STUDENTS
WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
A Guide for
Staff and Students
The Australian
National University, 1995
What
are Learning Disabilities (LD)?
Common Indicators of LD
For Staff: Teaching and Assessment Strategies
For Students: Self-Help Strategies
References
WHAT ARE LEARNING
DISABILITIES (LD)?
Learning disabilities
are `severe and prolonged difficulties in the acquisition and development
of expected literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills given at least
average intelligence and the absence of other causal factors' (Monash
University Guidelines). Learning disabilities are presumed to arise
from neurological impairment. They are intrinsic to the individual,
occur across the lifespan and allow for much variation in the presented
difficulties.They are not caused by low intellectual ability, inappropriate
learning background or emotional difficulties, though these disadvantages
might coexist with learning disabilities.
Many students
with LD are not readily identifiable; indeed many of the difficulties
they present with can be found across a wide range of students.
In the case of students with LD, however, there is a difference
in degree, intensity and aetiology. Some students with LD choose
not to alert their teachers and peers to their disabilities; some
do not actually know why studying seems to be presenting them with
more problems than their peers face. However, many students with
LD have had objective evidence of their disabilities, both through
secondary education records and through psychological testing.
In 1994 the
ANU piloted a testing program for students with LD through the Department
of Psychology. This information on the nature and extent of individuals'
disabilities should assist the students themselves, the staff who
teach them and the work of the Disability Liaison Officer.
Common Indicators
of LD
There is wide variation
in the standard of performance of students with LD and the sort of
problems they encounter. What is common is the perception, often shared
by teacher and student, that these students are not performing to
their potential. Some of the indicators that may become apparent are:
- a marked
discrepancy between oral contributions in class and written work,particularly
one-draft assignments, such as exam essays and in-class tests;
- major
drafting problems: poor penmanship (sometimes with a preference
for printing rather than cursive handwriting); frequent spelling
errors (including transposition, omission and addition of letters
or attempts at phonic spelling); missing inflectional endings
(such as /ed/ or /s/ and inappropriate use of prepositions); sentence
structure problems (such as sentence fragments which do not agree,
use of short, staccato sentences); unclear sequencing of ideas
(inadequately indicated argumentative shifts, inappropriate transition
word use);
- inexpert
mathematical manipulations caused by the transposition of
numbers in calculations and a difficulty in recalling formulae
and sequences of events or procedures. This often translates into
slow calculation rates and poor serial learning.
Whereas one could
argue that many students show evidence of some of these problems,
in most cases the problems will disappear as the students develop
the maturity and skills required for university study. The students
with LD will face these problems in a more marked and continuing way,
for these learning problems reflect complex disabilities which have
other implications which may not be so easy to recognise.
- Difficulties
in visuo-spatial perception and organisation may be associated
with difficulties in interpreting information presented in two
dimensional, diagrammatic or graph form and in transferring text
from blackboards and overhead projectors. At a broader level these
difficulties may translate into time miscalculations or directional
uncertainty, which may surface as regular tardiness or difficulties
in locating material in the library.
- Poor motor
coordination may contribute to unattractive handwriting, and
can also cause problems with laboratory technique and contribute
to early fatigue associated with writing or typing.
These indicators
can be exacerbated by other problems such as low self-esteem, inappropriate
social behaviour, low tolerance of frustration and real educational
deficits. These in themselves do not cause the disabilities but, because
tertiary students with LD have usually experienced years of under
performance and frustration, academic success may be made more elusive
by the compounded effects of LD and these further disadvantages.
On the other
hand, many tertiary students with LD are people of acute intelligence
and/or great creative potential. The very disabilities they suffer
mean that only the most gifted gain access to university. Many also
develop great perseverance and endurance and find imaginative coping
strategies. The widely attested oral fluency or artistic prowess
of some adults with LD do not spring directly from their neurological
disabilities but rather may develop as compensating mechanisms to
deal with these disabilities.
For staff:
TEACHING and ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES
Successful teaching
of students with LD does not involve any particularly esoteric talents
or strategies. Many of the principles which are conducive to successful
teaching of these students are the same ones that inform all good
teaching practice. There is, however, a greater need for the explicit
articulation of objectives, requirements and directives. The following
strategies may initially seem time-consuming but you will find that
all your students will gain from these clarifications and that you
will be saving time by minimising problems before they occur. You
are probably already using many of the strategies suggested here as
part of your regular teaching practice.
