25-26 November, Mumbai Please contact Vinita Subramani for use of any of the following material TLDF, 2011 Learning Disabilities Remediation Approach and

25-26 November, Mumbai

Please contact Vinita Subramani for use of any of the following material

TLDF, 2011

Learning Disabilities Remediation Approach and techniques

Vinita SubramaniLearning Behavior Specialist

R

2

Topics for discussion

▪ Special education – the Referral process

▪ Intervention principles

▪ Remediation approach and techniques – Specific Reading Disability

▪ Questions & Answers

3

Remediation techniques are an integral part of the IEP implementation phase of the multi-step special education referral process in the US

▪ Parent or

educator

recognizes a

need or a

problem

shown by the

student

▪ Can be on

basis of

discrepancy in

student’s

academics,

social/emotion

al, behavioral

and/or

physical ability

RecognitionRecognition Pre-referralPre-referral ReferralReferralSpecial Education Evaluation

Special Education Evaluation

EligibilityEligibility IEP meetingIEP meeting IEP implemen- tationIEP implementation

IEP re-evaluationIEP re-evaluation

Focus of discussion today

▪ Also called

Response To

Intervention

(RTI)

▪ For students

who have

been

recognized as

needing

alternative/ad

ditional

assistance

▪ More formal

process to

identify,

develop and

implement

alternative

education

strategies

▪ For students

continuing to

experience

difficulties after

RTI

▪ Student referred

for special

education

evaluation

▪ Can be initiated

by school,

parents or

anyone else

involved in the

child’s education

▪ Psycho-

educational

evaluation

conducted by a

multi-disciplinary

team

▪ Comprehensive

and formal

evaluative

measures used

for gathering

info. on

intelligence,

achievement,

behavioral,

medical and

disability specific

issues

▪ Professionals

involved in

evaluation

meet to

decide

eligibility of

student for

special

education

services

▪ If students do

not meet

evaluation

criteria, then

schools work

out plan to

provide

services for

student on

their own

▪ Individualized

Education

Program (IEP)

▪ IEP team made

up of parent,

General Ed

teacher, Special

Ed teacher,

school

psychologist and

others

▪ IEP team shapes

the IEP (legal

contract between

parent and school

district)

▪ IEP describes

Special Ed.

services to be

provided by

school district

▪ Remedial

strategies and

interventions

implemented to

help student

address

identified LD

▪ School

personnel keep

documentation

of student

performance

against

benchmarks and

annual goals

stated in student

IEP

▪ Annual re-visiting

of current student

IEP

▪ Performance

against

benchmarks and

goals evaluated

▪ IEP updated for

next year with

new goals and

objectives based

on any new data

based on annual

assessment

4

Remediation for children with LD is delivered in the US school system using any of three different environments

Self-contained classroomSelf-contained classroom Resource roomResource room Inclusive classroomInclusive classroom

▪ For children who cannot

benefit from a general

education class placement

▪ Includes children with

ADHD or severe disabilities

▪ Low student-teacher ratio

(8:1 or 10:1)

▪ In some cases, teacher

aides or assistants can be

used (in addition to

teacher)

▪ For children who benefit

from social interaction and

peer learning

▪ Classroom includes

students of all abilities

(general and special ed.)

co-taught by one general

and one special ed. teacher


from being in a regular

classroom but also need

limited focused intervention

daily

▪ Resource room used for

the hours in the day when

the children need focused

intervention

▪ Includes, children with mild

to moderate learning

difficulties

▪ Can be individual or in

small groups

5

A few common intervention principles are followed irrespective of the environment in which remediation is delivered

▪ Post-test to determine progress and plan new goals and objectives

▪ Recommendations should be evidence based

– Choose best practices, avoid ones with little validity

– Should be based on peer-reviewed, scientifically based findings

▪ Individualize the issue – one size does not fit all

– Teach to the level of involvement

– Consider other associated cognitive, attentional, perceptual and sensory

impairments

– Take into account level of maturity, motivation and lack of impulse control

▪ Recognize developmental changes that occur as the student grows older

▪ Begin with child’s current level of achievement – pretest

▪ Begin from a “place of strength” to address deficits in other modalities

▪ Tap all available modalities to plan intervention approach

▪ Scaffold instruction

▪ Work within a child’s ability – Zone of Proximal Development

▪ Strategic instruction- ensure generalization across all domains

▪ Encourage self-regulation for greater independence

Principles

UnderstandUnderstand

MonitorMonitor

CustomizeCustomize

6

Specific Reading Disability (or Developmental Dyslexia) is by far the most common learning disability accounting for ~80% of affected children

