LEARNING DISABILITIES

In general, a learning disability is defined by Little (1993) as a disorder that affects students' ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. In other words, the term is a generic one that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders due to identifiable or inferred central nervous system dysfunction. Such disorders, according to Little, may be manifested by delays in early development and/or difficulties in any of the following areas: attention, memory, reasoning, coordination, communication, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, social competence and emotional maturation.

Ever since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL-94-142), efforts have been made to integrate learning disabled (LD) students into regular classrooms so as to make sure that LD students learn in the least restrictive environment (Banerji & Dailey, 1995). Little (1993) reports that a great deal of educational research has focused on investigating for the effects of the integration of LD students into the regular classroom environment, a process commonly referred to as "inclusion" or "mainstreaming." However, the findings of this research has proved problematic in that while some studies find very positive effects for inclusion, other research finds rather negative effects.

For example, Vaughn and Haager (1994) compared the social abilities of disabled and

. . .
ndicates that, for both young and adult populations of LD students, those with nonverbal learning disabilities have more socioemotional difficulties and behavioral problems than other groups of students. Nonverbal learning disabilities are defined as having problems with visual-motor skills, deficits in tactile perception, attention and memory. There is some support for the notion that there are differences in certain socioemotional characteristics of LD students. For example, Margalit and Levin-Alyagon (1994) conducted a cluster analysis of 122 students with learning disabilities, discovering four subgroups with respect to the characteristics of loneliness. These groups were: 1. Cluster A (Non-lonely, externalizing) consisting of students with low levels of loneliness who tended to externalize their difficulties. 2. Cluster B (Non-lonely, relatively adjusted) consisting of students with love levels of loneliness and low levels of externalization of difficulties. 3. Cluster C (Lonely, externalizing) consisting of students who felt lonely and exhibited maladjusted externalizing behavior. 4. Cluster D (Lonely/internalizing) consisting of students that felt quite lonely and tended to internalize their difficulties to the point o
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vaughn Haager, Cluster Lonely/internalizing, Banerji Dailey, REVIEW LITERATURE, Florida Subjects, Banerji Dailey's, Cluster Non-lonely, Margalit Levin-Alyagon, ld students, Act PL-94-142, Disability Quarterly, learning disabilities, effects inclusion, ld subtypes, learning disability, little 1993, consisting students, banerji dailey, banerji dailey 1995, attention memory, mainstreamed classes, nonverbal learning disabilities, learning disability quarterly, margalit levin-alyagon 1994, students learning disabilities,
Approximate Word count = 1211
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on LEARNING DISABILITIES