Most Common Form of Learning Disability
What is the most common form of learning disability that you encounter in your classes? What are the characteristics?
Dyslexia is very common. I find allowing more time and verbal test work very well for these students.
The most common form of learning disability that I encounter within my classes is dyslexia. The characteristics that are present include a slow rate of reading, difficulty taking notes in class, and continued difficulties with spelling/grammar especially with written composition in longer essays and research papers.
There are many ways to help this population of students including allowing time accommodations for tests, allowing extensions on due dates for papers to allow adequate time for those with dyslexia, and having a conversation with the student as to what ways would best help them. By referring to the student you can create or guide students to appropriate resources such as audio/videos of text readings and examples, giving assignments in advance of the entire class to get a jump start and stay on schedule with the rest of students, giving pre-made class notes, etc.
The main learning disability that I see is dyslexia. It is fairly mainstream to offer the student more time to test.
The most common LD I have to deal with in class is reading comprehension. I suggest to my students that they take notes of what they are reading and show them ways to do so. If they are writing it down they tend to focus and remember the material better.
Our students need to take a reading comprehension test, so typically it is not a problem in the classroom.
the one I see the most in my class and over the past 5 years teaching is students that need more time with reading assignments and tests. There is always a student that needs more time. I try to give a assignment to those students as early as I can or give the student a heads up on when it is coming or what to expect.
Slow test taking, or completing lab assignments , at our school we are not allowed to ask if anyone has any difficulty in learning , BUT we can let them know about accommodations, that they can ask for. we have audio test taking , longer time taking test with instructor in other room . all of these things help are students .
I have not had a known learning disabled student in my class to date. I have had learners that have asked far more questions than other students which has led me to believe there is something going on, but I have no proof.
Gwendolyn,
this is a good idea as it helps them to grow & learn & does not point them out.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I wouldn't necessarily call it a disability, but in today's society we have let it become one. Some say ADD, some ADHD, but the reality is that most people are just distracted, especially in the adult learning environment. These students have too much on their plate, too many things they're worrying about, they multitask, their nutrition is horrible, and they can't focus. They can't retain information.
Some of my students have reading disabilities, which is often not discovered until they are asked to read aloud. Therefore, I do not call on them to read aloud as part of their class activities. I do encourage them to visit websites designed to improve their reading skills.
The most common form of learning disability that I have encountered in my classroom is ADHD. The student usually acts out or has trouble concentrating in class. However, oftentimes the student displays good knowledge of the material if they do try to learn it. This is often evident between materials that are boring versus materials that are interesting to the student, since the student's performance has a drastic "improvement."
The most common form of learning disabilities that I have encountered in class is usually stemmed from reading disabilities. I have experienced students with reading disabilities that connect to dyslexia, decoding, comprehension, and vocabulary.
Typically, the students do not mind sharing what strategies have assisted them succeed in academia within the past. Also, some of the students have IEP's which provide what the appropriate accommodations are for the student.
However, there are some students who attempt to hide their learning disability from anyone. Nevertheless, their short-term performance on classroom assessments and assignments typically expose their disabilities whether the student choses to share their 501 accommodations.
The most common form of learning disability that I encounter is probably that for some of my students English is their second language.
There are two disabilities I see most often. One is adult ADD. Most adults have figured out how to manage their ADD but occasionally I get a younger student just out of high school who still does not know how to organize their time, notes, work etc. The other one I see is reading comprehension. I do not know if it is dyslexia specifically, but I have many students who can not read for comprehension at all. I try to help them learn strategies to comprehend things better. I am no expert in these cases so I usually suggest they see the disability office where they can get more direct help and then the disability office can tell me where they can be accommodated if they can.
The most common form of learning disabilities I've encountered are reading and comprehension. these students seem to take longer with completing an in-class assignment.
What is the most common form of learning disability that you encounter in your classes? What are the characteristics?
Adult learner’s most common learning disability encounter in my classes has been reading.
English as a second language also makes interpretation of technical materials difficult for some students to fully understand. Writing assignments can help an instructor learn of a reading disability through observation of content of the written word shows a student may be struggling with reading comprehension. Through understanding and working with these types of students often produces enormous growth, when a student that has struggled in the past is given a chance to work on the deficiency found in reading, math, or writing skills. Students with learning disabilities do just need more time to succeed. When the Light Bulb turns on in a student, makes teaching very rewarding.
William,
officially you can't help them until they disclose to you that they have a diagnosed learning disability. Short of that, you can just encourage them to come to you & seek help if they are struggling.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I tend to find the opposite in students with disabilites. They are afaird to tell the teacher so there grades show something is long.If they don't tell you about the disability how can you help them.