Source: Source

VocabularyVocabulary

DecodingDecoding

Details follow

ADHD

Develop-mental Dyslexia

Dysgraphia

Dyscalculia

Non-verbalLD

Specific reading disability is the most common learning disability…

Reading comprehensionReading comprehension

▪ Critical skills:– Phonics– Phonological

awareness

▪ For general communication, usage, technical use

▪ Good vocabulary also aids comprehension

▪ Ability to draw

meaning from text

(i.e., get the

message of what

they are reading)

…requiring 3 basic capabilities to be in place for children to become good readers

7

Practitioners can use various tools in the area of Vocabulary and Reading comprehension to help students with LD, with the goal of encouraging them towards higher critical thinking skills

Source: readwritethink, reading quest, internet research

Anticipation guideAnticipation guide K-W-LK-W-L T-chartT-chart

TimelineTimeline Vocabulary word webVocabulary word web

8

Vocabulary: It is helpful to keep the following principles in mind while establishing a remedial program for vocabulary enhancement

Establish a culture that values new and interesting words


Focus on vocabulary across different learning contexts


▪ Example: “Author Chair”– Peer review: Students take turn examining

each other’s work– Creates a “riskless” atmosphere of learning

(with active peer guidance and minimal

teacher intervention)

▪ Example: When reading about a

“Quadricycle” in a story…– Link previously gained knowledge from

math lessons (quadrangle) to derive

meaning and learn a new word (i.e.,

quadricycle) from the story

Connect vocabulary words to writing activities

Connect vocabulary words to writing activities BrainstormingBrainstorming

▪ Example: “Mini lessons” before starting a

new unit– List of difficult words introduced before the

actual reading of the new unit– Meaning and definitions of these words

taught explicitly beforehand– Students encouraged to use these words in

writing before starting new unit

▪ Example: Retire oft-used words and

brainstorm “wow” synonyms…– Visibly retire oft-used words (e.g., good,

great etc.)– Brainstorm with students to come up with

“wow” synonyms (e.g., spectacular) – Encourage students to use “wow” words in

writing activities

9

Vocabulary: A simple tool like the vocabulary word web graphic organizer can help children with LD gain confidence in new word usage

▪ In this exercise, students take a

particular word and collaborate as a

group to use it in different contexts

▪ Students find this extremely

valuable as,

– They own a personal collection of

words they are proud to use

– Acts as a ready reference for

them when they come across the

word again

– Builds self-confidence in using the

word given, they get to play

around with the word during the

vocabulary web exercise

Vocabulary word webVocabulary word web

Synonyms Use in a sentence

Word to learn

Definition

FearlessFearless

Not afraid or braveNot afraid or brave

Shivaji was a fearless warriorShivaji was a fearless warrior

Without fear, showing a lack of fear Without fear, showing a lack of fear

10

Reading comprehension: K-W-L and Questioning strategy are powerful tools to use in helping children gain meaning from text

K-W-LK-W-L

▪ A pre, during and post-reading activity

developed by Ogle (1986)

▪ Can be used to model to children that

reading is an active, constructive

process

▪ Students find this extremely valuable

as,

– They can confirm their prior

knowledge of the given topic

– Build further on their existing

knowledge of the subject

– Build anticipation and enthusiasm to

learn more about the subject by

asking pointed questions


students for written composition

Know Want to know Learn

▪ What I already know

▪ What I would like to know

▪ What I learned after reading

▪ Example: Subject - Gorillas

▪ They are big

▪ They are black in

color

▪ They have black

eyes

▪ What do they eat?

▪ Where do they

live?

▪ Gorillas eat plants

and leaves

▪ Gorillas live in

forests of Central

Africa

▪ Matured male

gorillas have

silver hair and are

called silver backs

11


Questioning strategyQuestioning strategy

▪ Used after reading a story to get an

idea of student understanding and to

direct their attention to important parts

of the story


as,

– They learn to internalize the

questioning strategy

– Enables them to focus on important

story elements

– Helps them understand character

motivations, main problem and

resolution

Sample list of questions

▪ Who are the most important characters in the story?

▪ What do we know about them?

▪ Describe what they look like – their personalities etc.?

▪ How do we know that?

▪ What did (name of main character) do?

▪ Why did he/she do that?

▪ What happened after he/she (name the main activity)?

▪ What was the main problem in the story?

▪ How was the problem solved?

