Learning disabilities are a common — but occasionally misunderstood — condition that affects children and adults alike. Read on to separate fact from fiction, and educate yourself about LD.
Myth 1: Learning disabilities are more common in people with low intelligence.
False! By definition, a learning disability can only be diagnosed in someone with average or above-average intelligence. Those with learning disabilities often have a high IQ — however, the LD is holding them back from demonstrating their true intelligence in daily achievements
Myth 2: LD is only a problem in school settings.
Not true. While learning disabilities certainly make school more difficult, their influence can extend beyond the classroom. Difficulties expressing yourself verbally can lead to social problems, and LD can hold people back in the workplace — particularly if their job is heavily linked to reading, writing, or math.
Myth 3: Dyslexics read backwards.
This is a common myth, but it simply isn’t true. Dyslexia comes in many forms, and while some people may experience word reversal (seeing “bat” as “tab,” for instance), not all dyslexics experience this. Some struggle with single letter reversal (reading “does” as “dose,” for example), while others have difficulties telling single letters apart or stringing multiple sounds together to form a word.
Myth 4: Children with LD are just lazy or unmotivated.
This myth plagues children with ADHD, too. A learning disability is not a character flaw, and children who struggle with LD are often trying as hard — or harder — than their peers. It’s important that parents and teachers offer support and understanding; otherwise, children with learning disabilities can develop low self-esteem or set low expectations for themselves and become apathetic about school and their future.
Myth 5: Accommodations give kids an unfair advantage; that’s why so many claim to have LD.
Accommodations for LD mirror those for any other legal disability — they exist to level the playing field and help children with LD stand eye-to-eye with their peers. In reality, only 24 percent of college students with LD inform their schools about their condition — indicating that students are not eager to self-disclose, even when doing so would provide them with much-needed accommodations.
Myth 6: Lack of parental involvement causes LD.
While researchers aren’t exactly clear what causes LD, they know what doesn’t cause it — and parental involvement in early childhood is not a factor. Other mythical causes of LD include vaccinations, bad teachers, or too much television.
Myth 7: Learning disabilities affect more boys than girls.
This one is tricky. While more boys are diagnosed with learning disabilities (66 percent of children receiving accommodations in the United States are boys), experts believe that they actually affect both genders at the same rate. Girls may be flying under the radar, and may require closer observation and more proactive intervention.
Myth 8: Glasses can help fix learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia.
Learning disabilities have nothing to do with vision. Many parents assume that their child struggles with reading because he can’t make out the letters — and certainly vision tests should be conducted on all children to rule out potential problems — but dyslexia is a brain-based disorder, not a vision-based one.
Myth 9: People with LD can’t be successful.
This is far from the truth! Many successful people have LD, including some famous folks — like Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Aniston, and Steven Spielberg. Success stories like these prove that LD challenges need not preclude a person from achieving the highest levels in society.
Myth 10: Medication can be used to treat LD.
Many people wrongly believe that learning disabilities can be treated with stimulant medications, much like ADHD. However, medications have no effect on learning disabilities. If the child also suffers from ADHD, stimulants can help control attention-related symptoms, but it’s important for the learning disability to be separately diagnosed — and treated.
** Reprinted with permission from the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities
If parents, teachers, and other professionals discover a child’s learning disability early and provide the right kind of help, it can give the child a chance to develop skills needed to lead a successful and productive life.
A recent National Institute of Health study showed that 67% of young students who were at risk for reading disabilities became average or above average readers after receiving help in the early grades.
Parents are often the first to notice that ‘something doesn’t seem right.’ There may be a number of reasons why your child is having a hard time. But what you are seeing could also indicate a learning disability. This does not mean your child is “slow” or less intelligent than her peers. Her brain is simply wired differently for learning and she needs to adapt strategies that make the most of her abilities. The earliest possible intervention is critical to her success in school.
If you are aware of the common signs of learning disabilities, you will be able to recognize potential problems early. Learn to recognize the signs of a potential learning disability.
It is normal for parents to observe one of these signs in their children from time to time. But if your child consistently exhibits several of these signs, it is important for you to take action to get him/her the help that he needs.
It is never too early to seek help for your child, but waiting too long could be very harmful. If you see several of these signs over a period of time, consider the possibility of a learning disability. Knowing what a difference early help can make will help you lose your fear and take the next steps to getting help for yourself and your child!
