Our Approach

Learning Disabilities

Some children and adults, in spite of their intelligence and motivation to learn, experience unusual difficulty in learning certain skills. Some have difficulty learning to read, even though their overall language skills are strong. Others seem unable to learn mathematics, though they are excelling in other subjects. Others read beautifully, but comprehend very little of what they read. These people are struggling with what is frequently called a learning disability.

The term learning disabilities was first used in 1962 to describe students who were having difficulty developing academic skills in spite of their intelligence. While the use of this term has continued, the definition of this term has evolved through the years, as our knowledge of these difficulties has grown. Today, the following definition is applied:

"Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills.

"These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not, by themselves, constitute a learning disability.

"Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other disabilities (e.g. sensory impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences."

(This definition was created in 1990 through the collaboration of nine major educational organizations, including the Council of Learning Disabilities, Division for Children's Communication Development, Division for Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities Association, National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the International Dyslexia Association.)

In other words, a learning disability is a neurological disorder that interferes with how a person processes information. A person with a learning disability may have trouble storing information in memory, retrieving it from memory, or processing new information as it streams into the brain. Such difficulties are a separate issue from intelligence. In fact, most people with a learning disability are of average or above average intelligence.

Usually, learning disabilities are considered to fall into the following categories:

Reading
Reading Comprehension
Written Expression
Speaking
Mathematics Computation
Mathematics Reasoning
Listening Comprehension

Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, such as with ADD and ADHD, are not currently considered by common definitions to be a learning disability, though these conditions certainly can impact the child's ability to learn in specific areas of study.

Learning Differences

Terminology can be a volatile and confusing issue, since words can carry inadvertent meanings. In spite of its good intentions, the term "learning disability" has received some criticism in recent years because it may communicate messages which are not intended:

"Learning disability" unintentionally implies that the student cannot learn well. For this reason, researchers such as Shepard (1988), Torgesen (1988), and Stanovich (1993) have recommended not using this term in such a general way. These researchers propose that the specific area of academic difficulty be named (for example, "specific reading disability," or "mathematics computation disability").

Some researchers point out that the "disability" is not the child's characteristics, but the true disability results if the child does not learn. In other words, dyslexia is not a disability, since the child might learn to read and function well in society. However, illiteracy is a disability in our society.

Since most people can learn in their area of difficulty, when taught in specific ways, their syndrome may be described more accurately as a learning difference, rather than a learning disability

In response to concerns such as those above, the term "specific learning differences" is gaining wider use among educators and publishers in place of "specific learning disabilities." This term does not intend to downplay the severe consequences of such learning problems. Instead, it seeks to stress the potential for learning, rather than implying long-term deficits.

> Note: The de Paul School considers its students to have specific learning differences. We find this to be a fundamental part of our philosophy, as it demands that we find the "teaching difference" which matches the individual's needs, while keeping high expectations for their learning in general. We consider ADD and ADHD to also be "specific learning differences," since these conditions are rooted in neurological processing differences and respond well to specific types of instruction.