Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities

The definition of learning disability has not been stagnant over a considerable amount of time. However, the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada in collaboration with the BC Association of School Psychologists defined learning Disabilities refer to some conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. The disability is not considered an intellectual deficiency or a mental health problem caused by poverty or ineffective teaching (Ghesquière & Ruijssenaars, 2005).

Teachers make the difference when it comes to teaching children with learning disabilities. Conducting a psychoeducational assessment to determine a student’s cognitive ability by a registered psychologist is the first step in helping the students with learning disability improves on the learning process.  This explains to teachers and other parties that the student is not lazy and puts an effort in education (Glynn, Wearmouth, & Berryman, 2006).

The teacher is expected to conduct an analysis of the pattern of scores to identify the areas in which the student needs help. Analysis of the score is determined through a curriculum-based assessment. Once the weak areas have been assessed, the student is encouraged to focus on the stronger areas in their choice of post-secondary education as well as their career options (Glynn, Wearmouth, & Berryman, 2006).

A student with learning difficulties usually has a combination of rational, thinking, remembering or learning. Each case is different and requires different approaches to enable the student to gain more information from the schooling process. Teachers need a unique program attained by identifying learning outcomes, knowing the learners, determining of the differentiated instruction approaches, recognizing how the learners represent knowledge hence plan for assessment and evaluation different from the rest of the students and implementation of the appropriate assessment and interventions. Once teachers apply the strategy, teaching students with learning disabilities become easy (Glynn, Wearmouth, & Berryman, 2006).