Deema Othman EDU502

2016201174 Teaching & Learning

A Reflection on Learning Disabilities

Teachers must be aware of the factors that control and influence the learning process in their
classrooms. Learning disabilities are one of those factors that can limit the students learning
process and in worse cases, it cat stop it if it wasnt dealt with the way it should be.
Learning disabilities refers to the condition giving rise to learning difficulties, especially
when not associated with physical disability; it is the decrease or lack of certain functions in
the brain. It affects the students neurological ability which in turn may affect one or several
other aspects in the student. There are different types of learning disabilities that students
may face or have.

Dyslexia is a neurological problem that deals with the decoding and encoding of
words or sentences. This means that a dyslexic student cant read or comprehend what
he or she is reading. Students can be of upper grade levels, but due to this kind of
disability, they act or are shown to have signs of younger children.

Dyscalculia refers to the difficulty in computing numbers or equations or anything

that uses numerical components. These students tend to stay away from anything that
requires any calculation skills no matter how simple they may be.

Dysgraphia refers to the hand-eye coordination impairment in the sense that students
with this learning difficulty cant write properly and need a lot of time and practice
for their handwriting to be legible.

Dyspraxia is a gross motor impairment, meaning that students with this disability
cant coordinate physical movements. This can be determined when students with this
disability are asked to catch/ throw a ball or any other physical activities.

Dysphasia is a language disorder marked by deficiency in the generation of speech,

and sometimes also in its comprehension, due to brain disease or damage. Students
with this disability have a difficulty to speak if not unable to speak altogether.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a disability that is related to the

inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyper activity or constant moving of the student.
To overcome, to a certain extent, the effects of this disability, the student must always
be busy with something so that s/he can focus with the teacher. ADHD affects
children and teens and can continue into adulthood. ADHD is the most commonly
diagnosed mental disorder of children.

I believe that teachers must be aware of the symptoms of every single learning disability, in
order to point out any problem that might occur with students in an early stage, to create an
action plan that helps the parents and the teachers in dealing with it. Schools must conduct
various trainings and several workshops for teachers along with the social workers to help
them recognize and support students with learning disabilities.