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Flow chart for steps I'd like to adopt for students with suspected learning difficulties/disability/needs

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Flow chart for steps I'd like to adopt for students with suspected learning difficulties/disability/needs

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My school in Taiwan has no formal process of identifying students who may have difficulties and needs. I have created this as an ideal example of what to do.

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Step One: How to identify if there is an issue?

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Step One: How to identify if there is an issue?

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All teachers should be monitoring their students learning. This could be from formal assessments, informal assessments, classroom observations, social interactions, feedback from their home life, and many more.

This article (linked above) gives some great tips and hints for what teachers can look for such as struggling to rhyme, using vague words, and trouble reciting things in the right order.

It also gives some good tips on how to differentiate instruction. Just because a child can't follow your way of instruction, doesn't mean there is a problem with the child. There is no one size fits all in teaching.

Teachers can keep an observation tracker to keep note of any student.

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Max was 5 when he was diagnosed with a language-based learning disability. But his mother says the signs were visible earlier. She says Max had a hard time learning how to talk.

At 5, Max was identified much earlier than most students. According to a report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, 38 percent of public-school students who receive special education services do so under the category of specific learning disability (SLD). But just a little over 6 percent of those students have the SLD identification by age 6; that increases to 40 percent by age 10.

Learning disabilities are neurologically based. The brain structure and function of students who have learning disabilities differ from those of peers who don't have the same challenges. One study found that those structural differences exist even before children begin to read.

So why is it that so few students who show early signs-like Max-are identified as having learning disabilities?

Recognizing Struggling Learners

Most preschool teachers know that some students take more time to develop and learn skills. However, while early signs of learning disabilities include delays in developmental milestones, teachers may be hesitant to jump to conclusions, thinking they need to give students adequate time to improve their skills.

Being in remote learning environments can rightfully reinforce this cautious instinct: When all students are struggling to navigate modes of learning that aren't intuitive to preschoolers, it's much harder to discern who is finding the act of learning challenging from those for whom learning itself is a challenge.

It's also true that some learning challenges are much more noticeable than others. Brittney Newcomer, a nationally certified school psychologist and the associate director of learning experiences at Understood, a nonprofit organization centered on helping those with learning and thinking differences-where I also work-told me that preschool teachers are more likely to notice speech issues because delays in language development or difficulty pronouncing words are often the most prominent challenges in young children.

"Because academic skills are just emerging in preschool, it is more difficult to identify patterns with specific academic areas, such as reading and math," Newcomer said.

This may account for why many students who receive special education support in preschool are identified as having a speech-language impairment. But Newcomer notes there is an overlap with language delays and learning disabilities.

"Difficulties with reading can be related to language deficits. Teachers should pay close attention to language-based tasks. For example, if students are showing difficulty grasping the concept of rhyming, this could demonstrate challenges with the phonological processing that is related to dyslexia," Newcomer said.

Identifying the Signs

Not all students have difficulty with the same skills, and not all students who have difficulties have learning disabilities. Newcomer suggests that teachers pay attention to clusters of signs, such as when a student has a heightened difficulty in learning numbers, days, colors, the alphabet, and/or shapes.

Pay attention to additional early signs of language-based learning disabilities, including:

Consistent difficulty naming familiar and everyday objects;

Using vague words like thing;

Struggling to come up with the right word;

Trouble following or remembering multistep directions;

Difficulty reciting things in the right order (like the alphabet or nursery rhymes); and

Mixing up the sounds in multisyllabic words ("mazagine" instead of "magazine" or "cimmanom" instead of "cinnamon").

Some students don't have trouble with language-based tasks, but struggle with math-based skills, like numeracy. Look for these common, noticeable signs in math:

Trouble counting out loud (skipping over numbers or reciting them out of order);

Trouble recognizing, creating, or replicating patterns;

Trouble connecting number symbols to number words, such as knowing that the numeral 5 goes with the word five;

Difficulty generalizing a number to more than one group of objects, such as understanding that six can be six crayons, six books, or six children; and

Difficulty understanding one-to-one correspondence.

Supporting Struggling Learners

Teachers aren't (and shouldn't be) diagnosticians, but they're often the first to notice signs of possible learning disabilities in their students. Noting when, where, and how students are encountering problems with learning and pinpointing specific areas of struggle are the first steps to supporting learners.

