Students with Learning Disabilities History Definitions and Characteristics

Students with Learning Disabilities History, Definitions, and Characteristics

Chapter Objectives • Discuss the history of the development of the learning disabilities field. • Discuss current trends regarding the identification of students with learning disabilities. • Identify the components of the various definitions and identification criteria of learning disabilities. • List characteristics of students with learning disabilities.

Understanding Disabilities: A Historical Perspective • Foundation Period (1800– 1960) • Emergent Period (1961– 1974) • Solidification Period (1975– 1987) • Turbulent Period (1988–Present)

Important Legislation Regarding Learning Disabilities • PL 91 -230 Specific Learning Disabilities Act of 1969 • PL 94 -142 Education for All Handicapped Children Act • PL 98 -199 Amended PL 94 -142, IDEA • PL 99 -457 Amended PL 94 -142, 1986 addition to IDEA • PL 101 -476 Reauthorization of IDEA • PL 102 -119 Amended PL 101 -476 to include children birth to age 3

Definitions of Learning Disability • Minimal Brain Dysfunction • NACHC • IDEA • Definitions Used by State Departments of Education • National Joint Committee on LD • Association for Children with LD • Interagency Committee on LD

Components of the IDEA Definition • Process Component • Language Component • Academic Component • Neurological Component • Exclusion Component • Identification Component

Characteristics of Learning Disabilities • • • Discrepancy factor Academic Learning Difficulty Language Disorders Perceptual Disorders Metacognitive Deficits Social-Emotional Problems Memory Problems Motor Disorders Attention Problems and Hyperactivity

Prevalence of Learning Disabilities

Gender Differences in LD • Medical Factors • Maturational Factors • Sociological Factors

Learning Disabilities Across Cultures • It is recognized that a student is likely to face learning difficulties when the customs or values of the school personnel differ from those of the student. • Learning problems are complicated further if the student has a learning disability or if the student’s primary language is different from the primary language of the school personnel. • It now is apparent that learning disabilities occur in all cultures and countries, and that there are capable individuals in all cultures and countries who have severe difficulties in learning oral language, reading, written expression, and mathematics.