REVIEWED BY NUMBERDYSLEXIA’S EXPERT PANEL ON APRIL 08, 2023 In the realm of special education, SLD stands for Specific Learning Disabilities. It is an umbrella term encompassing a range of learning difficulties that affect how individuals process, understand, and express information. SLD is not indicative of intelligence or effort but rather
Language based learning disabilties can be confusing. There are real ways to help your kids reach their potential. Getting help is easier than you think.
Here are scientific and researched ways music can help a child who is challenged academically, emotionally and socially. These classical music listening programs work!
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that affects reading. Children with dyslexia often have poor phonological skills, resulting in difficulties with decoding, reading fluency, and spelling. Dyslexia can also impact reading comprehension and writing. Learn about the early warning signs for dyslexia, common myths, and how to help children with dyslexia become successful readers. Featured partner: Understood
Learning disorders and learning disabilities are similar, but have differences. Know the differences in learning disorders children may struggle with in the classroom.
Free or low cost apps for learning disabilities that can help children who face learning challenges to excel and truly reach their potential.
This post shares tips and strategies for teaching different learning styles to meet the needs of all learners.
Dyscalculia is a learning disability related to challenges in math. Want to learn how to fix dyscalculia? See some helpful strategies here.
Creating an inclusive classroom is challenging. Learn about the main differences & similarities between intellectual disability vs autism to teach better.
Symptoms of nonverbal learning disabilities can seem contradictory (such as being very talkative but unable to hold a conversation). See five confusing signs.
It is necessary to detect the learning disabilities during early childhood itself so that such disabilities can be treated effectively. Read on to learn about the signs of learning disabilities in children.
Recently I read a terrific article written in 2014 by Sun and Wallach entitled: "Language Disorders Are Learning Disabilities: Challenges on the Divergent and Diverse Paths to Language Learning Disability". I found it to be so valuable that I wanted to summarize some of its key points to my readers because it bears tremendous impact on
Supporting and helping parents help their disabled child at home can make a world of difference for families. Here's where to start.
Here are a few games for kids with Autism suggestions to use in your classroom. There are also many ways you can play these games...
The first subtype of ADHD is the inattentive type. This is the child who is often labeled the daydreamer. Strategies for ADHD inattentive type are included.
From foundations and grants to books, bikes and benefits - a big list of places that can help out with free stuff for kids with disabilities
What is an intellectual disability? It can be very confusing to make clarity of it all. Let us help you understand it a little better.
Learn what a sensory diet is, how it can benefit your child's learning, focus, behavior, and emotional regulation, and discover which activities should be part of your child’s individual sensory diet.
What is an intellectual disability? It can be very confusing to make clarity of it all. Let us help you understand it a little better.
What do you do when you learn that your child has dyslexia? Should you hide this diagnosis to protect them from labels and misunderstandings, or should you tell them? If you do decide to tell them, how do you do this? Can you help them to overcome any potential fears or misunderstandings? These are the questions that I will answer in this blog that includes kid-friendly graphics. What are the Benefits of Telling Your Child That He or She Has Dyslexia? Educating your child with dyslexia about the common signs and misconceptions can help them to: understand that they learn in a different way than other kids that don’t have dyslexia. shed negative labels such as stupid, careless, unmotivated and lazy. correct any misunderstandings. identify with other successful people that have or had dyslexia. acquire the needed intervention and instruction in school. learn that many people with dyslexia have strengths that others do not have. Individuals with dyslexia are often: great at communicating their ideas aloud. creative, critical thinkers. good at seeing the big picture. excellent at solving puzzles and building things. If you want to learn more about dyslexia consider reading: The Dyslexic Advantage Overcoming dyslexia Help your Child Understand Dyslexia by Reviewing the Eleven Common Signs Show your child the image below and read the list out loud. Ask them to identify which symptoms describe their difficulties. You have or had trouble with letter reversals (b and d) and words reversals (was and saw). You have or had troubles with reading aloud. You have or had trouble with words problems in math. You have or had trouble understanding jokes, punchlines, sarcasm and inferences. You have or had trouble following a series of written or aural directions. You have or had trouble mispronouncing words. You have or had trouble rhyming words. You have or had trouble telling directions. You have or had trouble recalling names or words. You have or had trouble with spelling You have or had trouble learning how to read. What are Four Myths and Truths about Dyslexia? Show your child the graphic below and read the list of myths and truths out loud. Ask them to respond to each of the myths - "Have you ever felt this way?" Then read the truth and address any questions. Myth #1: People with dyslexia are not smart. Truth #1: Many dyslexic individuals are extremely bright and creative. In fact, many kids with dyslexia are gifted. Watch a video on famous people with dyslexia: Click Here Myth #2: People with dyslexia cannot learn to read or write. Truth #2: With the right intervention and instruction people with dyslexia can become excellent readers and writers. Myth #3: People with dyslexia see things backwards. Truth #3: Dyslexia is not a vision problem. It has to do with how the brain make sense of what is seen. Myth #4: People with dyslexia are lazy and should try harder. Truth #4: Kids with dyslexia learn differently. When they are asked to learn in a way that does not work well for them, it can take more time. Finding Multisensory Remedial Tools for Kids with Dyslexia: If you are looking for fun, creative and multisensory remedial materials, lessons and games created for learners with dyslexia, CLICK HERE. If you would like a free copy of these images CLICK HERE. Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses. · Blog: https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/ · YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1 · Podcast: https://godyslexia.com/ · Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/ & www.dyslexiamaterials.com · Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/ · Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/69400
How does slow processing speed affect students? Slow processing speed can create anxiety as the struggle with processing verbal or visual information.
