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Supporting students with learning difficulties

A learning difficulty is any of a diverse group of conditions that cause significant difficulties in perceiving, processing and/or producing either auditory, visual and/or spatial information. It covers disorders that impair such functions as reading (dyslexia) writing (dysgraphia) and mathematical calculation (dyscalcula).

Dyslexia as a condition has only recently been identified and it still often goes undiagnosed. That is why it is often misunderstood by people with learning disabilities themselves, as well as others, as intellectual deficiency, which it is not.

Assessment of the disability is required not only to establish the need for special services but to determine the kind of special services that are required. In general, a variety of instructional modes enhances learning for students with learning disabilities, by allowing them to master material that may be inaccessible in one particular form.

Study skills courses covering note-taking, efficient reading strategies, reading comprehension, brain-storming, essay-planning, study and revision planning help to reduce anxiety and improve performance of students with dyslexia.

Below are some of the difficulties experienced by students with learning disabilities, together with suggested strategies for making material more accessible to them. Much of what follows is based on a booklet published by the Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities from whom further advice and information may be sought.

Auditory Processing

Some students may experience difficulty integrating information presented orally, hindering their ability to follow the sequence and organisation of a lecture. The following may help;

· Provision of a course syllabus at the start of term outlining lectures at the start and writing new terms and key points on the board.

· Periodic summaries of the lecture so far and summaries at appropriate points in the course.

· In dealing with abstract concepts, paraphrase them in specific terms, and illustrate them with concrete examples, with personal experiences, with hands-on models and such visual structures as charts and graphs.

Reading / Visual difficulties

Many students with dyslexia experience word-recognition difficulties and some find it difficult to keep their place in dense text resulting in comprehension problems. Thus use of library materials, references and digesting large quantities of text become obstacles. Extra time and effort may be required to digest a text fully. For such a student, comprehension and speed are improved dramatically with the provision of auditory formats. The following suggestions may help;

· Early availability of booklists to allow students to begin the reading early or to have texts put on tape.

· Provision of chapter outlines or study guides that direct the student to key points in their readings.

· Reading aloud material that is written on the blackboard or that is given in handouts or transparencies.

· Arranging access to course material on audio tape.

Memory difficulties

Some students with dyslexia have poor auditory sequential memory which makes rote learning and the execution of complicated tasks difficult.

The following may help;

· Keeping oral instructions concise and reinforcing them with brief cue words.

· Simplifying complicated directions or providing them in alternative formats.

Writing difficulties

Many students with dyslexia have difficulty preparing written work. A student's written work may thus not be a true or fair reflection of their ability or mastery of the course. Allowing students to use the following appropriate tools and assistance may permit a student to demonstrate comprehension of the course material.

· Use of a dictionary or thesaurus preparing written work or in an exam.

· Use of a computer and a spell-checking program.

· Assistance of a proof-reader.

· Transcription of illegible handwriting.

· Amanuensis (dictation facilities).

· Use of a tape-recorder/dictaphone.

· Use of a supplementary oral examination to clarify content of manuscripts.

· Extra time during examinations.

· Priority in queuing for use of any of the above equipment.

Note-taking difficulties

As outlined above, some students with learning disabilities need alternative ways to take notes because they cannot write effectively or assimilate, remember and organise the material while listening to a lecture.

The following suggestions may help;

· Permission for note-takers to accompany the student to lectures.

· Permission for tape recording of lectures or making notes available for material not found in texts or other accessible sources.

· Assistance, if necessary, in arranging to borrow classmates notes.

· Provision of photocopies of notes and overhead projector transparencies.

The Science Laboratory

A laboratory can be especially daunting for students with learning disabilities. New equipment, exact measurement and multi-step procedures may demand precisely those skills that are hardest for them to acquire. The following suggestions may ease the burden;

· An individual orientation to the laboratory and equipment.

· The labelling (possibly colour-coded) of equipment tools and materials. .

· The student's use of cue cards or labels designating the steps of a procedure may expedite the mastering of a sequence.

· Specialised adaptive equipment may help with exact measurements.

Other difficulties

Some students with learning disabilities may have poor coordination or trouble judging distance or differentiating between left and right. Such devices as demonstrations from the student's right-left frame of reference and the use of colour codes or supplementary symbols may overcome the perceptual problem.

Behaviour

Students with dyslexia often have low self-esteem and lack confidence in themselves and their abilities. If the source of their difficulties has not been identified, or identified only recently, students may be experiencing anxiety and frustration. Students that have not been assessed are often afraid of being assessed for fear what they might find out about themselves. Mature students might fit into this category.

The following suggestions may help;

· Creating an environment of acceptance and a supportive atmosphere in which difficulties can be dealt with in an open, positive manner.

· Awareness among academic staff of the difficulties and symptoms described above.

· Confidential access and referral to counsellors familiar with these difficulties and ways of coping with them.

· Study skills courses can be a valuable way of building confidence as well as learning useful skills.

· Dealing firmly but tactfully with disruptive behaviour, and making allowances for under-developed social skills may be helpful to the student making an effort to overcome their difficulties.

Participation

It is helpful to determine the student's ability to participate in classroom activities. While many students with learning disabilities are highly articulate, some have severe difficulty in talking, responding or reading in front of groups.

Evaluation

A learning disability may affect the way a student should be evaluated. In many cases, written work will not be a true or fair indication of a student's ability, their mastery of material or their depth of understanding. If so a special arrangement may be necessary. Some tasks may be deemed to be an essential part of a course, and may not be readily modified. The following suggestions may help;

· Permission for students to take examinations in a separate, quiet room with an invigilator. Students with learning disabilities are especially sensitive to distractions.

· Time extensions on exams and written assignments when there are significant demands on reading and writing skills.

· Avoid overly complicated language in exam questions, leaving plenty of clear space between them on the examination paper.

· Avoid the use of answer sheets especially computer forms as they can present unnecessary burdensome work for the student while transferring answers.

· Allow sufficient time between the end of lectures and the sitting of the examination allows the student with a learning disability to properly assimilate material covered at the end of the course.

· The use of a dictionary, thesaurus, spell-checking program, a proof reader or, in mathematics and science, a calculator. In mathematics the student may understand the concept, but may make errors by misaligning numbers or writing equations.

· When necessary, allowing students to use a reader, scribe (amanuensis), word processor or a tape recorder.

· Provision of alternative test designs/formats. Some students may find essay formats difficult and a student with a perceptual impairment will always have trouble with pattern-matching type tests.

· Consideration of alternative or supplementary assignments that may serve evaluation purposes, such as taped interviews, slide presentations photographic essays or hand made models. A supplementary interview may help to clarify ambiguous or indecipherable manuscript contents.

· Awareness and tolerance on the corrector's behalf of poor spelling, punctuation or handwriting.