Specific learning disabilities are neurological disorders that affect one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language. They can manifest as imperfect abilities in listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or math calculations. The disorders include conditions like dyslexia and affect 2.8 million students in the U.S., making up 47.4% of students receiving special education services. Characteristics of specific learning disabilities include issues with intellectual, academic, reading, writing, arithmetic, behavior, communication, and physical abilities. Teaching strategies focus on addressing perceptual difficulties, maintaining attention, and supporting memory through chunking, rehearsal, elaboration, and categorization.

1. Specific Learning Disabilities By: Caitlin and Vanessa
Definition:disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the
imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations,
including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury , minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. If the student does not achieve at the proper age and
ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning
experiences age-appropriate instruction in one of more of the following areas:
Oral expression
Listening comprehension
Written expression
Basic reading skill
Reading fluency skills
Reading comprehension
Mathematics calculations
Mathematics reasoning
Does not make adequate progress to meet age or grade-level standards in one or more of the
prior areas identified when utilizing the process of the child’s response to empirically based
interventions; or a pattern of weaknesses and strengths that have been determined to exist in
performance, achievement or both, relative to age, state-approved grade-level standards, or
intellectual development, as determined by certified assessment professionals. Specific learning
disabilities are considered a high-incidence disability. The U.S. Department of Education reports
that there are over 2.8 million students being served for specific learning disabilities and that’s
approximately 47.4% of all children receiving special education.
Characteristics:
 Intellectual
 Academic
 Reading
 Writing and drawing
 Arithmetic
 Behavior
 Communicative abilities
 Physical

2. Teaching Strategies
Perceptual Difficulties
 Do not present two pieces of information together that may be perceptually
confusing.
 Highlight important characteristics of new material
Students with Attention Difficulties
 Maintain attention by breaking long tasks and presenting limited amounts of
information.
 Use prompts and cues to draw attention to important information. (like highlighting
instructions)
Students with Memory Difficulties
 Chunking- grouping of large strings of information into smaller or more
manageable “chunks”.
 Rehearsal or repetition, either oral or silent
 Elaboration weaving of the material to be remembered into a
meaningful content.
 Categorization- being able to memorize information in categories. Ex.
Animals
RESOURCES
 www.interdys.org
Gives information about dyslexia, October is national dyslexia awareness month.
 http://www.projectidealonline.org/specificLearningDisabilities.php
Gives helpful information, not for just one disability, but for several disabilities.
 http://www.ldaamerica.org
Want to create opportunities for success for all children with learning disabilities.
 http://www.ncld.org
Gives basic information and resources for schools.