Jeremy,
I agree & I think the many technological gadgets we have contribute to this issue rising in the classroom.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
ADHD seems to be the most common disability form that I see. Students with short attention spans, the need to change topics often, and needing a form of constant engagement seem to be what I see most often.
The most common form of learning disability I have encountered in my classroom is dyslexia. These students have a hard time with medical terminology and pronouncing the words as well as being able to use them in context. I just wanted to add that above dyslexia and it is not a documented learning disability but I feel very strongly about it is test anxiety. Probably 80% of my students suffer from it and I can see that it impacts their grades significantly. I can have a discussion with these students and they can explain the test answers to me, but as soon as it is on an official test they forget the material. This is an issue when trying to prepare students for an nation certification exam.
Socorro,
unfortunately this seems to be a very prevalent situation for many of our students & it is best for us to be as equipped as possible in order to help them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Socorro,
unfortunately this seems to be a very prevalent situation for many of our students & it is best for us to be as equipped as possible in order to help them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I do believe it is DYSLEXIA. I only observe most of the time ability to read and understand reading material.
The most common diaability I have encountered is the inability of some students to test in a classroom environment where their is a possability of other students disrupting their concentration to the point of almost total memory loss. The second is no short term memory, even during an open book test.
Tracy,
I agree with you that often the case may be a bad experience in the past, resulting in fear now.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The most common form of learning disability i have noticed is Dyscalculia, although before this course reading, I did not know that it was called Dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is a learning disability that causes a person to have difficulty grasping math concepts. This is by far the most common complaint from my students, while I am sure this is largely due to just a common fear of math more than a cerebral disease. The characteristics of a student with this disorder could include multiplying when you should be dividing, or forgetting simple concepts like converting fractions in to decimals.
Tricia ,
and with these students it is key that we remember they are often very intelligent & capable, it is simply the language that is the challenge.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
the most common for of learning disability that I encounter is Using English as a learning language. We have many students whose primary language is spanish and they have trouble converting to English. They understand the concept but then to write about it and use proper grammar and spelling, that is a major road block for them.
The most common I come across is Dyslexia. In our school, we can't openly talk about their disability or really bring it up with the student unless they officially say something to us, but we acknowledge that a certain student has a disability and usually put parameters in place, like extra time on exams, more notes in class or print outs over lectures, etc. I haven't had any real issues with students with disabilities, usually we work through them.
ADHD is the worst of learning disability. I do have on occasions, a student taking lithium. The ADHD students cannot sit still and want to move on. They tend to express disliking to read from the book, and often slows the class down because they cannot focus on the subject. The focus is an insect crawling on the floor.
Kizzy,
yes, some of the reliance on technology is leading to greater issues with spelling, grammar, & even clarity of thought & ideas.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
With the prevalence of electronic gadgets, I've found that students are no longer able to "write" a paper without using some type of "text type". I've found that students often use the letter "U" to indicate the word "you". It's rare that students are asked to write versus type a report.
Maggie,
unfortunately these are all too common & so we need to really help our students as much as we can.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
A learning disability I find common with my students is reading and writing problems; the characteristics are grammar and spelling errors.
Ronald,
this is a great story & is a good reminder that we need to help our students. They may have assumed they have a disability when they don't really so we can help them even more.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have students that say that they have dyslexia, but when I make them read I find that they do not have dyslexia, they have very poor reading skills. I have had great success in improving their reading abilities and get confidence and self gradification.
It is the inability to comprehend what is read. The student understands the material if it is from a lecture with examples.