If a student
alerts you to an LD condition or you suspect that you may have a
student with LD, it's a good idea to get in touch with the Disability
Liaison Officer (tel:(02) 6249 5036). She can inform you of the
University policy on disabilities and suggest appropriate responses
to the individual case.
Course Information
- Provide course
outlines, booklists, tutorial readings and assessment schedules
before the start of the semester.
- Provide administrative
information about the course both orally and in writing.
- Set aside
regular office hours for student consultations.
Lectures
- Audio or
video tape lectures, if possible.
- Provide outlines
of lecture content, either in advance or before you start the
lecture.
- You may consider
making yourself available for short periods after lectures for
quick consultations.
Small Group
Classes (tutorials, labs, workshops)
- Provide questions
to focus the discussion.
- If you suspect
a student may be showing signs of LD, discuss the issue with the
student privately and encourage the student to contact the Disability
Liaison Officer as a first step. This obviously would have to
be handled sensitively and in a positive manner.
Assessing the academic
work of students with LD has, at times, posed problems both for academics
and the disadvantaged students. Academics may find it difficult to
judge the competence of a student where the inadequate control of
the transmission skills sets up uncertainties about disciplinary understandings
and competencies. However, often it is the superficial aspects of
assessment tasks that are most problematic for students with LD and
sometimes what is truly central to these understandings and competencies
can be assessed in different ways. An analysis of the function of
a traditional form of assessment may show that it is possible to test
successfully through a number of different testing modes. Students
can then be offered a range of tasks, which would give students with
LD the opportunity to choose a mode which least disadvantages them.
(See
Managing Oral Examinations: a Guide for Staff and Students,
available from the Disability Liaison Officer.)
Assignments
- Articulate
your objectives for each assignment.
- Provide optional
mock assessment tasks in the format of the actual assessment assignments
so that students can gain familiarity with the assessment formats
and test their own progress.
- Provide examples
of satisfactory and unsatisfactory work with explicit judgements
about the features which have contributed to the evaluation.
- Develop a
clear extension policy and be prepared to allow the evidence of
LD as a satisfactory basis for extension.
- Give explicit
feedback on assignments, both on content and the effectiveness
of communication. Oral feedback is particularly valuable for students
with LD.
Examinations
Where possible
and appropriate, consider:
- allowing
for alternative or supplementary (ie additional testing) formats,
eg oral presentations, computer simulations, photographic essays;
- allowing
for alternative methods of responding to exams, eg taping or typing
responses;
- allowing
for alternative examination locations, perhaps a separate room
to minimise distraction;
- allowing
for extension of time in examinations;
- allowing
the participation of a scribe/reader;
- allowing
students with LD the use of a calculator or formula sheet;
- supporting
students in their requests to the Examination Section for special
versions of the exam question paper, such as different colour
sheets, or clearer formats, or larger fonts;
- being available
for students to clarify or rephrase exam questions before they
start their responses;
- in problem
solving answers, rewarding the process that the student has followed
to analyse a problem rather than focusing too heavily on the solution
offered;
- where other
flexibilities prove impossible, instructing the markers of one-draft
examination papers not to penalise too severely poor presentation,
spelling errors and slips in superficial grammatical correctness.
For students:
SELF-HELP STRATEGIES
Analyse your strengths
and weaknesses, acknowledging that you might need to develop some
special strategies in your studies and general behaviour. These may
range from wearing a ring on one hand to easily distinguish between
your right and left hand to organising your life so that every assignment
task is in its final draft form four days before it is due. You can
develop some of these strategies with the help of the various advisers
that the University provides to support students' learning.
1) Tap into
the support the University provides:
- The Disability
Liaison Officer (Student Facilities Building - tel: 6249 5036)
The Disability Liaison Officer provides an advisory service to
staff and students and can help you get an objective evaluation
of your LD if you have not had one before you came to university.
This may be necessary if you want any special consideration in
your courses. She can accompany you to talk to your lecturers
about your disability, can provide equipment like tape recorders
and dictaphones, and help you make contact with other LD students,
if you wish it. If you feel that your disability may hamper your
studies you should make contact with the Disability Liaison
Officer as soon as you come on campus or even before you start
your studies.
- The Study
Skills Centre (Chancelry Annex - tel: 6249 2972) The Study
Skills Centre offers you support in the skills required for progression
through your course. These may be skills in reading appropriate
for university learning, in academic writing, in mathematics and
statistics or in improving your study patterns. The Centre offers
small group courses and individual tuition.
