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Serving Adults with Special Learning Needs
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Become an Able Educator
with the Latest Resources on Learning Disabilities
by Ken Appelt, TCALL Professional
Development Specialist
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.
Resources
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.
 
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