Instructional Practices For Students With Mild

Learning Disabilities

According to IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), disabled students should have the opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers.

This is referred to as the least restricted environment.

Inclusion in general education classrooms is essential to students with disabilities.

Students With Disabilities

Assistive Technology: a term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.

Assistive Technology

A student who has trouble learning or who has been classified as having special needs, may qualify for an IEP.

Some disabilities that may require an IEP include learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, hearing impairment, vision impairment, speech impairment and language impairment.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Act without thinking Hyperactivity Trouble focusing Trouble paying attention Trouble following directions Trouble functioning socially and

academically Symptoms are present over a long period of

time

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms

About half have specific learning disabilities Most have problems in reading and writing Have difficulty performing in school May require specialized instruction with or

without assisted technology

Kids With ADHD

Make sure you have the student’s attention Repeat directions and have the student

repeat them back to you Place instructions on an audio tape so the

student can play them back if needed Reduce length of assignments Allow students to use computers,

calculators, and other aids

Specialized Instruction For Students With ADHD

Give choices and variation to assignments to keep the student interested

Assign another student as a “study buddy” Play soft background music Integrate student’s interests in assignments Use games to reinforce material See it, Say it, Write it – to reinforce

student’s memory Alternate Testing

Specialized Instruction For Students With ADHD

Preview the topic Clarify difficult vocabulary Determine the main idea Summarize key ideas in the lesson Offer to read written material aloud (including

material written on the board or projector) Choose textbooks with less difficult words and

texts that offer a clear meaning Reading teaching strategies can often follow

strategies for teaching the hearing impaired

Teaching Strategies For Reading

Speak slowly and naturally If the student uses an interpreter, speak to

the student Break up long sentences Make sure the antecedent of a pronoun is

clear When introducing new terms, repeat the word

several times and use it in different contexts Avoid passive verbs, expressions of negation,

and wordiness

Teaching Strategies For Hearing Impaired

Abbreviation expanders Alternative keyboards Graphic organizers & outlining Paper-based computer pen Portable word processors Proofreading software programs Speech recognition software programs Speech Synthesizers/Screen Readers Talking spell-checkers/electronic dictionaries Word prediction software programs

Assisted Technology Tools For Writing

Quicktionary Reading Pen Intel Reader Specialized Computer Software Audio Books Speech synthesizers/screen readers Tape Recorders

Assisted Technology Tools For Reading

Text telephones Computerized Speech Recognition Close-Captioning TV FM Systems Visual Aids Specialized Computer Software

Assisted Technology For Hearing Impaired

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_Restrictive_Environment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/learning/adhd.html#

http://www.ldonline.org/article/8088

References

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/learning.html#sect5

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods/learning-disabilities/6735.html

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/hearing.html#sect2

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/33078#abbreviation

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/reading-tools.gs?content=948

http://www.synapseadaptive.com/edmark/prod/tw/default.htm

References