Children with learning disabilities often have difficulty/delays with spoken language and word recognition. If you’re asking yourself how to help with language delays, the following how-to guide provides some helpful insight in teaching these principles to those with learning disabilities and many of the idea can also be applied to their peers, so that all students can achieve academic success. These ideas can be used by all caregivers for consistency and to help the child succeed in all environments.

Spoken language is often first found as a delay in toddlers. A parent may notice that their child is not using the same number of words as their peers and perhaps cannot produce many of the same sounds. Often the parent may seek advice from their pediatrician and then be referred to the appropriate services. In Arizona, children zero to three are referred to Arizona Early Intervention Program, AZEIP. The child then goes through an evaluation process with multi-disciplinary professionals. This is often when delays are identified and appropriate services, such as Speech-Language therapy and Early Intervention, are deemed appropriate. For children with speech delays, there is often much hope at this point that the intervention will help to resolve any learning disabilities that the child may have later on.

The teaching techniques include, but are not limited to:

• Teach in the child’s natural environment where the same principles can be applied daily, so that the child can have more time to learn skills. This means that the parents have the greatest responsibility as they see the children the most.
• Teach at the child’s developmental level and not the age level, so that the child can get individualized instruction that is appropriate for them. This means looking at the whole child. What do they like? How can you get them to engage?
• Constantly engage the child in verbal communication where output is rewarded, so that the child gets used to hearing their voice and knows that sound is socially appropriate. This can start as soon as the baby is born, but it’s never to late. It just might seem to have slower progress.
• Play helps keep the child engaged and learning social rules, like turn taking. Games are great at this. Join a play group or just get down and engage with the child.
• Feeding and swallowing techniques, or oral motor stimulation, may be used to promote the child’s oral awareness and functioning. For example, the child may have low oral motor strength/ tone and therefore not be able to produce appropriate sounds. Bubbles, pin wheels, and shakes can all help to promote oral strength.

All children develop differently, however, there are common trends and milestones that many children exhibit. Students with learning disabilities may perform differently in academic and social-emotional development. The following lists some differences between the academic and social-emotional development of students with and without learning disabilities.

Students with Learning Disabilities

Academic

• Language
  • Smaller vocabulary
  • Use shorter sentences
  • Difficulty adjusting language toward listener
  • Difficulty interpreting others
  • May have difficulty with on-going conversations
• Struggle with disappointing their school’s, parents’, and their own expectations (Smith, 2004)

Social-Emotional Development

• Learned helplessness
  • Children feel defeated before they begin assignments/projects
  • Children credit success to luck
• Social Imperceptiveness (Smith, 2004)
  • Poor perception of self which leads to less peer acceptance
  • “Lack insight into the affect, attitudes, intentions, and expectations others communicate verbally and nonverbally” (Smith, p 274).

Students without Learning Disabilities

Academic

• Language
  • More complex vocabulary
  • Longer, more grammatically complex sentences
  • Easily hold on-going conversations
• Find more success in completing projects, tests, and other assignment to the standards set by themselves and others

Social-Emotional Development

• Learned success
  • Children have more self-esteem and can apply this to find success in academics and with peers
  • Contribute success to self
• Social Competence
  • Ability to easily communicate
  • Ability to relate to others
  • Can alter language and behavior for different settings and with different people
  • Has a wide variety of relationships, including friends

Reference

Smith, C.R., (2004). Learning Disabilities: The Interaction of Students and Their Environments (5^th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

As a parent, it can be difficult to learn of your child’s learning disability. A basic definition of a learning disability is an impairment that affects the way a child learns and can make it more difficult for them to reach age typical goals. There are a variety of different strategies and techniques that can be used to help a child with a learning disability achieve their educational goals.

photo credit: Tommy Ellis

An important place to start is with educating yourself is with your local school district on their policies, procedures, and programs available for your child. A child’s eligibility to Special education services is not to be identified by one limited test. Arizona implements the right for all children to have a free appropriate public education, FAPE. It is part of Arizona specified process to identify, locate, and evaluate all students with disabilities. This means, whether the child is at a private or public school, teachers need to be aware of their students needs. The child’s IEP, individual education plan, team, which includes family and professionals, should decide the child’s need for special education and for other available services. Children are also to be re-evaluated, every three years, throughout their educational process. These assessments will be followed with evaluation reports that summarize the child’s current level of development. Children are to be assessed by tests that are none prejudice and not bias to any group/demographic of people. According to Arizona Department of Education’s website, http://www.ade.az.gov,

“For a child suspected of having a specific learning disability, the documentation of the team’s determination of eligibility will include: whether the child has a specific learning disability; the basis for making the determination; the relevant behavior noted during the observation of the child; the relationship of that behavior to the child’s academic functioning; the educationally relevant medical findings, if any; whether there is severe discrepancy between achievement and ability that is not correctable without special education and related services; the determination of the team concerning the effects of environment, cultural or economic disadvantage; and each team member will certify in writing whether the report reflects his/her conclusion. If it does not reflect his/her conclusion, the team member must submit a separate statement presenting his or her conclusion.”

Each individual school district has separate programs. Many start for children at the age of three. Most often these programs are great for children with language impairments and other early-diagnosed disabilities. In many special education classes, speech therapist are available to aid in directing educational activities to include components aimed at increasing language skills. Speech therapists may also be available for one-on-one consultation with children. There are also resource teachers available in most schools for more of a tutoring program to assist children in specific areas/subjects that they need more help with during their education. As a parent, it is important to ask your specific school what they offer, so that your child can get the best education for them to succeed to their full potential.

With both learning disabilities and language disorders, there are lots of questions for parents to find the answers to. There is information on the web, in libraries, and available through government and school programs. Take advantage of these resources so that your child can maximize their education experience.