Working with Students with Learning Disabilities
What would you say is the greatest challenge to working with students with learning disabilities?
Robert,
yes, the more individualized we can be with each of our learners, the stronger chance we have of being successful with them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
For me it is understanding their learning style and how to adopt it to the course so it flows seamlessly with the other learning styles.
Robert ,
this is definitely a balancing act that is difficult & challenging but we have to work through.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Possibly, taking time away from the other students in the classroom while accomdating the the needs of the learning disabled.
Amy,
it is often difficult to juggle the help & responsibility to both groups of students, but through focused effort & attention to the individuals, it is possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
William,
this is a very challenging & frustrating situation & when we see this happening we have to be ready to lend extra assistance & help to these students to encourage them to succeed.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think being fair to both students with disabilities and without disabilities would be the most difficult aspect.
When student become fustrated and give up instead of asking for more support and help.
For me the biggest challenges are keeping the student from becoming discouraged and giving them enough time without taking away from the others.
First of all, many do not share their needs.Therefore you are left to quickly realize that you and they have a problem. Now you must assess this and this takes time.For me the greatest challenge is the extra time they may need to understand your cource.If they share their disability,and demonstrate a strong desire to succeed,then all the time should be given them.I would suggest it is on your office time because your other students needs must also be met.
We must have patience, and an attitude of willingness. We must make the student feel they are capable and that we are trustworthy especially when they open up to us concerning their disabilities.
It should be like dealing with any other student who wants to learn with an adjustment problems.
I think that the biggest challenge to working with students is to get them to believe in themselves. It has to be communicated to the student that it is acceptable to fail as long as he or she has tried. The more you believe in them, hopefully the more they will start to believe in themselves.
If you make them feel like they are just like anyone else, they will hopefully start to make connections not only with the teacher, but with the other students as well.
I think identifing the students with learning disablities is one of the hardest parts. I say this because a lot of students may not know that is what the problem is. They may have been able to get through school without anyone figuring it out.
Being able to really put yourself in their shoes and see their point of view. As instructors, I believe we are life students of education and tend to grasp things fairly well or least work hard to achieve a concept. Students with special needs struggle and the struggle is what can snowball a student to become very unmotivated.
I have a child with a learning disability. I would say that the greatest challenge working with him is that HE gets easily frustrated that it takes him so long to understand a certain concept.
I have found if you can get the student to tell you they have a problem and what works for them then you can usually reach them .It it the students that hide thier problems that can make it difficult to pick up on thier needs .We do technical training and only have each group of students for 3 weeks before they move on.It can take a week before problems start to show up.Most of our lectures and demos are in the first week then they have to do the projects which means some tudoring if the student wants it.
Niel,
yes & I believe the more open & helping we can be to each of our students the more likely those who are struggling will be to seek out help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find that the greastest challenge of working with students that have learning disabilities is that they are hesitant to disclose the challenge because they are afraid of being labeled as inferior. THis is a common theme, and I believe a left over impression from elementary and high schools where they are often pulled from their classes to receive help, but also adds a stigma of being "not as smart" as the other children that never fades.
