Working with Students with Learning Disabilities
by: Floyd Mitchell Raines
What is the biggest challenge of working with students with learning disabilities? Letting go of them once they have found the right path. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing that light go on and you know they got "it". Once that door opens the lights begin to click and they are off and running.
Recognition from the student that they actually have a learning disability.
Judd ,
yes & you are limited in what you can do to help these students. You can encourage them to seek help or counsel, but this is a fine line to tread carefully.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Jenny,
yes, tapping into their past experiences & successes is a great way to identify ways to help them now.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I thin the most challenging thing is picking up on someone who has one and may not know it. If they were never told they had one and may have never got help in any way.
My greatest challange has been understanding how I can help these studnets. I have found that asking students with learning disabilities what helps them has been very helpful for me as an instructor. They tend to be the ones with the most insight as to what works best.
Time is a great challenge when working with someone with learning disabilities. But I also find keeping frustration in check and motivation difficult too. Both the student and instructor need to consistently communicate any problems and successes. When this happens it is easier to reach the course goals.
I think the biggest challenge facing students with a learning disability is the pace. We live in a society where everything is moving so fast, and that includes the education environment. That can be overwhelming with an individual with a learning disability.
Deborah,
these are all good suggestions for helping students who may be struggling in our classes.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Being fair to them and the other students with your time. I had a deaf student once that was able to learn by sitting in front of me so he could read my lips. I just let the other students know that I was not favoring anyone but that I would be directing and positioning myself in front of him because that was how he was able to learn. By being upfront with all of them they understood and respected me for telling them and working with him.
Getting the student to aknowledge their disability and seek help in overcoming it.
repeating yourself multiple times.
having to take more time during lecture especially if it requires them to read out loud in the class room setting.
Comprehension of test questions.
Reading out loud to themselves during class when working on class work.
It is a challange to make sure the assignments are geared towards their disabilities. Making sure I dont let them get discouraged and lose the drive to want to continue
I think identifying the specific disability is difficult. Many times students have "slipped through the cracks" during the elementary and high school years, or worse have been misdiagnosed.
Even if the student has and IEP, it may not be accurate.
We use the IEP as a starting point, and augment it with further testing to diagnose the disability. Once that is done, then we can address weaknesses and enhance strengths.
Lawrence ,
and with this demonstrating our own willingness to help the student in any way we can.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Jerrod,
this is so true. We need to demonstrate this patience & with it the belief that the student can succeed.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find that the students tend to under report their disabilities. Through analyzing our tests we've discovered learning disabilities and it is difficult to approach the subject with the student in question. Students often do not want to admit that they have an identified disability for fear of being ostracized.
For me the biggest challenege is making sure the student with learning disabilities gets and comprehends the information. I find that make take more time than students without this disability. One on one time is important to ensure the student is understanding the information.
As I have been teaching for a while, I do not feel that there is a great challenge of working with a student with a learning disability other than getting them to initially tell you what is the problem. I know that students know that they need assistance, but some students are more open than others of sharing with you that they have a disability. This is even true in a college setting. For example, I have taught classes where three weeks into an 11 week session, I will receive an email that tells me that a student has qualified for extended time because they have a learning disability. Now the student never said anything to me, which is what makes it difficult to help them.
The greatest issues is patience. Many instructor lack patience because they feel they are wasting their time. I have taught in public and higher ed institutions and witnessed this all too often. "Don't spend time on them....they will fail anyway" was the line I was sold whne I first entered teaching. If this were the case I would never have made it because I was severely ADHD in 5th grade. It was the patience and knowledge of a great teacher that allows me to succeed. I was never medicated or counseled, I was taught.
