Acknowledgment
The following section on learning disabilities is reprinted with permission and is taken from a training program "Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Training Program" by Rhonda H. Rapp and PatriciaP. Candia of St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas.
The entire training package is in the Disabilities Services Office and available for review upon request.
Types of Learning Disabilities
Below is a list of specific learning disabilities and many of their functional limitations. Although the lists are extensive, they are by no means the only functional limitations that students with a specific learning disability will exhibit. Thus, it should be remembered that no two students with the same disability will exhibit the same functional limitations.
- Abstract Reasoning
- Difficulty/Inability to make inferences
- Difficulty/Inability to generate creative solutions to problems
- Difficulty/Inability to transfer generalizations
- Difficulty/Inability to understand relationships
- Arithmetic Deficit
- Difficulty with mathematical reasoning
- Difficulty/Inability to understand numerical concepts
- Difficulty/Inability to read and comprehend math word problems
- Difficulty/Inability to understand math terminology (vocabulary)
- Difficulty/Inability to align numbers
- Number reversals
- Difficulty/Inability to process math facts rapidly
- Difficulty with concepts of time and money
- Auditory Processing
- Difficulty/Inability to take information in through the sense of hearing and/or in processing this information
- Difficulty/Inability to discriminate between similar sounds
- Difficulty/Inability to spell
- Difficulty/Inability to take notes
- Difficulty/Inability in listening and remembering instructions
- Trouble/Inability to hear sounds over background noise
- Difficulty/Inability to learn foreign languages
- Fatigue when trying to listen to a talk or lecture
- Difficulty/Inability to hear sounds in the correct order
- Has problems taking phone messages
- Constructional Dyspraxia
- Difficulty/Inability to sequence letters, numbers, words, sentences, paragraphs, steps, etc.
- Difficulty/Inability to work math problems in correct order
- Difficulty/Inability to tell a story or joke in the proper sequence
- Difficulty/Inability to construct written papers in correct order; Poor speller
- Dyscalculia (Math)
- Lack of any inherent ability to understand and perform mathematical functions
- Dysgraphia/Visuo-Graphic Disorder (Writing)
- Extremely poor handwriting; handwriting frequently appears to be very immature
- Difficulty with the physical act of writing
- Will almost always print, since cursive writing requires a great deal more eye - hand coordination
- Dyslexia (Reading)
- A secondary disability connected to a visual or auditory processing disorder
- Difficulty/Inability to perform any task in which reading is an essential component (such as reading textbooks, articles, exams, notes etc.)
- Difficulty/Inability to interpret charts, graphs, and other visual aids
- Slow reading rate
- Difficulty/Inability to read new words
- Poor comprehension and retention of reading material
- Language Comprehension
- Difficulty with vocabulary
- Difficulty/Inability to answer factual questions
- Difficulty/Inability to concentrate during lectures
- Poor or low reading comprehension
- Difficulty with oral language
- Low knowledge in content areas
- Poor written expression
- Difficulty/Inability to use prior knowledge to perform activities
- Understands what he/she hears, not necessarily what was said
- Long-Term Memory Deficit
- Inconsistent when learning new information/facts (might remember one day and not the next)
- Difficulty remembering rote facts
- Long-Term Retrieval
- Difficulty/Inability to process and recall information through associations (events, related ideas and concepts and names)
- Difficulty/Inability to recall information on tests
- Difficulty/Inability to pair and retain visual and/or auditory information
- Difficulty/Inability to memorize poems, speeches, parts of plays
- Processing Speed
- Slow and/or uneven automatic processing speed
- Difficulty/Inability to complete assignments within imposed time constraints
- Difficulty/Inability to take timed tests
- Difficulty/Inability to make comparisons rapidly between and among bits of information
- Reading Deficit
- Slow or uneven reading rate
- Difficulty/inability to read new words
- Poor comprehension and retention of reading material
- Reasoning Deficit
- Trouble thinking in an orderly, logical way
- Difficulty/Inability to prioritize and sequence tasks
- Difficulty/Inability to apply a learned skill to a new task
- Short-Term Memory Deficit
- Difficulty/Inability to remember steps, in sequential order
- Difficulty/inability to retain information and/or concepts long enough to understand
- Difficulty/Inability to remember problems and retain numerical information (such as - multiplication tables, dates, etc.)
- Difficulty/Inability to follow directions
- Difficulty/Inability to take notes
- Difficulty/Inability to answer oral questions
- Short-Term Retrieval
- Difficulty/Inability to repeat back auditory information immediately after hearing the information
- Difficulty/Inability to re- create visual information immediately after presentation of the information
- Difficulty/Inability to remember directions long enough to complete tasks
- Difficulty/Inability to retrieve information read at the beginning of a reading assignment (even reading assignments as short as a math word problem)
- Difficulty/Inability to retrieve information long enough to take notes on the subject being presented
- Spatial Organization
- Problems perceiving the dimensions of space
- Difficulty/Inability to see things in right order
- Trouble distinguishing left from right, north from south, up from down, ahead from behind
- Spelling Dyspraxia
- A secondary disability connected to a visual or auditory processing disorder
- Difficulty/Inability to spell words correctly on a consistent basis
- Visual Processing
- Difficulty/Inability to take in information through the sense of sight
- Difficulty/Inability to process visual information
- Trouble/Inability to see a specific image within a competing background, such as picking a sentence out of a page of text
- Trouble/Inability to see the difference between two objects
- Difficulty/Inability to "fill-in" computerized exam forms
- Difficulty/Inability to copy information from the board
- Difficulty/Inability to comprehend maps, charts, graphs
- Difficulty with geometry
- Difficulty/Inability to "see" mistakes
- Difficulty/Inability to align numbers on paper
- Difficulty/Inability to work math problems on scrap paper and then to transfer the numbers accurately to exam sheet
- Trouble/Inability to see how far away or near an object might be
- Fatigue when trying to read
- Writing Deficit
- Difficulty/Inability to get thoughts on paper
- Difficulty/Inability to write sentences, paragraphs, and/or papers
- Difficulty/Inability to take notes in class
- Difficulty/Inability to spell words correctly on a consistent basis
- Difficulty/Inability to sequence sentences and paragraphs
Related Disabilities
Although the following disabilities interfere with the learning process, they are not in and of themselves learning disabilities. However, they are disabilities that frequently occur concomitantly with learning disabilities and they too require accommodations under the law.
- Attention Deficit
- Difficulty/Inability to concentrate for long periods of time
- Easily distracted
- Difficulty/Inability to organize work and/or budget time
- Problems staying at a desk or task for long periods of time
- Hyperactivity
- Constantly in motion
- Inability to attend to anything for long periods of time
- Hypoactivity
- Consistently underactive, listless and/or apathetic
- Social Skills & Study Skills
- Difficulty/Inability to discern visual cues such as facial expressions and body language
- Difficulty/Inability to move from one task to another quickly
- Impulsive
- Poor self - esteem
- Difficulty/Inability to discern auditory' cues such as voice intonation. enunciation. and voice quality
- Difficulty/Inability to accept constructive criticism and in interpreting humor or sarcasm
- Difficulty managing time
This handout includes essential information from Project T.A.P.E. College of Education, Northern Illinois University.
