sld

1. SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDERS
Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Kashmir
Government Medical College, Srinagar
1
Dr. AJAZ AHMAD SUHAFF
CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST

2. • HOPE,
Inspire
• the IMAGINATION
Ignite
• LOVE of LEARNING.
Instill a
A good teacher can

3. Learning??
• Learning is the process of acquiring
Preferences
Skills
New
understanding
Behaviours
Knowledge
Attitude

4. SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDER
Specific learning disorder is a neurodevelopmental
disorder that influence the brain's ability to perceive or
process verbal and nonverbal information efficiently.

5. Prevalence
• 5-17% prevalence
• More often in males than in females.
• Reading and written expression disorder are more
common in boys
• Mathematics disorder is more in girls.
• At least 75 % of all individuals identified as having
SLD have reading disorder.
• The prevalence of a disorder of written expression
and mathematics disorder is about 6 percent of
school-aged children

6. Types of SLD
• Reading difficulty (Dyslexia )
• Difficulty in writing (Dysgraphia)
• Difficulty in math (Dyscalculia )
• Children may have a mixed form of learning disorder with
difficulties in more than one of the above three areas.

7. SIGNS OF SLD
PRESCHOOLER (3-6 YEARS)
• Late talking compared to other children.
• Difficulty learning the sounds each letter makes.
• Mixing up of syllables within words (e.g. says ”pollyop” for “lollipop”)
• Slow vocabulary growth, often unable to find the right word (e.g. says “that
thing to cut” instead of “knife”)
• Difficulty with rhyming words: cannot say what rhymes with “cat” (mat, fat) or
“rain” (pain, gain)

8. • Trouble learning numbers, the alphabet, days of the
week, names of colours.
• Difficulty remembering what comes before or after a
certain number, which number is greater or smaller.
• Extremely restless and easily distracted.
• Trouble interacting with peers.
• Poor ability to follow directions or routines

9. SIGNS OF SLD
AT PRIMARY LEVEL (6-11 YEARS)
• Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds.
• Slow recall of facts.
• Trouble learning about time.
• Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including
letter reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions
(felt/left) and substitutions (house/home)

10. • Transposes number sequences (e.g. 21 for 12) and
confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
• Slow to learn new skills, relies heavily on
memorization.
• Lack of planning, acts without thinking of
consequences.
• Unstable pencil grip.
• Poor coordination, unaware of physical surroundings,
prone to accidents

11. How should Teachers identify the special
needs students
Reading Problems:
Slowness
Hesitancy
Omission
Substitution
Reading by guessing
Reading the words backwards (on for no)
Misreading (put for but)

12. Writing Problems:
 Slowness
 Lack of clear understanding for even basic rules
of grammar such as capitals and full stop
 Poor Handwriting
 Poor organization of the writing space
 Poorly formed letters, words, and sentences.

14. Spelling Problems:
• Writing letters in wrong order
• Reversal of letters (b for d)
• Inversion of letters (u for n)
• Mirror writing (no for on)
• Omission (wet for went)

15. • /

16. Arithmetic Difficulties
• Finger counting,
• Poor sense of numbers in terms of their
magnitude and relationship;
• Inaccurate counting and calculation,
• Failure to attend to key mathematical symbols,
• Difficulty understanding the concept and use of
“zero” or decimal points are some of the
common problem areas

23. How to help them
• The teacher should support the child at every stage.
• The teachers should identify the problem and report it to
the parents.
• They can conduct PT meetings and provide effective study
tips to the parents and discuss the problems with each
other and effectively resolve them.
• Some of the students have physical disabilities or problems
with hearing. Identify them an send for proper referral.

24. • They can conduct camps or workshops to
improve their skills in various activities.
• The teachers and students should develop a
warm rapport so that they can discuss
problems freely.
• Teachers should develop a scoring guide,
share it with students, and provide models of
examples of each level of performance.

25. • Never humiliate them.
• Lessons should include specific, step-by-step
instructions that are explicitly stated by the
teacher and modeled for the student.
• Create models of quality work that students
can see and analyze. Include both spoken and
written explanations of how the work fulfills
academic expectations.

26. • Have the student repeat back the
instructions. Correct any miscommunication
before he begins the actual work.
• Tell children why the material is important,
what the learning goals are, and what the
expectations are for quality performance.
• Use graphic organizers.

27. what you should not say
• “ You are good for nothing”,
• “ You can do nothing in your life”,
• “ Your parents have not taught you properly”
• “ You are acting so as to get excused from class
work”,
• “ You are dumb, you cannot get decent marks in
test”

28. Clinical Assessment
• History: - Major complaints: Onset, course and severity,
associated emotional and behavioural problems.
• Schooling: What is the academic difficulty? Any recent
change in medium of instruction? (Obtain report from school
regarding academics and general behaviour.)
• Any developmental problems? E.g., (Delay in speaking,
walking etc). Ability to take care of daily needs and attend to
age appropriate responsibilities? (indicative of general
intelligence)
• Parents’ understanding of the problems, their reactions and
solutions they have tried.

29. • Ask general questions to assess the intellectual ability
of the child
• Some suggestions are to ask the child about his place
of residence, money concept, games played and their
rules, description of school.
• The child can be briefly assessed informally for the
presence of SLD by asking him read small passages,
write spellings and perform basic arithmetic
calculations to get an idea of his/her abilities.
• If suspected child should be referred for formal
assessment of IQ and SLD.

30. Diagnostic tools
• MISIC (Malin's Intelligence Scale for Indian Children) is
the Indian is used
• Used it to identify children with intellectual disabilities and borderline
intelligence.
• NIMHANS Index for SLD Is used
• It consists of tests of reading, writing, spelling, and
arithmetic abilities, to identify children with disabilities in
these areas.
• It consists of two levels.
• A performance of two standards below the child's present
standard is considered as a diagnostic feature of SLD.

31. Management
• Education of child: SLD is not their fault, State that options
could be provided for alternative subjects where feasible.
• Remediation: Remediation consists of assessment of the
deficit areas and structured.
• one-to-one instruction to develop competency in academic
skills.
• It depends on the availability of resources and special
educators who are specifically trained in SLD remediation.

32. • High interest materials (Designed )
• Multisensory methods (Visual, Auditory)
• Programmed Reading (short reading process then checking)
• Draw between the lines
• Square note book
• Fading model
• Spelling activities
• Cover & write method

34. Thank you