Lakeland Catholic ATA

This session provides insight into the neurodevelopmental basis of learning disabilities. The different sub-types of reading, writing and mathematics disabilities will be reviewed along with implications for remediation strategies. Literacy skills in typically developing students will be contrasted with skills development in students showing signs of learning disabilities/disorders. The impact of co-existing conditions like executive skills deficits, ADHD and anxiety will also be discussed. Teachers will gain a more complete understanding of LDs and their remediation, informed by current and emerging research.
How is this session related to teaching practices?
Based on current incidence levels from the National Institutes of Health, every classroom teacher will have approximately 3 students in their class with learning difficulties severe enough to be classified as a learning disability/disorder. Other students will demonstrate characteristics of learning disabilities; however, they may not present with deficits severe enough to quality as an LD. Every teacher in every classroom currently supports students with learning disabilities. Even with the high incidence of LDs, common myths persist about what LDs are and are not. These erroneous myths include things like, "dyslexia is simply flipping letters around" or "students with learning disabilities have lower full scale IQs." The failure to understand the scope and impact of learning disabilities impedes students from getting the support they need. It also affects teachers who genuinely wish to do the best they can for all students. This session will present practical and accessible information about the explosion of evidence based findings on learning disabilities that has emerged in the last 10 years.