Cognitive& Language Characteristics
OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Cognitive vs Language Based Learning Characteristics
Cognitive Characteristics of a Student with Learning Disabilities
Students with cognitive-based learning disabilities may have difficulties in the following areas:
Attention — The ability to stay on task in a consistent manner.
Working Memory — The ability to retain and process information for short time periods.
Processing Speed — The rate at which the brain handles information.
Long-Term Memory — The ability to not only store, but recall information for later use.
Visual Processing — The ability to perceive, analyze, and think in visual images.
Auditory Processing — The ability to perceive and conceptualize what is heard.
Logic and Reasoning — The ability to reason, prioritize, and plan.
Language Characteristics of a Student with Learning Disabilities
Reading Disabilities:
Dyslexia — The student will have difficulty reading written words fluently and out loud. In addition to fluency, dyslexia can also affect decoding, reading comprehension, recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes even speech.
Writing Disabilities:
Dysgraphia — The student will have difficulty with forming letters and writing legibly. Dysgraphia can also affect the student's ability to think and write at the same time.
Language-based learning disabilities can also impact the following areas:
- Expressing ideas clearly - The needed word is "on the tip of the tongue" but won't come out.
- Using an unspecified word, like"thing" or "stuff" in place of the word that can't be remembered.
- Understanding questions and following directions, both written and verbal
- Recalling numbers in sequence
- Understanding and retaining the details of information presented verbally and in writing
- Identifying specific sounds that relate to letters, which affects learning to read
- Spelling
References
Cognitive disability. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2014, from http://aim.cast.org/learn/ disabilityspecific/cognitive#.VIZaIDHF-nY
Language-based learning disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2014, from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/LBLD.htm
Some Types of Learning Disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2014, from http://www.learningrx.com/some-types-of-learning-disabilities.htm