Using an observation tracker ( like this one) can help identify trends and patterns, such as particular times of day when students struggle or how they respond to intervention or small group instruction. Teachers can also put into place supportive practices that help all students but are especially helpful for those with learning disabilities. For example:

Using clear language to explain and teach a new skill;

Narrating or doing a "think-aloud" when demonstrating classroom routines;

Making classroom expectations explicitly clear and displaying them;

Providing directions in both written and picture form;

Teaching, practicing, and reteaching expected behaviors and routines; and

Providing immediate feedback so students can correct behavior or skills in real time.

Going the Extra Mile

For some students, supportive practices may not be enough. Helping students with potential learning disabilities also relies on early evaluation and targeted intervention, which requires knowing your school's referral for evaluation process.

Once teachers know what the steps for referral are, it's time to reach out to the student's family. Here are some tips to navigate conversations successfully:

Be direct about why you're reaching out, but remember that families have their own perspectives and interactions with their child that may not match what you're seeing.

Share specific concerns by describing what you're seeing, providing context, sharing examples, and explaining why this is something you'd like to explore more.

Ask for input and thoughts in an open-ended way that doesn't impose your viewpoint. That may sound like, "What are your thoughts?" or "Have you noticed anything similar at home?"

Share resources to help increase understanding of learning disabilities and developmental delays. Students who have learning disabilities tend to have signs and symptoms outside of school, too, so families may want to use an observation tracker.

Discuss clear next steps. If referral for evaluation seems like the next reasonable step, loop in the appropriate support staff to explain and walk the family through the process.

Keep the focus on finding solutions to support the student. That support can make a world of difference. Remember Max? He's now a successful teenage entrepreneur, something which he and his family credit, in part, to the support of the teachers who recognized his challenges and understood how to encourage his strengths.

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Recognizing Signs of Potential Learning Disabilities in Preschool

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Early intervention services can make a big difference for students who are at risk for learning disabilities. What should teachers look for?

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Step Two: You have identified a student that is struggling? What next?

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Step Two: You have identified a student that is struggling? What next?

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The first thing to do is to continue to monitor the student. Keeping a log/diary can be helpful later down the line. Differentiation can still be useful here and the above image gives a reminder.

Teachers should try to do things such as:

1. Talk to the co-teacher/other teachers to see if the student is also struggling in their classes and have an open dialogue of things you have noticed/techniques that have worked/any progress noted.

2. Keep testing informally to see if there is any change or progress.

3. Find time to work one on one with the student to see if you can dissect more where the specific struggles are and offer appropriate help.

4. Speak to the parents about parent involvement in learning/reviewing at home, and help support them with ideas if they are receptive.

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If the plan is working then continue. Be sure to adapt when needed.

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If they have been receptive.

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Becker, H. (2001). Teaching ESL K-12: Views from the classroom. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

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Step Three (A): Try to understand more if it's a language need or a learning disability

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Step Three (A): Try to understand more if it's a language need or a learning disability

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Just because the current plan has not worked, still does not mean the student has a learning disability. As the above image based on Becker, H. (2001) illustrates: signs of a student with a language need are sometimes misinterpreted as students with learning disabilities.

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Else Hamayan, Barbara Marler, Cristina Sanchez-Lopez, and Jack Damico.
Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services. Caslon Publishing, 2007. p.40

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Step Three (B): Begin to consider if it's a language need or a learning disability

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Step Three (B): Begin to consider if it's a language need or a learning disability

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Trying to differentiate between a language need and learning disability is a very difficult and complex process. Students can often be referred when there is no need, or undiagnosed because it's seen as a language need.

The above table gives a nice and clear starter step for teachers to think about when they are trying to determine if it is a language need or learning disability.

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The teacher has continued to monitor, record observations, differentiated teaching, offered many different types of support to the student.

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Step Four (B): Teacher thinks it's a learning disability

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Step Four (B): Teacher thinks it's a learning disability

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In Taiwan the subject of learning disabilities is a taboo subject. It can be seen as a negative reflection on the family or that they are cursed/being punished. The next steps need to be very carefully approached.

The teacher should consider:

1. Speaking to their co-teacher and management on how to proceed.

2. Do as much research as possible on potential steps. Referring to National Centre for Learning Disabilities (linked above) can be a great starting point.