The following statistics are drawn from the Statistics Canada report on the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). The survey measures the prevalence of learning disabilities among Canadian children and adults.
For a full copy of The Daily Release of December 3, 2007 from Statistics Canada please go to http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/071203/d071203a.htm
Background and tables
PALS 2006 – Facts on Learning Limitations
PALS 2006 – Profile of Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities
Putting a Canadian Face on Learning Disabilities (PACFOLD) was a groundbreaking applied research study released in March 2007 by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC). www.pacfold.ca
The goal of the research study was to find out what it means to be a child, youth or adult with learning disabilities in Canada.
This three-phase study with its focus on knowledge—obtaining, quantifying and disseminating—provided a better understanding of the impact of learning disabilities on the lives of Canadian children, youth and adults.
The PACFOLD study is unique, because it represents the first time any disability organization in Canada has requested access to Statistics Canada data surveys. Six key areas were identified as significantly impacting upon persons with learning disabilities and their families. Key areas include: education, personal and social development, employment, parent and family, health, and finance.
Ten different data sets from Statistics Canada were examined, making it the most comprehensive look ever at the impact of living with a learning disability (LD) in Canada.
HALS: Health and Activity Limitation Survey (1991) 0-14 and adults
|NLSCY: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (4 cycles – 1994-2001)|
|PALS: Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (2001) 0-14 and adults||APS: Aboriginal Peoples Survey (1991)|
|LSUDA: Literacy Skills Used in Daily Living (1989)||IALS: International Adult Literacy Survey (1994)|
|PISA: Program of International Student Assessment (2000)||YITS: Youth in Transition Survey (2000)|
|CCHS: Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.2 (2002)|
To view the complete applied research findings please visit www.pacfold.ca
Prevalence of Learning Disabilities and PACFOLD 2007
The statistic one in 10 Canadians have LD – has been around for a long time and is the one LDAC continues to use. Why then does the data from the surveys that are included in the 2007 PACFOLD study not support this statistic? Read more
By Elizabeth Walcot-Gayda, Ph. D., Montreal, QC, Past President of LDAC
‘What are learning disabilities?’ ‘What do they look like in my classroom?’ and ‘How can we help students with learning disabilities (LD) succeed?’ In order to frame the responses to these frequently asked questions a current, research-based, national definition of LD1 is used. This definition, which underlines the capacity of those with learning disabilities to be successful in their elementary, secondary and post-secondary studies, makes evident the measures needed to support secondary graduation and options at the post-secondary level.
The definition targets the following fundamental parameters:
It is important to understand what is meant by each of the statements and what such impairments look like and to recognize that each presents serious implications for educational practices and policies.
This distinction is important. As such, learning disabilities refer “to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning,”2 In order for students with LD to be able to benefit and learn from the whole educational experience, instructional interventions must be appropriately balanced between general education and remediation. The question remains as to how best to do this.
Ministries of Education/Learning have generally opted for a controversial policy of full inclusion.3 Within this approach, the integration of remedial specialists within the general classroom is one model used to address the balance of remediation and education. This model may be more or less successful in providing support for students with LD depending on a number of factors: qualifications of the teacher and specialist, frequency and amount of time allotted per week, time for planning, and curriculum constraints. However, even under the best conditions, there is not enough time or support given to teachers to help them provide the same students (if needed) with materials in alternate format, or in a media, other than print, for the essential concepts of social studies, biology, history and geography. This implies that a number of students with LD miss out on broader learning opportunities, because they cannot easily and meaningfully access the same information as their peers.
Given both remediation and a solid general education, elementary students with LD can learn to the same levels as their peers and make relatively smooth transitions to middle or secondary school. In turn, secondary schools must maintain remedial services, while providing accommodations4 for poor reading and writing skills. By addressing students’ specific learning needs, schools can foster students’ engagement, and willingness to take risks and responsibility for learning. Such motivation promotes the completion of secondary studies and, thereby, creates openings to further educational options. At the present time, only a few school districts and provincial/territorial educational authorities offer this balance.
