1. JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 1

2. Successful Research-Based Solutions for
Students with Special Needs
Nina Mounce
&
Martha Ruth Van Cleave
JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 2

3. AGENDA
• Introduction
• Special Needs Definitions
• Fat City – Rick Lavoie
• Break
• Accommodations and Adaptations
• Power Path Strategies
• Strategies for the Adult Learner
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Education 3

4. JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 4

5. LEARNING DIFFERENCES PRETEST
TRUE – FALSE
1. If an adult has a learning disability, he more than likely is considered to be mentally
retarded.
2. It is estimated that 50 – 80 % of students in Adult Basic Education and literacy
programs are affected by learning disabilities.
3. There is a lot of research on learning disabilities and the manifestations that they
have on adults.
4. Children who have been identified with a learning disability tend to grow out of it.
5. There is only one learning disability that adults have and that is dyslexia.
6. When adults have a learning disability the only part of their life that is affected is the
part that deals with education.
7. When providing an accommodation the program is providing the student with a place
to stay or live.
8. It is the adult education program’s responsibility to provide every accommodation
that the student requests.
9. The best way to learn is by using printed material.
10.People who have learning disabilities are rarely successful in the workforce and have
trouble earning an adequate wage.
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6. KENTUCKY STATISTICS
• 800,000 People in KY do not have a diploma
• 500,000 of those people are working age
• GED graduates 10,000 per year
• Nearly 1 million Kentucky adults read poorly if at all
• The average income in Kentucky is 83% of that in
neighboring states
• 1 out of every 5 adults has a learning difference
• 2.9 % of the adults have a learning disability
• Boys outnumber girls 3 – 1
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Education 6

7. US STATISTICS
• 1 IN 7 Americans have a learning disability
• 15% of the US Population
Compiled by the National Institute of Health, 2011
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Education 7

8. JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 8

9. Definition of Learning Disabilities
(Learning Differences)
A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of
the central nervous system processes involved in
perceiving, understanding and/or using concepts through
verbal (spoken or written language) or nonverbal means.
This disorder manifests itself with a deficit in one or
more of the following areas:
Attention, reasoning, memory, communicating, reading,
writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social
competence and emotional maturity.
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Education 9

10. JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 10

11. Learning Differences Glossary
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – A disorder
characterized by inappropriate degrees of attention, impulsiveness, and/or
hyperactivity. Although these areas are considered to be core symptoms,
all three characteristics are not necessarily present in those affected.
Symptoms are generally first manifested early in childhood and may persist
in varying degrees throughout adult life.
• Attention Deficit Disorders: Commonly found in the difficulty with
sustaining attention and focusing on information for long periods of time.
The difference between ADD and ADHD is the absence or presence of
hyperactivity.
• Dyslexia: Difficulty reading. When viewed through the criteria of
academic success this is probably the most serious and debilitating learning
disorder. The difficulty may take many forms including seeing letters in
mirror image, reversals, in ability to distinguish the spaces between words,
etc.
JCPS Adult and Continuing
Education 11

12. What Dyslexia Is Not
• It is not a sign of poor intelligence.
• It is not the result of laziness or of not caring.
• It is not a disease.
• It cannot be cured with pills, diets, or medical treatment.
• It is not an eye problem.
• It is not outgrown, although individuals with dyslexia can learn how
to learn.
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Education 12

13. DYSLEXIA
 Neurological in origin
• Neurological in origin
• Characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word
recognition
• Spelling & Decoding Difficulties
• Problems in Reading Comprehension
• Average to Above Average IQ
• Info processed in different area of the brain
• Inherited
• 15% - 20% have dyslexia
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Education 13

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Education 14

15. Learning Differences Glossary (con’t)
 Dysgraphia: Difficulty writing. This can be the actual physical (motor) process required for writing, or the difficulty of being able to express ideas in writing, or of the symbols required
for writing (mathematical as well as other letter symbols).
• Dysgraphia: Difficulty writing. This can be the actual physical (motor)
process required for writing, or the difficulty of being able to express ideas
in writing, or of the symbols required for writing (mathematical as well as
other letter symbols).
• Dyscalculia: Difficulty coping with mathematics, comprehending as well
as understanding relationships between mathematical symbols and
concepts; difficulty with calculations and number manipulation.
• Intellectual Difficulties: Difficulty with the capacity
to learn. No definite brain damage is indicated in the history or from
neurological findings; nor is there any evidence /suggestion of other
cause(s).
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18. TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS & ADAPTATIONS
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT – 1990
INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
FOUR ACCOMMODATIONS REQUEST FORMS
Physical/chronic health
Emotional/mental
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Learning and other cognitive disability
TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS FOR BLIND, VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND DEAF
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Education 18

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21. POWER PATH STRATEGIES
• Build on student’s strengths
• Complete partnership contract with student.
• Develop peer learning team to work with student.
• Incorporate three ways of learning into each activity.
• Add review session or write journal entry at end of each learning activity.
• Use positive self-talk.
• Provide frequent feedback on student’s effort.
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Education 21

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Education 25