- The University
Counselling Centre - (Health and Counselling Building, North
Road - tel: 6249 2442) The University Counselling Centre offers
you support in the more general living skills. They can help you
to increase your self-esteem and self-confidence and inform you
about stress and anxiety reduction strategies. This Centre offers
group sessions and individual interviews.
- The Senior
Librarian - Lending Services (Chifley Library - tel: 6249
4084) The Senior Librarian - Lending Services can advise you on
how to find your way through the maze-like environment and systems
of the University libraries and what extra facilities may be available
for you. Initially all students are intimidated by the complexity
of the cataloguing and retrieval systems, but the library has
introductory courses on how to use the library. You should make
sure you attend one of these in Orientation Week or in the first
weeks of first semester, as using the library efficiently is an
integral part of university study.
2) Develop
good study habits
Good study habits
enhance the chance of successful learning. They are beneficial for
all students at the university. For students with LD they are essential.
Understanding
Your Courses
- Try to understand
the objectives, requirements and types of assessment in each
of your courses right at the beginning of the semester. This means
paying close attention to the early lectures and first tutorial,
which often cover important administrative detail and studying
closely the initial handout for the course. It may also be useful
to talk to your tutors or a study adviser about how to organise
the work you need to do in any individual unit.
- Set up a
diary of all assignments and examinations. Work back from
the due dates through a few signpost dates so that, by looking
at the diary, you will always have a good indication of where
you should be at any point in the semester.
- Set up
a weekly timetable, filling in all your contact hours as well
as all your extracurricular involvements. Then fill in slots for
all your regular work, such as reading for tutorials in Anthropology,
or doing your weekly Statistics questions. Also fill in slots
for tasks such as tidying up notes after a lecture, integrating
tutorial notes with your reading notes, or writing up lab experiments.
These activities are part of good study practice but they can
easily slip when you get overwhelmed with hand-in assignments.
Lectures and
Small Group Classes
- Check on
what taping facilities there are for lectures, tutorials
and basic readings. Many lectures in the Univesity are taped as
a service for all students. These are placed in the Short Loan
in the libraries. The Disability Liaison Officer can organise
the taping of certain centrally important readings for you.
- Preview
relevant reading or material before lectures, tutorials or
labs. Do this for all your materials, whether they be in the form
of argumentative prose, textbook type layout or mathematical problems.
This may give you clues which you will find very useful later.
Go to the Study Skills Centre to discuss the most effective ways
of developing reading skills for different types of texts and
different purposes. Reading large amounts of material efficiently
is an important skill for university study. If you are a slow
reader address the question of efficient reading strategies early
on in the course.
- Attend
all classes. Other students can get by with missing an occasional
class, but for you, hearing the lecture or tutorial discussion
may be a critical factor in learning new material.
- Whenever
possible sit toward the front of the class so you can hear
and see well. You'll also find it less distracting.
- Review
your lecture and tutorial notes and any tapes that you are
using as soon after the lecture as possible. Tidy up material,
highlight the main points, fill in anything missing. It's a good
idea to compare your notes with a friend. Also integrate any additional
reading. Remember you will need to understand your notes weeks
or months later when you are doing assignments, writing essays
or preparing for exams.
Assignments
- Make sure
you understand what's required in assignments and how to
analyse essay questions. Check on this with your tutors and Study
Skills advisers. Take an Essay Writing course in the Study Skills
Centre early in your first year if you are required to write essays
frequently.
- Write your
essays in multiple drafts. You may find that taping your early
brainstorming may be a good strategy. Accept that your early draft
is for ideas, a later draft for organised argument, and that you
need to focus consciously on good presentation towards the end
of the process. Make sure that in your planning you take account
of the time you need for all this. Do not rush the final part
of this process. Good ideas and analysis can remain unrecognised
by the marker if your presentation is inadequate. If you will
need an extension recognise this early and ask for it before the
due date.
- Develop memory
jogging devices for your mathematical calculations. If you
feel a lack of confidence in your understanding of mathematical
procedures map out the procedures and use the maps as models.
The same can work for multiplication tables or formulae. Pin these
to the wall around your usual work area to make these aids readily
available. With time you will find that you'll remember the sequences
better by having them constantly available.
