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Academic deficits are the hallmark of learning disabilities. By definition, if there is no academic problem, a learning disability does not exist. Many students with learning disabilities have problems with the mechanical and social uses of language. Mechanically, they have trouble with syntax (grammar), semantics (word meanings), and, as we have already noted, phonology (the ability to break words into their component sounds and blend individual sounds together to make words). With regard to social uses of language—commonly referred to as pragmatics—students with learning disabilities are often inept in the production and reception of discourse. In short, they are not very good conversationalists. They are unable to engage in the mutual give-and-take that conversations between individuals require. For instance, conversations of individuals with learning disabilities are frequently marked by long silences because they do not use the relatively subtle strategies that their nondisabled peers do to keep conversations going. They are not skilled at responding to others' statements or questions and tend to answer their own questions before their companions have a chance to respond. They tend to make task-irrelevant comments and make those with whom they talk uncomfortable. In one often-cited study, for example, children with and without learning disabilities took turns playing the role of host in a simulated television talk show. Analysis of the verbal interactions revealed that in contrast to nondisabled children, children with learning disabilities playing the host role allowed their nondisabled guests to dominate the conversation. Also, their guests exhibited more signs of discomfort during the interview than did the guests of nondisabled hosts. The study within psycholinguistics of how people use language in social situations; emphasizes the functional use of language, rather than mechanics. Although disorders of reading, writing, and language have traditionally received more emphasis than problems with mathematics, the latter are now gaining a great deal of attention. Authorities now recognize that math difficulties are second only to reading disabilities as an academic problem area for students with learning disabilities. The types of problems these students have include difficulties with computation of math facts as well as word problems; trouble with the latter is often due to the inefficient application of problem-solving strategies. Studies indicate that some children with learning disabilities exhibit visual and/or auditory perceptual disabilities. A child with visual perceptual problems might have trouble solving puzzles or seeing and remembering visual shapes, for example, or he or she might have a tendency to reverse letters. A child with auditory perceptual problems might have difficulty discriminating between two words that sound nearly alike (e.g., if, and jib) or following orally presented directions. Teachers and parents have also noted that some students with learning disabilities have difficulty with physical activities involving motor skills. They describe some of these children as having " two left feet" or " ten thumbs." The problems may involve both fine motor (small motor muscles) and gross motor (large motor muscles) skills. Fine motor skills often involve coordination of the visual and motor systems. Students with attention problems display such characteristics as distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Teachers and parents of these children often characterize them as being unable to stick with one task for very long, failing to listen to others, talking nonstop, blurting out the first things on their minds, and being generally disorganized in planning their activities in and out of school. Individuals with learning disabilities often have attention problems, and they are often severe enough to be diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD, characterized by severe problems of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity, is a diagnosis made by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Although estimates vary, researchers have consistently found an overlap of 10-25 percent between ADHD and learning disabilities. We discuss memory, cognitive, and metacognitive problems together because they are closely related. A person who has problems in one of these areas is likely to have problems in the other two as well. Parents and teachers are well aware that students with learning disabilities have problems remembering such things as assignments and appointments. In fact, these adults often exclaim in exasperation that they can't understand how a child who is so smart can forget things so easily. Furthermore, early researchers in learning disabilities documented that many students with learning disabilities have a real deficit in memory.Students with learning disabilities have problems that affect at least two types of memory: short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM). Problems with STM involve difficulty recalling information shortly after having seen or heard it. A typical STM task requires a person to repeat a list of words that are presented visually or aurally. Problems with WM affect a person's ability to keep information in mind while simultaneously doing another cognitive task. Trying to remember an address while listening to instructions on how to get there is an example of WM. Researchers have found that one of the major reasons that children with learning disabilities perform poorly on memory tasks is that, unlike their nondisabled peers, they do not use strategies. For example, when presented with a list of words to memorize, most children will rehearse the names to themselves. They will also make use of categories by rehearsing words in groups that go together. Students with learning disabilities are not likely to use these strategies spontaneously. However, they can be taught memory strategies, which research indicates can enhance their academic performance. One such strategy is mnemonics, the use of memory-enhancing cues to help persons remember. For a description of mnemonics and how it can be used in the classroom. The deficiency in the use of strategies on memory tasks also indicates that children with learning disabilities have problems in cognition. Cognition is a broad term that covers many