Specific Learning Disorders Flashcards
what is sld
SLD affects a person’s ability to take in, process, and/or communicate information
SLD criteria A
Difficulties learning and using academic skills as
indicated by the presence of at least one of the
following symptoms that have persisted for at least 6 months
- Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading
- Difficulty understanding the meaning of what is read
- Difficulties with spelling
- Difficulties with written expression
- Difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or calculation
- Difficulties with mathematical reasoning
SLD criteria B
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. For individuals aged 17 years and older, a documented history of impaired learning difficulties may be substituted for the standardized assessment
SLD criteria C
The learning difficulties begin during school-age years but may not become fully manifest until the demands for those affected academic skills exceed the individual’s limited
capacities
SLD Criterion D
The learning difficulties are not be better accounted for by
another disorder (e.g. intellectual disabilities, uncorrected visual or auditory acuity, other mental or neurological
disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of proficiency in the
language of academic instruction, or inadequate educational instruction, etc).
How are the 4 sld diagnostic criteria met
Note: the 4 diagnostic criteria are to be met based on a clinical synthesis of the
individual’s history (developmental, medical, family, educational), school reports,
and psychoeducational assessment.
SLD comorbidities
ADHD
Depression
Anxiety
Conduct disorder
Risk factors for SLDs
Genetics
Prenatal factors
* Exposure to alcohol
* Smoking during pregnancy
* Low birth weight
* Premature birth
SLD categories - 3
Reading
Written Expression
Mathematics
Specific Learning Disorders
Reading Subtype
Visual perceptual deficits:
Phonological processing:
phonological awareness
phonological decoding
irregular word forms
syntax
semantic components and WM
Involves deficits in the ability to discern meaning from words in running lines of text
Numerous processes involved:
* Visual perceptual deficits: reversals – either of letters or whole words
- Phonological processing: sound-symbol relationships; using sound structures to process written material
o Phonological awareness: spoken words must be segmented into sounds
o Phonological decoding: letters (graphemes) correspond to sounds (phonemes) - Irregular word forms: don’t fit regular phoneme/grapheme rules (e.g. yacht, chihuahua)
- Syntax: understanding sentence structure
- Semantic components & working memory: understanding meaning of words; promotes
comprehension
sld reading prevalence
Estimated prevalence 4-10% of school aged children
sld reading ratio to boys and girls
Approximate 3 or 4: 1 ratio of boys to girls
when do sld deficits tend to emerge
Deficits tend to emerge around 4th grade, and persist into adolescence and adulthood
The Matthew Effect:
A widening gap between stronger and weaker readers over time
Specific Learning Disorders
Written Expression
Involves difficulties with text generation / composition, or transcription
Text generation (or composition)
* understanding of sentence structure
* memory for words
* higher-order executive functions
* metacognitive skills
Transcription
* Putting ideas into written form
o Handwriting
o Spelling
o Punctuation
o Capitalization
o Word placement
- spacing issues, inconsistent case, trouble writing on line