Learning Disabilities/Specific Learning Disorders

Student Needs	IPRC Exceptionalities	Diagnosed Conditions
Aggression Management Anger/Frustration Management Anxiety Management Articulation Skills Attendance Strategies Attention Skills Assistive Technology Skills Blind/Vision Impaired Bullying Management Skills Central Auditory Processing Deafness Depression/Sadness Management Disengagement/Motivation Strategies Eating Disorder Strategies Emotional Regulation English Language Skills Executive Function Fine Motor Skills Gambling Disorder Grief Management Gross Motor Skills Hearing Intellectual Ability – High Intellectual Ability – Low Listening Comprehension Skills Low Vision Memory Skills Mental Health Strategies Metacognitive Skills Mobility Skills Non-Verbal Reasoning Organizational Skills Personal Care Personal Safety Phonological Processing Processing Speed Self-Advocacy Skills Self-Esteem Self-Harm/Suicide Management Self-Regulatory Skills Sensory Integration Skills Sequencing Skills Social Skills Substance Abuse Strategies Task Initiation Time Management Skills Transition Skills Verbal Ability Visual-Motor Skills Visual-Spatial Processing	Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Behaviour Blind and Low Vision Deaf and Hard of Hearing Developmental Disability (DD) Giftedness Language Impairment Learning Disabilities (LD) Mild Intellectual Disabilities Multiple Exceptionalities Physical Disability Speech Impairment	Acquired Brain Injury Alcohol-Related Neuro-developmental Disorder (ARND) Angelman Syndrome Anxiety Disorders Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Auditory Processing Disorder (Central) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Bipolar Disorder Blind/Vision Impaired Brain Injury Cerebral Palsy (CP) Conduct Disorder (CD) Concussions Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Deafness Depression Disorders Down Syndrome Eating Disorders Epilepsy Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) Fragile X Syndrome Gambling Disorder Intellectual Disabilities Klinefelter's Syndrome Learning Disabilities/Specific Learning Disorders Muscular Dystrophy (MD) Neurological Disabilities Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTS) Prader-Willi Syndrome Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) Seizure Disorders Selective Mutism Spina Bifida Tourette Syndrome Turner Syndrome (TS) Usher Syndrome William's Syndrome

Key Special Education Practices
Accommodations Alternative Programming Assistive Technology Board Special Education Plans Community Resources Differentiated Instruction Create an Inclusive & Positive Class Climate Identification Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) Individual Education Plan (IEP) Ministry of Education Resources Modified Programming Non-teacher Professional Assessments Teacher Assessments Safety/Emergency/Crisis Response Plan Professional Development Reporting on IEP Progress Tracking/Documenting Transition Plans

Ontario Ministry of Education Definition

A learning disorder, evident in both academic situations and social perception/interaction. Learning disabilities may also cause difficulties with organizational skills. LD involves one or more of the processes necessary for the proper use of spoken language or the symbols of communication, and is characterized by a condition that:

a) Is not primarily the result of:
• impairment of vision;
• impairment of hearing;
• physical handicap;
• developmental disability;
• primary emotional disturbance;
• cultural difference.

b) Results in a significant discrepancy between academic achievement and assessed intellectual ability with deficits in one or more of the following:
• receptive language (listening, reading);
• language processing (thinking, conceptualizing, integrating);
• expressive language (talking, spelling, writing);
• mathematical computations; and

c) May be associated with one or more conditions diagnosed as:
• a perceptual handicap;
• a brain injury;
• minimal brain dysfunction;
• dyslexia;
• developmental aphasia

What it is

A formal exceptionality, identified by an Identification Placement and Review Committee (IPRC), in the category of Communication. Learning Disabilities are also a diagnosed psychological condition.

Strategies

See the teaching strategies for these areas of student need:

• Anger/Frustration Management Skills

• Attention Skills

• Assistive Technology

• Executive Function

• Fine Motor Skills

• Listening Skills

• Memory

• Metacognitive Skills

• Non-Verbal Reasoning

• Organizational Skills

• Phonological Processing

• Processing Speed

• Self-Advocacy Skills

• Self-Esteem

• Sequencing Skills

• Task Initiation

• Time Management Skills

• Verbal Ability

• Visual-Spatial Processing

Board Special Education Plans

Agency Contacts

Resources

• DSM-v Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Used by non-teacher medical and/or psychological professionals to diagnosis various conditions.	• DSM-v Changes to Learning Disabilities Diagnosis PowerPoint overview of changes to the criteria for the diagnosis of a learning disability as per the DSM-v
• Handbook on Learning Disabilities and Mental Health Integra, located in Toronto, is a children's mental health centre, dedicated to helping children and adolescents who experience social, emotional and behavioural problems related to their learning disabilities.	• LD and French Immersion
• LD@school Developed by the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, this site is the first resource of its kind, dedicated to serving the needs of Ontario’s educators by providing information, research, and resources related to teaching students with learning disabilities.	• Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
• Learning Disabilities Online Sign up for a monthly newsletter, search archives for specific topics.	• Learning Disabilities Resources in Ontario
• Misunderstood Minds	• Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (NVLD) Information on non-verbal learning disabilities.
• Ontario Provincial Schools Symptoms, causes and strategies.	• Reading Strategies
• Special Education in Ontario K-12 Policy and Resource Guide, Section F Information and strategies.	• Strategies for Dyslexia Video with captions.
• Teaching Students with Dyslexia Symptoms, causes and strategies.	• Teaching Students with Dyspraxia Symptoms, causes and strategies
• Technology and Alternate Formats Special Needs Ontario Window (SNOW).	• What are Learning Disabilities? A resource centre for various types of learning disabilities and their causes, diagnoses, and treatments from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

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Learning Disabilities/Specific Learning Disorders