different aspects of thinking and problem solving. Students with learning disabilities often exhibit disorganized thinking that results in problems with planning and organizing their lives at school and at home. Closely related to these cognitive problems are problems in metacognition. Metacognition has at least three components: the ability to (1) recognize task requirements, (2) select and implement appropriate strategies, and (3) monitor and adjust performance. Regarding the first component—ability to recognize task requirements—students with learning disabilities frequently have problems judging how difficult tasks can be. For example, they might approach the reading of highly technical information with the same level of intensity as they experience when reading for pleasure. An example of problems with the second component—ability to select and implement appropriate strategies—occurs when students with learning disabilities are asked questions such as " How can you remember to take your homework to school in the morning? " they do not come up with as many strategies (e.g., writing a note to oneself, placing the homework by the front door) as students without disabilities do. An example of the third component оf metacognition—ability to monitor or adjust performance—is comprehension monitoring. Comprehension monitoring refers to the abilities employed while one reads and attempts to comprehend textual material. Many students with reading disabilities have problems, for example, in being able to sense when they are not understanding what they are reading (Butler, 1998). Good readers are able to sense this and make necessary adjustments, such as slowing down and/or rereading difficult passages. Students with reading problems are also likely to have problems in picking out the main ideas of paragraphs. Although not all, perhaps not even a majority, of children with learning disabilities have significant social-emotional problems, they do run a greater risk than do their nondisabled peers of having these types of problems. For those who experience behavioral problems, the effects can be long-lasting and devastating. In their early years, these children are often rejected by their peers and have poor self-concepts. In adulthood, the scars from years of rejection can be painful and not easily healed. One plausible reason for the social problems of some students with learning disabilities is that these students have deficits in social cognition. That is, they misread social cues and may misinterpret the feelings and emotions of others. Most children, for example, can tell when their behavior is bothering others. Students with learning disabilities sometimes act as if they are oblivious to the effect their behavior is having on their peers. They also have difficulty taking the perspective of others, of putting themselves in someone else's shoes. There is also evidence that individuals with nonverbal learning disabilities are at risk for depression, presumably because of the social rejection and isolation they may experience. In extreme cases, they have an increased risk of suicide. Another source of problems for many people with learning disabilities is their motivation, or feelings about their abilities to deal with many of life's challenges and problems. People with learning disabilities may appear content to let events happen without attempting to control or influence them. These individuals have what is referred to as an external, rather than an internal, locus of control. In other words, they believe that their lives are controlled by external factors such as luck or Fate rather than by internal factors such as determination or ability. People with this outlook sometimes display learned helplessness: a tendency to give up and expect the worst because they think that no matter how hard they try, they will fail. What makes these motivational problems so difficult for teachers, parents, and individuals with learning disabilities to deal with is the interrelationship between cognitive and motivational problems. A vicious cycle develops: The student learns to expect failure in any new situation on the basis of past experience. This expectancy of failure, or learned helplessness, might then cause the student to give up too easily when faced with a difficult or complicated task. As a result, not only does the student fail to learn new skills; she or he also has another bad experience, reinforcing feelings of helplessness and even worthlessness-—and so the cycle goes. III. 1. Answer the questions: 1) What are some of the psychological and behavioral characteristics of learners with learning disabilities? 2) What are the " early warning signs" of learning disabilities? 3) What problems with spoken language do students with learning disabilities have? 4) What significant social-emotional problems do children with learning disabilities have?
2. Make the plan of the text. Here are the titles in the wrong order. Make the order correct: - Academic deficits. - Perceptual, perceptual-motor, and general coordination problems. - Interindividual and intraindividual variation. - Motivational problems - Social-emotional problems - Memory, cognitive, and metacognitive problems. - Disorders of attention and hyperactivity.
3. Say whether the following statements are true or false: 1) Neuropsychological differences can’t impact the accurate perception of social cues with peers. 2) Learning disabilities can result from anomalies in the developing brain, illness or injury, fetal exposure to alcohol or drugs, low birth weight, oxygen deprivation, or by premature or prolonged labor. 3) What makes these motivational problems so difficult for teachers, parents, and individuals with learning disabilities to deal with is the interrelationship between cognitive and motivational problems. 4)Many students with learning disabilities do not have problems with the mechanical and social uses of language. 5) Some students with learning disabilities have difficulty with physical activities involving motor skills. 6) Learning disabilities are neurological differences in processing information that severely limit a person's ability to learn in a specific skill area. 4. Find the synonymous words in the text: - as opposed to, unlike; - symptom; - uneffective; - to rearrange; - calculation; - to repeat words; - strengthen smb's feelings.
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