For the most part, school related information enters through the eyes (visual perception) and through the ears (auditory perception). Almost simultaneously, such information is ‘processed’ by different parts of the brain. Examples of these processes are “language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making).”5
The following table provides some examples of how these cognitive impairments are manifested.
|Impairments in processes related to:||Perceiving||Thinking||Remembering||Learning|
|Language Processing||Difficulties in processing sarcasm or understanding when someone is joking Difficulty taking another’s perspective||Difficulties in understanding: long or complex sentence structure; and with figures of speech||Difficulties with: retrieving vocabulary words; orally presented task demands||Difficulties with new vocabulary and responses to teacher-directed questions|
|Phonological processing||Sounds in words (e.g. bat/bag) are confused; poor sound sequencing in words; limited automaticity in decoding||Difficulty with comprehension of content caused by lack of fluency in decoding||Difficulty retaining sound/symbol correspondence||Difficulty extracting essential concepts due to focus on decoding|
|Visual spatial processing||Difficulty with oral or written directions for an activity; perceiving organization of ideas in a text||Difficulty identifying main ideas in a text||Difficulty with left/right; north south, hierarchical structures||Poor integration of sequential information (days of the week, recipe)|
|Processing speed||Poor social interactions; does not keep up with fast-paced lessons||Few connections between isolated bits of information in texts||Slow linking of new with previously learned information||Less material covered or takes extra time and much effort to cover material|
|Memory||Few strategies when trying to remember content or concepts||Difficulty writing since spelling may not be automatic||Difficulty retrieving previously learned information||Forgets spelling words after test; difficulty recalling significant events in history; any new learning is difficult|
|Attention||Difficulty knowing when to pay attention Poor reading of social situations; impulsive||Poor concentration when putting ideas together||Little effort expended for remembering||Work may be disorganized; goes off on tangents,|
|Executive functions (planning or decision making)||Poor recognition of value of planning; impulsive||Difficulty problem solving and understanding consequences of decisions||Difficulty in linking new with previously integrated knowledge; Few strategies||Difficulties in higher levels of learning, but has isolated pieces of knowledge|
As implied, the impairments “may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:
Learning disabilities are identified along a continuum from mild to severe. How an individual’s learning disabilities are classified relates to how significantly they interfere with current learning and with the individual’s ability to function in society. For the most part, persons think of LD as related to academic problems. However, poor organizational skills, poor ability to ‘read’ social situations and to take another’s perspective have significant impact on social interactions within schools, the family, significant relationships, and recreational activities.
In addition, even though students pass their academic courses, the effort required to do this or the ‘just passing’ results may indicate the presence of learning disabilities. (See Table 2.)
|Learning disabilities are suggested by:||Examples of some manifestations of the presence of learning disabilities|
|Unusually high levels of effort and support||
The range of severity and the variety of academic and social/familial areas in which learning disabilities are manifested implies intervention as soon as the disability becomes apparent, whether in kindergarten, late elementary or secondary school. Intervention should initially consist of pre-referral information from the student’s current teacher and a timely and specialized assessment process. Referrals may be recommended when the students are having difficulties in any of the academic areas or when the performance is inconsistent or effortful.
What does such an assessment mean for educators at the primary, secondary and postsecondary level? It implies explicit teaching of specific skills, strategies and the use of tools that are recognized in the current research literature as being part of ‘best practices’ for this population.7 The consequence of an assessment requires interventions that involve the family, the school, the community and the workplace, depending on the needs of the individual.
Learning disabilities influence the lives of children, adolescents, young adults and adults. However, the “way in which they (learning disabilities) are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual’s strengths and needs.”8 Instructional intervention decision-making must take into account what the individual needs in order to be able to function in a society of the future. Within all levels of schooling, students need to know how to explain their learning disabilities and what accommodations support learning and task completion. Without this self-awareness and ability to appropriately self-advocate, persons with learning disabilities are less likely to participate in successful post-secondary studies.
What are the causes of learning disabilities? How are they different from other disorders of learning? In general, it is now recognized that:
Learning disabilities are due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner, which affects one or more processes related to learning.9
The neuro-biological basis of LD is supported by current reviews of the literature in the United States10 and Canada.11 Such a basis does not imply that such students cannot learn. Taking the three first processes discussed earlier, it becomes apparent how the difficulties present themselves throughout the academic career of the students with LD.
|Impairments in processes related to:||Examples of some manifestations of the presence of learning disabilities in students at the|
|Elementary Level||Secondary Level||Post-secondary Level|
|Visual spatial processing||
Educators recognize that students with learning disabilities can and do learn, but they must be prepared to review material frequently, to teach compensatory strategies (e.g. note taking skills for those with poor memory), and to present material to be learned in a variety of formats and media.
