Learning Disabilties Flashcards
Individuals with disabiltiies education act (IDEA)
Mandates the provision of free and appropriate public school education for students with a disability that adversely affects academic performance
Individualized education program (IEP)
Legal documentation for children who need special educations
- individual schools may vary slightly with their program however all schools must follow the basic outline
504 plan
A guide for how a student will receive academic accommodations
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Characterized by impairment in social communication and interaction. In addition, must take part in restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior/interests or activities
- usually early onset <10 yrs
- is associated with larger cranium and/or brain
*may or may not show language impairment and may or may not show with intellectual disability *
may also show above average abilities in one or two specific skills, but be stunted in social/communication skills
Levels of ASD
Level 1 = requiring support
Level 2 = requires substantial support
Level 3 = requiring very substantial support
Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Onset is always before 12 yrs old
Requires at least 6 months of documented limited attention span and/or poor impulse control
Presents with any of the following in at least 2 different settings
- hyperactivity
- impulsivity
- inattention
there is NO intellectual disability, however will look one since school-performance is affected
very commonly associated with oppositional defiant disorders
Treatment =
- stimulants (methylphenidate) are 1st line
- may add CBT on as well
- second line = atomoxetine, guanfacine and Clonidine
Sub categories of ADHD
1) Predominantly inattentive presentation
- daydreams and is stuck in their own head
2) Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive
- does not day dream and instead acts often and is overactive
3) Combined presentation
- mix of 1 and 2
4) unspecified
Categories of motor disorders
Developmental coordination disorder
- delay in coordinated movements or motor skills
Stereotypic movement disorder
- produces repetitive, purposeless movements chronically
Motor or vocal tics (not together, this is Tourette’s)
Tourette’s disorder
Tourette’s syndrome
Onset is always before 18 yrs. characterized by sudden, recurrent, non rhythmic stereotyped motor and vocal tics
- must persistent greater than 1 year
may present with coprolalia (involuntary obscene vocal tics) but is not required
highly associated with OCD and ADHD
Treatment:
- must use psychotherapy or/CBT
- high potency antipsychotics/ atypical antipsychotics (ONLY for intractable and distressing tics)
Prevalence of specific learning disorders among kids and adults
5-15% = kids
4% = adults
Are learning disabilities more common in males of females?
Males
What are the most common comorbidities associated with specific learning disorder?
ADHD
Autism
depression
Bipolar
Anxiety
How to diagnosis specific learning disorders
Determined by achievement test results that are lower than would be expected for ones age/schooling and IQ
- a discrepancy of 2 or more standard deviations between IQ/age/schooling averages is diagnostic for specific learning disorder*
- 5% of the recorded data
Old school way on how to measure IQ
(Mental age/ Chronological age) x 100
Isn’t the up to date ready to measure it
Gardner’s 8 areas of intelligence
1) musical-rhythmic and harmonic
2) visual-spatial
3) verbal-linguistic
4) logical-mathematical
5) bodily-kinesthetic
6) interpersonal
7) intrapersonal
8) naturalistic
Examples of IQ tests
Welchsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)
Weschsler intelligence scale for children (WISC)
Stanford-Binet intelligence scales (SB5)
Range descriptors for IQ
130+ = extremely high
120-129 = very high
110-119 = high average
90-109 = average
90-89 = low average
70-79 = borderline/very low
69 and lower = extremely low
What is the major concern with IQ testing?
Promotes cultural bias
Achievement testing vs intelligence testing
Is still a hot topic however the distinction is often made behind what each emphasizes
Achievement testing = ability acquired though formal learning/training
Intelligence testing = innate potential
General learning vs specific learning problems
Specific = when specific defects in processing information efficiently/accurately
General = broad defects in processing information efficiently/accurately
Compensatory strategies
Are used by Individuals who sustain apparently high/adequate academic functioning until learning demands/assessment procedures pose barriers to demonstrate learning
- most common example is patient does very well with reorganized classes or given more time to read a book/paper, however once they have to take a standardized test, they bomb the fuck out of it.
8 areas of specific learning disability specific only to the IDEIA (NOT DSM-5)
Basic Reading Skills (BRS)
Reading Comprehension (RC)
Reading Fluency (RF)
Math Calculation (MC)
Math Problem Solving (MPS)
Written Expression (WE)
Oral Expression (OE)
Listening Comprehension (LC)
DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for specific learning disorder
Onset during school-age years. Inability to acquire or use information from a specific subject near age-expected proficiency for at least 6 months despite focused intervention
Needs one of the following symptoms:
- inaccurate/slow reading
- difficulty understanding meaning of read words
- difficulty with spelling
- difficulty with written expression
- difficulty in mastering math/calculations
- difficulty in mathematical reasoning
general functioning and intelligence are NORMAL
Treatment = academic support, counseling, extracurricular activities
Dyslexia
Individuals have difficulty connecting letters they see on a page with the sounds they make.
- results in slow, effortful and non-fluent process
- difficulties reading and mild writing sometimes
DOESN’T have to show backwards-writing and even if they do IT IS NOT DIAGNOSTIC
Dysgraphia
Difficulty putting ones thoughts into written language
- difficulty spelling/grammar/punctuation/handwriting
Dyscalculia
Difficulties learning number related concepts or using symbols and functions to perform math
- results in issues with number sense, memorizing math facts, math calculations or math problem solving
“MARC”
Simple academic interventions for learning disabilities
Modification: change content of material
Accommodation: changes conditions where learning occurs
Remediation: intervention designed to improve deficits
Compensation: bypass or minimize deficits