▪ What is the main point of the story?

12

In summary…Remediation techniques are an integral part of the IEP implementation phase of the multi-step special education referral process in the US

▪ Parent of

educator

recognizes a

need or a

problem

shown by the

student

▪ Can be on

basis of

discrepancy in

student’s

academics,

social/emotion

al, behavioral

and/or

physical ability

RecognitionRecognition Pre-referralPre-referral ReferralReferralSpecial Education Evaluation

Special Education Evaluation

EligibilityEligibility IEP meetingIEP meeting IEP implemen-tation

IEP implemen-tation

IEP re-evaluation

IEP re-evaluation

Focus of discussion today

▪ Also, called

Response To

Intervention

(RTI)

▪ For students

who have

been

recognized as

needing

alternative

assistance

▪ More formal

process to

identify,

develop and

implement

alternative

education

strategies

▪ For students

continuing to

experience

difficulties after

RTI

▪ Student referred

For special

education

evaluation

▪ Can be initiated

by school,

parents or

anyone else

involved in the

child’s education

▪ Psycho-

educational

evaluation

conducted by a

multi-disciplinary

team

▪ Comprehensive

and formal

evaluative

measures used

for gathering info.

on intelligence,

achievement,

behavioral,

medical and

disability specific

issues

▪ Professionals

involved in

evaluation

meet to

decide

eligibility of

student for

special

education

services

▪ If students do

not meet

evaluation

criteria, then

schools work

out plan to

provide

services for

student on

their own

▪ Individualized

Education

Program (IEP)

▪ IEP team made

up of parent,

General Ed

teacher, Special

Ed teacher,

school

psychologist and

others

▪ IEP team shapes

the IEP (legal

contract between

parent and school

district)

▪ IEP describes

Special Ed.

services to be

provided by

school district

▪ Remedial

strategies and

interventions

implemented to

help student

address

identified LD

▪ School

personnel keep

documentation

of student

performance

against

benchmarks and

annual goals

stated in student

IEP

▪ Annual re-visiting

of current student

IEP

▪ Performance

against

benchmarks and

goals evaluated

▪ IEP updated for

next year with

new goals and

objectives based

on any new data

based on annual

assessment

Remediation for children with LD is delivered in the US school systems using any of three different environments

Self-contained classroomSelf-contained classroom Resource roomResource room Inclusive classroomInclusive classroom

▪ For children who cannot

benefit from a general

education class placement

▪ Includes, children with

ADHD or severe disabilities

▪ Low student-teacher ratio

(8:1 or 10:1)

▪ In some cases, teacher

aides or assistants can be

used (in addition to teacher)


from social interaction and

peer learning

▪ Classroom includes

students of all abilities

(general and special Ed.)

co-taught by one general

and one special ed. teacher


from being in a regular

classroom but also need

limited focused intervention

daily

▪ Resource room used for the

hours in the day when the

children need focused

intervention

▪ Includes, children with mild

to moderate learning

difficulties

▪ Can be individual or in

small groups

A few common intervention principles are followed irrespective of the environment in which remediation is delivered

▪ Post-test to determine progress and plan new goals and objectives

▪ Recommendations should be evidence based

– Choose best practices, avoid ones with little validity

– Should be based on peer-reviewed, scientifically based findings

▪ Individualize the issue – one size does not fit all

– Teach to the level of involvement

– Consider other associated cognitive, attentional, perceptual and sensory

impairments

– Take into account level of maturity, motivation and lack of impulse control

▪ Recognize developmental changes that occur as the student grows older

▪ Begin with child’s current level of achievement – pretest

▪ Begin from a “place of strength” to address deficits in other modalities

▪ Tap all available modalities to plan intervention approach

▪ Scaffold instructions

▪ Work within a child’s ability – Zone of Proximal Development

▪ Strategic instruction- ensure generalization across all domains

▪ Encourage self-regulation for greater independence

Principles

UnderstandUnderstand

MonitorMonitor

CustomizeCustomize

Special Reading Disability (or Developmental Dyslexia) is by far the most common learning disability accounting for ~80% of affected children

VocabularyVocabulary

DecodingDecoding

Details follow

ADHD

Develop-mental Dyslexia

Dysgraphia

Dyscalculia

Non-verbalLD

Special reading disability is the most common learning disability…

Reading comprehensionReading comprehension

▪ Critical skills:– Phonics– Phonological

awareness

▪ For general communication, usage, technical use

▪ Good vocabulary also aids comprehension

▪ Ability to draw

meaning from text

(i.e., get the

message of what

they are reading)

