LD FAQ's

Who are they?

• Students with learning disabilities have an intelligence level in the normal range (i.e. avg of 70+), and unexpectedly achieve poorly in one or more academic areas, mostly in reading.
• Students with learning disabilities have been labels with terms such as dyslexia (reading disability), dysgraphia (handwriting or written expression disability), dyscalculia (math disability).

What are typical characteristics?

• Low achievement
• Inattention/Distractibility
• Information-processing deficits
• Social-skills deficits
• Poor motivation
• A heterogenous category
• Impulsive
• Overreliance on teachers and peers
• Poor language and cognitive development
• Perceptual, Perceptual Motor, and General coordination problems
• Delays in learning reading, math, or both

What are the demographics?

• 5.24% of students ages 6-17 have been identified with learning disabilities.
• Approximately 45% of all school-age students with disabilities have a learning disability.
• Between 1990 and 2004 an increase of approximately 14% of the school-age population was identified with learning disabilities.
• 90% of students with learning disabilities have reading problems.
• Approximately 75% are male.

Where are students educated?

• 51% of the students with learning disabilities spend most of their day learning in the general education classroom.
• The proportion of students with learning disabilities educated in segregated setting declined by approximately 42% between 1990 and 2003.

How are students identified and assessed for intervantion?

• Primary criteria for identification are a severe discrepancy between expected and actual achievement levels and exclusion of students who have other disabilities and those who have not had adequate opportunities to learn.
• A test of intelligence is used to determine expected achievement level, while a standarduzed achievement test is used to determine actual achievement level. These tests are compared to determine if severe discrepancy exists between expected and actual achievement levels.
• Curriculum-based measures are used to determine current academic level in classroom curriculum as well as to monitor student progress.
• Assessments- Standardized Achievement tests, Informal reading inventories, Formative evaluation, and Authentic assessment.

What are the outcomes?

• Reading problems tend to become more severe as students with learning disabilities move through school.
• Learning disabilities tend to persist throughout adulthood.
• Many adults with learning disabilities have difficulty finding good employment, living independently, and finding satisfaction in life.

Rosenberg, Michael S. , David L. Westling, and James McLeskey. Special Education for Today's Teachers. New Jersey: Pearsons Education, Inc., 2008.