• passive learning styles
• poor listening skills
• difficulty following directions
• inconsistent performance
• poor handwriting, letter and number formation
• poor recall
• confusion of mathematical symbols
• failure to memorize basic number facts
• difficulty shifting from one task to another
• test anxiety
• poor vocabulary
• disorientation in time
• poor strategies for monitoring errors
• disorganization
• difficulty aligning numbers

Educational Implications

Reading

• Slow reading rate
• Poor comprehension and retention of written material
• Difficulty in identifying important/relevant points or themes
• Inability to distinguish between sounds, confusion of similar words, and difficulty integrating new vocabulary
• Poor tracking skills resulting in skipped words, phrases or lines and losing place on the page.

Written Language

• Difficulty with sentence structure and incomplete sentences
• Poor use of grammar, and missing inflectional endings
• Frequent spelling errors, transpositions of letters, substitutions of sounds especially in unfamiliar vocabulary
• Inability to copy correctly from written information
• Poor writing, poorly formed letters, incorrect use of capitalization, trouble with spacing, and overly-large handwriting

Oral Language

• Inability to concentrate on and comprehend oral language
• Difficulty in orally expressing ideas and or in proper sequencing of events
• Difficulty in managing more than one task at a time or retaining
• Inability to distinguish between sounds or combination of sounds

Mathematics

• Incomplete mastery of basic facts resulting in poor computation
• Number reversals, confusion of operational signals, and difficulty recalling the sequence of operational processes
• Difficulty in understanding and retaining abstract concepts
• Poor comprehension of word problems
• Reasoning deficits and inability to eliminate irrelevant data in applied problems

Organization

• Inability to manage time effectively
• Difficulty staying on or completing tasks
• Tendency to work slowly, work carelessly, or impulsively start before listening
• Deficiency in listening to lectures and taking notes at the same time
• Inability to identify key points in a lecture or chapter
• Short attention span

Visual/Spatial/Motor Skills

• Poor coordination, slow motor movements, and noticeable problems in using equipment/tools
• Motor weakness in both upper and lower body posture

Social

• Avoids eye contact and speaks softly
• Inability to read and respond to verbal/non-verbal cues and voice inflections *Tendency to stand too close when talking to others or communicates too loudly
• Inappropriate comments

Accommodations That Can Be Provided

Classroom Instructional Techniques

• Encourage students to discuss modifications that will facilitate their learning.
• Provide a detailed course syllabus; perhaps more detailed than one you now use.
• Announce reading assignments in advance or have a syllabus available early
• Allow students for using taped materials.
• Begin lectures with written and oral overview of topics to be covered.
• Use a variety of multi-media tools, e.g., chalkboard, overhead projector, or handouts.
• Make statements emphasizing important points, main ideas, and key concepts when lecturing.
• Provide all assignments in oral and written format.
• Provide study guide for text and encourage study groups, peer tutoring, and study labs.
• Prepare study questions for review sessions to aid in mastering material for exams.
• Accept oral presentations or tape recordings in place of written assignments, when possible.
• Facilitate the use of special accommodations such as note takers, tape or Power Point presentations; lectures/demonstrations, readers for tests, extended time for tests, and oral rather than written tests.
• Allow an alternative test environment that eliminates distractions.

Laboratory Techniques

• Provide students with an individual orientation to the laboratory and equipment.
• Allow students to use cue cards or labels that aid in mastering a sequence.
• Allow students to use specialized adaptive equipment for precise measurement.