Life skills may need to be specifically trained in kids with disabilities, often though chaining methods. 100+ Indepent Living Skills Checklist included in this post.
Executive dysfunction is a brain-based impairment that impacts a person's ability to analyze, organize, decide, and execute things on time. It causes assignments to be lost, deadlines to be missed, and projects to overwhelm. Learn how to recognize the signs of executive dysfunction, and how to differentiate them from ADHD and/or learning disabilities.
When setting up your classroom and lessons to give them the best education, here are some strategies for teaching students with an intellectual disability.
Auditory Processing Disorder is a neurological processing problem with sound and language. The child will struggle to process the information coming in through hearing and reading. They have normal hearing and can hear sounds just like other children, but they Read More ...
Your child's struggling with schoolwork but is it a learning disability? Here are the signs of learning disabilities and what you should know.
Learn the traits that might indicate dyslexia in students and what you can do inside and outside the classroom to better support these students.
The Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) Course helps students to utilise various methods to suit the learning styles of the children they teach.
Is your child struggling with pragmatics and other issues, but you just can't find what fits their symptoms? Read about NVLD. It gave many parents that a-ha! moment.
Numbers indicating the prevalence of dyslexia are really terrifying. According to ldonline, 5 to 15 percent of Americans—14.5 to 43.5 million children and adults— have dyslexia. Not only this, 1 out of every 5 individual is at risk of developing dyslexia at some point in their life. If take
With World Down Syndrome Day and Autism Awareness Month right around the corner, this is the perfect time to think about hosting your own disability awareness day to help students throughout your school better understand different types of disabilities! Last year, I used this Disability Awareness Day Kit from The Bender Bunch to host a schoolwide awareness day for 3rd-5th graders. I was lucky enough to have a principal that let me get a sub for the day to run this wonderful event. I set aside about an hour and 15 minutes per session and did each grade level at their own time. For the event, I sent out parent volunteer forms and got parents to sign up for a time slot to help run a table! Traci from The Bender Bunch included so many great things for me to use during this event. There are some things that you need to grab ahead of time that you'll see in my pictures, but overall it was really just making copies, finding volunteers, and setting up the stations! For my event, I created my own questionnaire to send out to teachers about a week before the event to have their students fill out. This gave me a great idea what they knew about disabilities already, what questions they had, etc. They answered a very similar questionnaire after the event so I could see what they learned! I also spend about 15 minutes at the end of the the event talking to each grade level about ways they can be a good friend to someone with a disability, asking them questions about what they learned, and answering any lingering questions. Overall, it was a GREAT success! In the future, I'd love to do it again (with help!). I did this event last year all on my own and although it turned out amazing, I would love to do it again with a little less stress (and someone to help me answer questions, those kids had some awesome questions!). Each station was set up at a table like this with everything you needed to run the station smoothly! I grabbed a bunch of gloves from our school lost and found and had the students trying to pick up pennies, tie their shoes, etc. It was eye opening for them! Finger spelling word puzzles, these were awesome! One of our stations had Google Chromebooks set up with a couple different things. One was white noise where they had to listen to the white noise while doing the specified activity. I also had some set up to show them a video through the eyes of someone with Autism. They all loved this! I e-mailed the Autism video to classroom teachers in case someone didn't get a turn. You can see the video HERE. I loved this station. All of the kids were like "I can't see that!!!" and I'm like "that's the point ;-)" haha! Have you ever done something similar at your school? If not, I highly recommend doing it! This event was a huge eye opener and big hit!
Your child has been diagnosed with and treated for ADHD, but is still struggling to keep up with her classmates — though you know she's just as bright. Could there be something else going on? In fact, many children with and without ADHD struggle with undiagnosed learning disabilities that make it difficult for them to read, write, compute, or understand at the same pace as other kids. Left untreated, LDs can cause self-esteem and academic struggles that reverberate all the way into adulthood. What can you do? Begin by using the strategies in this eBook for: Recognizing learning disabilities like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and more Pursuing school accommodations via IEPs and 504 plans Devising strategies and techniques to help your child succeed Educating friends, family, and teachers on the reality of learning disabilities PLEASE NOTE: This ebook is a downloadable PDF; it does not ship.