…requiring 3 basic capabilities to be in place for children to become good readers

Vocabulary: It is helpful to keep the following principles in mind while establishing a remedial program for vocabulary enhancement





▪ Example: “Author Chair”

– Peer review: Students take turn examining

each other’s work

– Creates a “riskless” atmosphere of learning

(with active peer guidance and minimal

teacher intervention)

▪ Example: When reading about a

“Quadricycle” in a story…

– Link previously gained knowledge from

math lessons (quadrangle) to derive

meaning and learn a new word (i.e.,

quadricycle) from the story

Connect vocabulary words to writing activities

Connect vocabulary words to writing activities BrainstormingBrainstorming

▪ Example: “Mini lessons” before starting a

new unit

– List of difficult words introduced before the

actual reading of the new unit

– Meaning and definitions of these words

taught explicitly beforehand

– Students encouraged to use these words in

writing before starting new unit

▪ Example: Retire oft-used words and

brainstorm “wow” synonyms…

– Visibly retire oft-used words (e.g., good,

great etc.)

– Brainstorm with students to come up with

“wow” synonyms (e.g., spectacular)

– Encourage students to use “wow” words in

writing activities

Vocabulary: A simple tool like the vocabulary word web graphic organizer canhelp LD children gain confidence in new word usage

▪ In this exercise, students take a

particular word and collaborate as a

group to use it in different contexts

▪ Students find this extremely

valuable as,

– a personal collection of words

they are proud to use


them when they come across the

word again

– Builds self-confidence in using

the word given, they get to play

around with the word during the

vocabulary web exercise

Vocabulary word webVocabulary word web

SynonymsSynonyms Use in a sentenceUse in a sentence

Word to learnWord to learn

DefinitionDefinition

FearlessFearless

Not afraid or braveNot afraid or brave

Shivaji was a fearless warriorShivaji was a fearless warrior

Without fear, showing a lack of fear Without fear, showing a lack of fear


K-W-LK-W-L

▪ A pre, during and post reading activity

developed by Ogle (1986)

▪ Can be used to model to children that

reading is an active, constructive

process (i.e., you build meaning as

you go)


as,

– They can confirm their prior

knowledge of the given topic

– Build further on their existing

knowledge of the subject

– Build anticipation and enthusiasm to

learn more about the subject by

asking pointed questions


students for written composition



and leaves


forests of Central

Africa

▪ Matured male

gorillas have

silver hair and are

called silver

backs

▪ What do they

eat?

▪ Where do they

live?

▪ They are big


color

▪ They beat their

chest

LearnWant to knowKnow






and leaves


forests of Central

Africa

▪ Matured male

gorillas have

silver hair and are

called silver

backs

▪ What do they

eat?

▪ Where do they

live?

▪ They are big


color

▪ They beat their

chest

LearnWant to knowKnow





Questioning strategyQuestioning strategy

▪ Used after a story to get an idea of

student understanding and to direct

their attention to the important parts of

the story


as,

– They learn to internalize the

questioning strategy

– Enables them to focus on important

story elements

– Helps them understand character

motivations, main problem and

resolution

Sample list of questions

▪ Who are the most important characters in the story?

▪ What do we know about them?

▪ Describe what they look like – their personalities etc.?

▪ How do we know that?

▪ What did (name of main character) do?

▪ Why did he/she do that?

▪ What happened after he/she (name the main activity)?

▪ What was the main problem in the story?

▪ How was the problem solved?

▪ What is the main point of the story?

▪ Remediation

techniques can be

administered in

different

environments

▪ However, they

follow a common

set of intervention

principles

▪ Specific Reading Disability (or

Developmental Dyslexia) is by far

the most common LD

▪ Vocabulary and Reading

Comprehension are key capabilities

to build in children (decoding

capability being the foundation)

▪ Several tools can be used to

encourage children towards higher

critical thinking

▪ Author chair and use of word web to

build vocabulary in children with LD

▪ K-W-L and Questioning strategy help

with reading comprehension

Vocabulary

Reading Comprehension

13

Points to ponder…

▪ Scaffold instruction and aim for independence

▪ Impart strategic instruction – transform students into active learners, provide knowledge that can transfer to other academic and social areas

▪ Accountability – have meaningful and measurable goals for progress

14

Questions and Answers

15

Thank you!

Documents

25-26 November, Mumbai Please contact Vinita Subramani for use of any of the following material TLDF, 2011 Learning Disabilities Remediation Approach and