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with the Latest Resources on Learning Disabilities

Over the last decade, rapid advances in brain research have given us significant insight into how the brain learns. Researchers have also discovered how people with learning disabilities learn differently, using different neurological pathways to accomplish the same task. Several new resources can help educators understand the new research findings and their implications for teaching.

In July of 1990, the president of the United States of America signed a proclamation naming the new decade the “Decade of the Brain.” Researchers in the fields of medicine, neurobiology, neurochemistry, psychology, and education were making major discoveries about the brain at an accelerating pace.

Scientists, aided by new imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), began mapping the structures of the brain with previously unheard of clarity and detail in the late 1970s. As in other periods of scientific breakthrough, the new discoveries were made possible by the newly created tools for observing nature. In the early 1980s, a new computer-assisted imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET) first observed the brain “at work” by mapping blood flow activity within the brain. Today, brain activity research is conducted using functional MRI (fMRI) devices, which are completely noninvasive and require no injections of radioactive tracers (Shaywitz, 2003). In her book Overcoming Dyslexia, Yale University researcher Shaywitz explains the history of research on speech and reading disabilities as well as her own research on how persons with and without dyslexia use their brains to read text. Research shows that dyslexic readers do not use the phonological areas of the left hemisphere of the brain like fluent readers. With coaching and through hard work, dyslexic readers can learn to read accurately by developing a secondary neurological pathway; however, brain images show that they never switch over to the faster phonologic pathway and will remain slow readers (p. 162).

Shaywitz uses research findings to correct the myths about dyslexia, and she introduces parents, teachers, and dyslexics to the tools needed to overcome the effects of dyslexia. She gives guidance on recognizing and diagnosing dyslexia and offers suggested practices for helping children, young adults, and adults. Her book also lists many resources including exercises, teaching aids, and information on computer-based assistive technology. Her epilogue ends the book hopefully by recounting the reading and learning struggles of several famous people with dyslexia, including novelist John Irving.

On November 3, 2006, National Public Radio aired “Overcoming Dyslexia, and Turning a Corner in Life.” The story is one of the weekly StoryCorps, American autobiography recordings. In this three-minute recording, Sean Plasse recounts his embarrassment, frustration, and educational struggles. He also describes his relief when he sought help during his late 20s and discovered that he had dyslexia. Find his story and other resources on dyslexia on the NPR Web page.

It is impossible for those without learning disabilities (which would include most teachers) to know what it actually feels like to live with a learning disability. Special education teacher, author, and consultant Richard D. Lavoie has helped teachers around the world understand the frustration, anxiety and tension that students with learning disabilities experience through his F.A.T. City Workshops. F.A.T. is an acronym for Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension -- the emotions experienced by learning disabled individuals in daily life and in the classroom. Lavoie’s video, Understanding Learning Disabilities: How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, produced by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1989, has been a popular tool for broadening public understanding of the learning challenges faced by those with learning disabilities.

Lavoie’s recently released video, Beyond F.A.T. City: A Look Back, a Look Ahead (2005) reviews the progress that has been made in awareness and advocacy on the part of people with learning disabilities. The video is designed to help parents and teachers effectively support the learning needs of LD students and avoid classroom practices that are ineffective or harmful to LD students. The 48-page viewer’s guide that comes with the Beyond F.A.T. City video contains great advice for helping these students based on research and Lavoie’s 30 years of experience in special education. Both of Lavoie’s excellent videos are available for checkout by mail from TCALL’s Clearinghouse library.

In Beyond F.A.T. City, Lavoie states that “90 percent of what we know about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) we have learned since 2000” (Lavoie, 2005). Teachers and administrators will find the fourth edition of Overcoming Attention Deficit Disorders in Children, Adolescents, and Adults (2006) by Dale R. Jordan a welcome resource for catching up on the new ADD discoveries.

Dale Jordan began working with elementary students who could not read in 1957, and later researched dyslexia while earning his doctorate in educational psychology. Over his 47-year career, Jordan has continued to maintain a private practice diagnosing learning disabilities while he was also an active teacher educator and consultant. Dale Jordan has appeared in many videos on learning disabilities and has published widely. Teaching Adults with Learning Disabilities: Professional Practices in Adult Education and Human Resource Development (1996) and Understanding and Managing Learning Disabilities in Adults (2000) are two of Jordan’s well-known resources for adult educators. These and other books by Dale Jordan are available for checkout by mail from TCALL’s Clearinghouse library.

In the first chapter of Overcoming Attention Deficit Disorders in Children, Adolescents, and Adults, Jordan explains how certain newly identified ADD/ADHD genes guide development of the nervous system in utero and continuing into adulthood. He clearly explains the various areas of the brain involved in attention, sensory processing, and reading. Chapter 2 discusses the development of “executive function” in the prefrontal cortex during late adolescence, which allows humans to control impulsive behaviors and emotions. Before “executive function” develops, adolescents are governed by their basal emotions, lacking the ability to control attention, plan effectively, and exercise self-control. Included as appendices A and B are the Jordan Executive Function Indexes for Children and Adults, which can be used to assess and monitor progress in the development of attention, organization, and inhibition behaviors.

Jordan’s experience as a diagnostician really shows in Chapters 3 through 5, as he shares examples of the challenges of ADD and ADHD in both the classroom and workplace. He explains how ADD and ADHD behaviors lead to conflict and disruption in the family as well. Chapter 6 examines some learning disabilities that imitate ADHD and ADD behaviors but have different causes. Jordan presents evidence in Chapter 7 that diet management can be critical for many individuals with attention deficits and how medications can be used appropriately. Chapter 8 presents strategies and accommodations that can be used to help persons overcome ADHD and ADD.

All of these resources will help educators better understand the latest research on learning disabilities. They also present a compassionate understanding of these students and strategies educators can use to help students understand, manage, and overcome their learning difficulties.

Jordan, D. R. (2006). Overcoming attention deficit disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, Inc.

Jordan, D. R. (2000). Understanding and managing learning disabilities in adults. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Co.

Jordon, D. R. (1996). Teaching adults with learning disabilities: Professional practices in adult education and human resource development. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.

Lavoie, R. D. (Writer). (2005). [DVD]. In Beyond F.A.T. city: A look back, a look ahead. Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

Lavoie, R. D. (Writer). (1989). [DVD]. In Understanding learning disabilities: How difficult can this be? The F.A.T. city workshop. Washington, DC: PBS Video and WETA.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.