Learn about these functional life skills you can teach to autistic teens and in special education classrooms to help them gain independence...
Meet the hyperlexia experts
Nonverbal learning disabilities refers to challenges with motor, visual-spatial, and social skills. NVLD isn’t a learning disability, but it can impact learning.
If you want to know how to help students with learning disabilities in the classroom, check out this article. We’ve researched this topic and found useful advice just for you.
What is Executive Functioning? Executive functioning, or what I like to call the conductor of the brain, is the process of the mind gathering together and making sense of all the information we receive from our instruments or senses. Helping us to create meaning from what we see, hear, touch, taste and experience, executive functioning also allows us to focus our attention, think about new information, and make connections to what we already know. People Have Trouble Understanding Executive Functioning Problems Many teachers and parents have trouble understanding how simple tasks such as remembering appointments, using an agenda or turning in assignments can be difficult, but unfortunately these and other similar tasks can be extremely challenging for some individuals. However, the good news is the part of the brain that manages executive functioning, which is called the frontal lobe, continues to develop through high school and college. Therefore, many kids that struggle with executive functioning can significantly improve their abilities. Come Learn about the Executive Functioning Screener! CLICK HERE You Might have Executive Functioning if: Here are 11 common signs of executive functioning disorder: You have trouble maintaining a planner or agenda for recording assignments. You have trouble planning long term projects and often complete them at the last minute.You often forget papers, notebooks and other materials needed for school or homework. You have a hard time estimating how long a task or project will take. You have trouble starting your homework independently. You are easily distracted. You have a hard time keeping track of your possessions and often lose important materials. You have trouble listening to and following multistep directions. You have trouble transitioning from one task to another. You have trouble keeping appointments. You have trouble keeping your bedroom and book-bag organized. Come Learn about the Executive Functioning Screener! CLICK HERE What are Some Common Myths and Truths? Myth: Kids with executive functioning weaknesses are lazy and unmotivated. Truth: Most of these kids are motivated and hard-working, but they have trouble maintaining attention and stamina. As a result, these students are often misread and misunderstood. It is important to realize that weak executive functioning skills are NOT the result of laziness, lack of effort, or carelessness. In fact, criticizing these learners and providing negative feedback and pressure often worsens these difficulties and can trigger feelings of helplessness. Myth: ADHD and executive functioning issues are the same. Truth: Attention is only one small piece of the executive functioning skills that the brain performs. Therefore, some kids with executive functioning challenges do not have ADHD. Likewise, there are some kids with ADHD that do not struggle with other areas of executive functioning such as planning, time management and organization. What the research is discovering, however, is that there is a positive correlation between those with ADHD and executive functioning disorder.Myth: All kids should be able to learn executive functioning skills.Truth: Just like some kids are blind or paralyzed, other kids have learning disabilities that make executive functioning extremely difficult. In fact, some individuals have such a difficult time with executive functioning skills, they require support from technology and people (such as personal assistants or secretaries) throughout their life. Myth: Kids can't get school accommodations for executive functioning problems. Truth: With proper testing, many of these kids are diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD. With a diagnosis, students can get an individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan that can offer reasonable accommodations. What Can be Done to Assist These Capable Learners? 1. Maintain a structured, daily routine. 2. Teach them how to set priorities. 3. Generate a consistent homework plan. 4. Break large assignments into manageable tasks. 5. Make to-do lists. 6. Demonstrate time management skills by generating self imposed deadlines. 7. Teach study skills and test taking strategies. 8. Provide incentives and positive reinforcement. 9. Utilize graphic organizers for planning ideas and writing. 10. Teach metacognitive skills by thinking through thought processes aloud. 11. Be patient and supportive. Where Can I Get Ready Made Materials and Exercises that Help Develop These Skills? The Executive Functioning Cognitive Remedial Bundle offers a comprehensive approach to improving a student’s planning, time management and organization abilities. This bundle offers a discounted suite of downloadable activities, games, and handouts that were designed to help learning specialists, educational therapist and even parents assist students in developing executive functioning skills. To get a free sampling of activities from Planning, Time Management and Organization for Success (one of the publications in the bundle), CLICK HERE If you would like a free copy of the images in this blog, CLICK HERE Please note that these images are copyrighted and should not be used on your own website without prior permission. Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses. · Blog: https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/ · YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1 · Podcast: https://godyslexia.com/ · Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/ & www.dyslexiamaterials.com · Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/ · Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/69400
This infograph give some good tips for teachers that they can use for students who are dyslexics.
Special education expert, Hendrix Brakefield, gives his best tips for teaching life skills education to adults with intellectual disabilities.