- Learn to
word process. This makes re-drafting easier, solves handwriting
problems and allows you the use of a spell-check program. There
are also computers with voice synthesisers available in the Chifley
Library. (You can find out how to use these from the Information
Technology Officer, tel: 6249 2344.) There is some evidence that
seeing your text on a monitor and then in a clean printed copy,
makes it less likely that you will misspell words. Printing out
is particularly important for improving the sequence and force
of the points you are arguing in your text.
- Have someone
read your finished assignment or essay before the final hand-in.
This may be your tutor, if s/he is prepared to read drafts, or
a Study Skills adviser or a friend that you can trust to read
your paper carefully and critically.
- Pay careful
attention to feedback. Don't ignore unpleasant news. Make
sure you understand the message and find ways to improve.
Examinations
- Develop study
groups and support groups. Study groups often make study more
effective and pleasant. In your case it will also provide you
with another learning situation.
- Develop stress
management strategies. If, in the past, your performance in
tests and exams has been affected by stress, go to the Counselling
Centre and discuss your options on how to cope with stress.
- Start the
administrative procedures for special examination arrangements
early. The Disability Liaison Officer can help you with this.
- Never be
surprised by the format of an exam paper. Make sure to always
find out, well in advance, how you are going to be tested.
This can be done by looking at past exam papers and by speaking
to your tutor. The form of the exam will direct how you study
for the exam and how you pace yourself during the exam.
- Discuss your
exam preparation with the Study Skills Centre.
- Practise
writing answers to past exam questions within the time limit.
There is a substantial difference between knowing something and
being able to write it down in a set time. You will need to consciously
work on strategies for writing one-draft answers.
- In the exam
room, read the paper carefully. Do not rush the initial
analysis and choice of questions. Write down any formulae, names,
dates or terms you may need if they come to mind when you first
read the question.
- Remember
to allocate time to each question according to the proportion
of marks it is worth. Keep to this plan but remember that you
will probably need to rest a few times in a long exam. It might
be useful to learn some quick relaxation techniques.
3) Do not overload
Assess your
academic load when you first start studying. You do not have to
do a full load. The University allows quite generous periods of time
for the completion of degrees. Extending the time it takes you to
gain your degree does not change the degree requirements but you progress
through your degree at a slower pace. There are also special lighter
load provisions under Austudy for students with disabilities. You
can check on these provisions with the Welfare Officer (tel: 6249
5849).
Assess your
extracurricular activities, particularly those that are associated
with earning money. These can become very demanding of your time
and energy. If giving up a job would entail financial hardship,
discuss this with the Disability Liaison Officer and the Welfare
Officer (tel: 6249 5849).
4) Don't become
isolated
All students at
university at some stage strike problems. You will probably be no
exception. However, because of your LD you run the chance of compounding
these. Accept that there will be set backs and don't allow yourself
to be destroyed by one bad mark, one unsympathetic tutor or one period
when you can't get your act together.
Part of your
success at university is to get support from the right people.
An LD support group may be a good group to join. Among these very
different individuals you can share your experience and successful
strategies. And they'll understand what it's like.
It would also
be wise to develop a relationship with someone who can listen
to you and counsel you when things go wrong. That person may
be a member of your family, or a friend, or one of the advisers
or counsellors you meet at the University. The important thing is
that this person understands the culture of the university and that
you feel comfortable talking openly with this person.
Do not become
isolated. If things aren't going well, seek assistance quickly.
That is a skill that every student has to develop.
5) Postgraduate
Students with LD
By now you have developed many strategies for coping successfully in the
university environment. However, you may find old frustrations revisiting,
if you are shifting disciplines where new skills are needed. Even if you're
continuing in your discipline, you may find the need for new competencies
like mathematical modelling, using statistical packages or the drafting
of long texts. New forms of computer analysis may present you with problems
that might hinder your progress. It is important not to become withdrawn
and dispirited but rather to seek help early. If you think your LD might
delay your progress through a research degree, you should alert your supervisor.
REFERENCES
(You can borrow
these from the Disability Liaison Officer)
Australian National
University Academic Skills and Learning Centre,
Managing Oral Examinations for
Students with Disabilities: A Guide for Staff and Students, 1993
Monash University,
Learning Disabilities and Higher Education - Guidelines for
Working Effectively with Students with Learning Disabilities,
September 1993
Vogel., S.A.,
College Students with Learning Disabilities: A Handbook,
Northern Illinois University
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