Slow Learner or Learning Disabled?

Is it so important to identify the slow learners as opposed to children with specific learning disabilities? After all, we all have had the ill effects of labeling stressed on us. The answer is, that there can only be one justification to labeling a child with a specific tag. That is to ensure that the level of service and support provided to that child is markedly improved. As the learning needs of these two groups are quite different, it is important to make correct identification of their learning styles and patterns.

Definitions

A slow learner child will generally have below average intelligence. His or her thinking skills will develop significantly more slowly than the norm for his/her age. This child will go through the same basic developmental stages as other children, but will do so at a significantly slower rate. However, the development, while being slower, will nevertheless be relatively even.

On the other hand, a child with specific learning disability, will have average or above average intelligence. S/He will have specific difficulties which can make learning very difficult. There may be deficits and differences in any of the basic central nervous system functions, which have to do with the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities ie attention, memory, language, auditory and visual perception, motor coordination and planning, spatial orientation, impulse control and sequencing.

In short, there is a discrepancy between the child's potential and actual achievement.

Characteristics

Slow Learner

1. Physical/ Developmental -- may have immature language patterns or speech problems

2. Social -- poor judgement, immature social behavior, prefers company of younger children

3. Personal -- frustration, aggression, anxiety

4. Academic -- may show proficiency with particular tasks rather than a subject areas, poor memory, difficulties understanding several steps in a task

5. Learning -- needs to have new information linked to old, difficulties transferring information learned in one situation to other situations.

Learning Disabled

1. Physical/ Developmental -- perceptual motor difficulties -- visual perception difficulties -- general coordination deficits (balance, eye -- hand) --- mixed dominance (hand, foot, eye) -- lack of adequate eye movement control

2. Social/emotional/behavioral -- hyperactivity (gross, noisy, constant movements) -- hypo activity (quiet, nervous, fidgety) -- impulsivity -- poor concentration span/ easily distracted -- low frustration tolerance -- emotional fluctuations (highs and lows)

3. Academic -- Reading -- confuses similar words and letters, loses place, repeats words, does not read fluently, persists in using fingers to follow along, does not like to read

--Spelling -- uses incorrect order of letters in words, it has difficulty of associating correct sound with appropriate letter, reverses letters

--Math-- has difficulty associating number with symbol, cannot remember number facts, confuses columns and spacing, has difficulties with story problems, has difficulty comprehending math concepts

4. Psychological -- emotional instability (violent reactions) -- difficulty learning by ordinary methods -- low social acceptance (disturbed peer relations) -- low self-concept/self-esteem -- general disorganization (time and actions)

5. Learning

- poor auditory memory (difficulty following sequence of directions) -- attention deficit -- poor visual decoding

---Low executive function (planning of actions, tasks & routines)

-- Uneven mastery of skills (may be good in some areas but poor skills in others)

Similarities .-

-- Errors in number and letter production,

-- reading errors,

-- Behavioral aspects, etc.

There is a chance that we may get confused with their learning styles because of the similarities but the differences are what will influence the type of instructions that will be successful and give good results.