The Challenges Of Teaching Students With Learning Disabilities

Learning disability schools and even colleges for learning disabilities do exist and may be an option for severely impacted learning-disabled children. However, as with any special school, learning disability schools and colleges for learning disabilities carry a number of disadvantages as well as the obvious advantages. Many of these schools and colleges are geared toward children with severe disorders such as autism and may not be the best choice for those with more mild learning disabilities. Learning-disabled children who attend special schools or colleges may develop self-image problems, seeing themselves as their learning disabilities rather than as whole people who happen to have a disability. Integration of self may be more difficult. Colleges for learning disabilities and learning disability schools should be considered as an alternative but not treated as the default choice for learning disabled children.

For these reasons, it is quite likely that the regular classroom teacher will find himself teaching students with learning disabilities throughout his or her career. It is important for the teacher to understand the particular challenges and issues inherent in teaching students with learning disabilities.

The classroom teacher should strive to understand the specific learning disability with which a student has been diagnosed. Perhaps the most common, or at least the best known, learning disability is dyslexia. Dyslexia affects the ability to process written language. Another common learning disability is dyscalculia, which affects the ability to perform mathematical computations. Strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities vary according to the specific learning disability.

Students with learning disabilities tend to be well aware of their disability and how to manage it. Be sure to involve the student as well as his or her parents in developing an individual educational plan. Depending on the severity of the learning disability, management may be as simple as presenting information in a different way. On the other hand, the learning disability may require extra resources and perhaps individual time. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act both require the schools to provide appropriate resources. If you need additional resources from your school officials, from assistive technology equipment, to time with the school psychologist, be sure to speak up and request what you need.

Teaching students with learning disabilities can prove quite rewarding, albeit challenging. Learning disabilities are very manageable through a combination of strategies. It is important that the classroom teacher provide the necessary tools to manage the learning disability while continuing to challenge the child's strengths. Importance should be placed on teaching the child to integrate the disability into his life without making it the major focus of his existence.