Learning Disabilities Flashcards
What are three subtypes of learning disabilities?
Reading (word recognition/dyslexia, reading fluency, comprehension)
Mathematics (computation, problem solving)
Written (handwriting, spelling, composition)
According to the DSM-5, what information is needed to diagnose LD?
Individual’s history, including development, medical, family, education, age of onset; psychoeducational reports of test scores and observations; and response to intervention (RTI)
According to the DSM-5, the affected skill(s) must meet what criteria?
The affected academic skills are substantially and quantifiably below those expected for the individual’s chronological age, AND cause significant interference with academic or occupational performance, or with activities of daily living, as confirmed by individually administered standardized achievement measures and comprehensive clinical assessment.
How long must symptoms persist to meet DSM-5 criteria for LD?
At least 6 months (despite the provision of interventions that target those difficulties)
By what age must symptoms begin?
Learning difficulties must begin during school-age years. However, diagnosis is not required by a specific age. For those 17 years and older, a documented history of impairing learning difficulties may be substituted for the standardized assessment.
What are important factors to consider when ruling out other causes of academic problems?
Intellectual disabilities, uncorrected visual or auditory acuity, mental or neurological disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of proficiency in the language of academic instruction, inadequate educational instruction
Approximately what percentage of individuals have a LD in the US?
15-20%
What is the ratio of males to females affected by reading disability?
Males are 1.5 times as likely as females to have a reading disability
What is the heritability for reading disability?
0.3 to 0.9
What is the heritability for math disability?
0.5 to 0.8
Do difficulties associated with a learning disability improve throughout childhood?
No, disabilities typically persist over time, despite intervention efforts, and do not spontaneously remit with time or age. Many problems may not be fully manifested until later in childhood.
Exceptions include word-reading accuracy and/or mathematics calculation, which can improve if intervention is received by early elementary school
What are four models for diagnosing LD?
Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy Model;
Low-Achievement Model;
Intraindividual Differences Model;
Response to Intervention (RTI) Model
Which of the proposed models has the most efficacy?
Low-achievement model - it has substantial validity, is frequently used in research and because children who perform below average on achievement tests can be differentiated on external variables
What is the incidence of reading disabilities, and what are three subtypes/specifiers of reading disabilities?
Reading disabilities occur in 10-15% of school-aged children and adolescents.
Word decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension
What is the most common form of reading disability and it’s characteristics?
Word decoding - ‘dyslexia’
Difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, poor spelling and decoding abilities, typically resulting from a deficit in the phonological component of language, that is often unexpected in relation to other cognition abilities and provision of effective classroom instruction
What is the neural signature of dyslexia?
Functional neuroimaging shows underactivation in Wenicke’s area, angular gyrus, and striate cortex, with concurrent overactivation in the inferior frontal gyrus, during tasks requiring phonological analysis.
Other findings: reduced activity in the left occipitotemporal junction (visual word form area) during word processing; less activation in left frontal regions in children with poor reading fluency
What structural abnormalities in the brain have been associated with dyslexia?
Postmortem studies found consistent symmetry of the planum temporale, as well as polymicrogryria of the left planum temporale and cortical dysplasias in the left hemisphere.
What skills are considered fundamental for acquisition of reading?
Phonological awareness
Decoding
Sight reading
Prediction
In reading acquisition, what is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness - ability to understand that words are comprised of specific speech sounds (phonemes), to parse out the component sounds of words and to put them back together.
In reading acquisition, what is decoding?
Decoding - ability to convert letters into sounds and combine them to form a recognizable world; based on knowledge of the alphabet and phonological awareness.
