Q. Characteristics of a Student with Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities are associated with problems in listening, reasoning, memory, attention, selecting and focusing on relevant stimuli, and the perception and processing of visual and/or auditory information.
These perceptual and cognitive processing difficulties are assumed to be the underlying reason why students with learning disabilities experience one or more of the following characteristics: reading problems, deficits in written language, underachievement in math, poor social skills, attention deficits and hyperactivity, and behavioral problems.
Reading Problems
Difficulty with reading is by far the most common characteristic of students with learning disabilities.
It is estimated that 90% of all children identified as learning disabled are referred for special education services because of reading problems
Evidence suggests that specific reading disability, also called dyslexia, is a persistent deficit, not simply a developmental lag in linguistic or basic reading skills.
Children who fail to learn to read by the first grade tend to fall farther and farther behind their peers, not only in reading but in general academic achievement as well.
Many children and adults with dyslexia show a significant deficit in visual naming speed (the ability to rapidly name visually presented stimuli) compared to a typical reader.
The inability to rapidly identify words impairs comprehension in at least two ways.
First, faster readers encounter more words and idea units, thereby having the opportunity to comprehend more.
Second, assuming that both word recognition and comprehension consume finite cognitive processing resources, a struggling reader who devotes more processing resources to identify words has “fewer cognitive processing resources available for comprehension.
The less efficient word reading of students with reading disabilities overloads working memory and undermines reading comprehension”
