Friday, November 4, 2011

Learning Disabilities

CHARACTERISTICS AND POSSIBLE CAUSES:

- neurological condition children are born with and there is no cure

- occurs with average IQ (85+)

- history of perception problems

- significant discrepancy in attitude and achievement


Perception Problems:

- Identification: the ability to recognize (name/sort) sensory information

- recognizing voices, R vs. L

- Discrimination: the ability to notice increasingly subtle likenesses and differences between items (Dyslexia)

- poor word guessers

- wouldn’t recognize the sign change in Math

- Sequencing: the ability to recognize meaningful order and position of items

- visual order of things: spelling and math problem troubles

- poor note takers (need copies)

- Figure-Ground: the ability to prioritize items; to focus on the relevant and ignore the irrelevant

- distracted with clutter in room, ‘white noise’ is helpful, body-kinesthetic learners are sensitive to smells, touch, clothing

- Closure: the ability to activate prior learning to form a meaningful whole

- need for concrete answers and specific detail

- has trouble ‘filling in the gaps’

Possible Causes:

- Genetic link: ‘defect’ on X-chromosome

- Allergies

- Prenatal toxins that cross the placenta barrier

- Peri-natal anoxia: slight lack of oxygen


(Dr. Kathy Heikkila, UBC, EPSE 317 Fall 2011)

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