The document discusses tools for identifying and assisting students with learning disabilities in the modern classroom. It notes that classrooms today are not uniform and teachers must be adaptable to students of varying performance levels. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that states provide services to eligible students with disabilities. Teachers can create student profiles to understand individual strengths and needs and develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that incorporate assistive technologies. Examples of assistive technologies include hearing devices, speech apps, and spell check to help students with disabilities like dyslexia and dysgraphia. The Universal Design for Learning approach calls for diverse teaching methods to allow students to demonstrate skills based on their individual profiles.

1. Tools for Success
Identifying and Assisting students with Learning Disabilities

2. The Modern Classroom
• Not uniform
• Students in any given classroom will perform at different levels
• Must be adaptable
• Teachers must learn to adopt approaches to benefit students of different performance
levels
• Must take advantage of the tools that are out there
• Technology has advanced to assist students with learning disabilities so that all
students have the chance to be successful

3. “
”
More than 6 million students, representing 9.1% of
the general population, spend 80% or more of their
day in a general education classroom.
U.S. Department of Education (2008) as cited in Cennamo, Ertmer & Ross, 2014

4. IDEA
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) was created in 2004 to ensure that states
provide services to eligible students with disabilities.

5. Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities
• Teachers can learn about each individual student’s strengths, weaknesses,
abilities, and interests by generating a student profile for each.
• This profile will allow teacher’s to adapt teaching styles based on the needs
in the classroom and create a class profile.

6. Individual Education Program
(IEP)
• Under IDEA, students that are deemed eligible for special education will
have an IEP or Individual Education Program
• Teachers and parents collaborate to determine what tools will help in assisting the
student to be most successful.
• Often incorporates the use of various technologies to assist the student.

7. Common disabilities that may require a
teacher to develop an IEP for a student
• Learning disabilities
• Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)
• Emotional Disorders
• Cognitive Challenges
• Autism
• Hearing Impairment
• Visual Impairment
• Speech or language impairment
• Developmental delay
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html#

8. AssistiveTechnologies
• Defined as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether
acquired commercially or off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used
to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with
disabilities” (Pub. L. No. 108-446 as cited in Cennamo, Ertmer & Ross, 2014,
p.152).
• Supported by the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 which gives funding to
the states and US territories for use of assistive technologies in the
classroom.
• Can be low or high tech, depending on the need of the individual student.
They do not necessarily have to be electronic by definition.

9. Examples of AssistiveTechnologies
Hearing Impairment
• Induction Loop Systems
• Telecoil
(National Institute on Deafness, 2011)
• FM Systems
• Infrared Systems
• Pictureboard (non-electronic)
Learning Disabilities:
Dysgraphia or Dyslexia
• Apps such as the following
• Dragon Dictation
• TextExpander
• Pictello
• Spell Check
• iWritewords
(Apps to Help Students, n.d.)

10. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• UDL is an approach to teaching that calls for diversity among teaching
methods, instructions, and materials to allow students to best demonstrate
their skills according to their individual learning profiles.
• Teachers can use various technologies to help the students connect with the
information in more ways than traditional print-based or analog audio/video
materials.

11. References
Apps to help students with dysgraphia and writing difficulties, (n.d.) National Center for Learning
Disabilities. Retrieved from: http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-
education/apps-students-ld-dysgraphia-writing-difficulties
Assistive technologies for people with hearing, voice, speech, or language disorders. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. Retrieved from:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/assistive-devices.aspx#3
Cennamo, K.S., Ertmer, P.A., & Ross, J.D. (2014). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use.
Belmont, CA:Wadsworth
Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s), (n.d.) KidsHealth. Retrieved from:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html#