Knowledgeable persons with the field frequently criticize definitions of ‘learning disabilities’ for the choice of vocabulary, phrasing and implied ideas. Although there may never be a universally accepted definition, a definition that reflects current research is used here to make evident some of the cognitive and behavioral manifestations of learning disabilities. In turn, one hopes that a better understanding of LD will lead to more cohesion in educational approaches to these students. Canadian educational systems must begin to deal with issues of inadequate elementary and secondary programs for students with learning disabilities. The need for appropriate and timely assessment, remediation, education and accommodations is critical if these individuals are to participate fully in Canadian society.
Elizabeth Walcot-Gayda, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec, a former teacher and administrator of a private school for students with learning disabilities. She is also a Past President (2002-2004) of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada.
Copyright © Canadian Education Association 2004. ISSN 0013-1253 Education Canada, Vol. 44 (1) Reprinted with permission. Permission to post to website given by Canadian Education Association.
1 The LDAC definition of Learning Disabilities (2002) can be found at the following address https://www.ldac-acta.ca/ or can be requested by post from the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC), 250 City Centre Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1R 6K7. (This definition has been adopted and endorsed by LDAC and its provincial affiliates, the Canadian Teachers Federation, National Education Association of Disabled Students, some provincial Ministries of Education, etc.)
2 Ibid, para. 1.
3 Most definitions of full inclusion imply that the needs of students with learning disabilities are met within the context of a general class.
4 The term ‘accommodations’ refers to practices seen as supporting students with disabilities in learning content material. Examples are extra time for exams, oral exams, taped books, screen readers and voice activated writing tools. (Screen readers are software that reads aloud computer text and information on many websites. For examples see http://www.kurzweiledu.com/ and http://www.macspeech.com/. For an example of a voice activated writing tools see http://www.speakingsolutions.com/)
5 LDAC definition of Learning Disabilities (2002), para. 2.
6 Ibid, para. 3
7 For a website that describes a number of instructional interventions, see http://www.ldonline.org/
8 LDAC definition of Learning Disabilities (2002), para. 4.
9 Ibid., para. 5.
10 L. Joseph, “The Nedurobiological Basis of Reading,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 34 (6), 2001: 566-579
11 C. Fiedorowicz, E. Benezra, W. MacDonald, B. McElgunn, A. Wilson and B. Kaplan, “Neurobiological Basis of Learning Disabilities: An Update,” Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal 11 (2), 2001: 61-74.
Understanding Learning Disabilities
Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
250 City Centre Avenue, Suite 616 Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada K1R 6K7
(613) 238-5721 (613) 235-5391(fax)
Toll free: 1-877-238-5332
web site: www.ldac-acta.ca
Learning Disabilities refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency.
Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making).
Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:
Learning disabilities may also involve difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, social interaction and perspective taking.
Learning disabilities are lifelong. The way in which they are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual’s strengths and needs. Learning disabilities are suggested by unexpected academic under-achievement or achievement which is maintained only by unusually high levels of effort and support.
Learning disabilities are due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner which affects one or more processes related to learning. These disorders are not due primarily to hearing and/or vision problems, socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, lack of motivation or ineffective teaching, although these factors may further complicate the challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities.
Learning disabilities may co-exist with various conditions including attentional, behavioural and emotional disorders, sensory impairments or other medical conditions.
For success, individuals with learning disabilities require early identification and timely specialized assessments and interventions involving home, school, community and workplace settings. The interventions need to be appropriate for each individual’s learning disability subtype and, at a minimum, include the provision of:
Learning Disabilities (LDs) are specific neurological disorders that affect the way a person stores, understands, retrieves and/or communicates information.
People with learning disabilities are intelligent and have abilities to learn despite difficulties in processing information and a pattern of uneven abilities.
LDs are invisible and lifelong.
LDs can occur with other disorders (ADHD, etc) and may run in families.
LDs are NOT the same as intellectual disability, autism, deafness, blindness, behavioral disorders or laziness.
LDs are not the result of economic disadvantage, environmental factors or cultural differences.
Living with a learning disability can have an ongoing impact on friendships, school, work, self-esteem and daily life.
People with LDs can succeed when solid coping skills and strategies are developed.