3. Speak to any teachers/colleagues who have been through this process before.

4. Continue to monitor the student, keep a record, and continue to support as much as possible.

5. Finally, through the school co-teacher/management contact the parents. It is wise to let them do this to avoid any language barriers.

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See what NCLD has been advocating for and get the most recent news on learning and attention issues.

Tell Congress: Pass the RISE Act

We need your help! Ask your member of Congress to support students with learning and attention issues.

Support NCLD

Thanks to support from generous partners like you, we are able to create programs and resources to support the 1 in 5 individuals with learning and attention issues nationwide.

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See what NCLD has been advocating for and get the most recent news on learning and attention issues. We need your help! Ask your member of Congress to support students with learning and attention issues. Thanks to support from generous partners like you, we are able to create programs and resources to support the 1 in 5 individuals with learning and attention issues nationwide.

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Step Four (A): Teacher thinks it's a language need

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Step Four (A): Teacher thinks it's a language need

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If this is the case the teacher needs to consider a new plan.

The teacher should consider:

1. More differentiation in their teaching.

2. Different ways to support the student one on one.

3. Speak to the parents again (if receptive).

4. Review the earlier plan and signs of what worked, and what didn't.

5. Consider speaking to other teachers that have encountered similar difficulties in their class.

6. Continue to monitor and keep a record.

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This is the ideal outcome. The school can set up a meeting with the parents, co teacher, management, and the teacher.

It is important to be prepared with what you have documented and your observations, talk in a calm manner, and do not use insensitive language when talking about their child.

Collaborating with the school you can find the appropriate bodies and medical professionals that would be able to help if the parents are open to a diagnostic assessment. The government here has a dedicated website, but unfortunately the English version of the website is limited.

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In Taiwan, students in special education include those with disabilities and the gifted. In Statistics of the Ministry of Education, students with disabilities cover four levels: preschool, elementary school, junior and senior high school, as well as college and university, while gifted students were covered from preschool to senior high school level. In School Year 2016, there were 148,587 students receiving special education services in all school levels.

In college and university level, 13,083 students with disability were served. Among them, 8,501 were male students (64.98%) and 4,582 (35.02%) were female students. In terms of disability types, 3,276 students (25.04%) were diagnosed with learning disabilities followed by 1,881 students with Autism (14.28%) and 1,798 students with physical impairments (13.74%).

From preschool to senior high school levels, there were 135,504 students with special education needs, among them, 109,542 students with disabilities. Of which, there were 75,278 male students (68.72%) and 34,264 female students (31.28%). In terms of disability types, 32,771 were learning disabilities (29.92%), followed by 25,392 with intellectual disabilities (23.18%). There were 25,962 gifted students, 12,946 were male (49.68%) and 13,016 were female (50.14%). Of all gifted students, 6,463 (24.98%) were intellectual gifted, 13,636 (52.52%) were academic gifted, 5,709 (21.99%) were artistically gifted, 138 (0.53%) were creatively gifted, 8 (0.03%) were gifted in leadership, and 8 (0.03%) were gifted in other fields.

There were 103,385 students with disabilities (94.38%) placed in regular classrooms, while 6,157 students with disabilities (5.62%) were placed in special education settings. Among those placed in regular classrooms, 16,614 were in preschools, 40,246 in elementary schools, 25,805 in junior high schools, and 20,720 were in senior high and vocational high schools . Among those in special education schools, 209 were in preschools, 648 in elementary schools, 967 in junior high schools, and 4,333 in senior high and vocational high schools.

For gifted students, 6,526 were in elementary schools, 8,880 in junior high schools, and 10,556 in senior high and vocational high schools. There were 4,982 intellectually gifted students received special education services in resource rooms; 5,293 academically gifted students, the highest number among them, were taught in self-contained classes. Some artistically gifted students received their special education from self-contained classes, among them, 2,557 were in art classes and 2,013 were in music classes. There were 102 artistically gifted students in art resource rooms, 99 were talented in music and 29 in dance resource rooms. There were 1,746 gifted students received services from non-categorical gifted resource rooms, 1,661 were in itinerant programs, and 2,985 received special educational programs.

There are four types of special education services for students with disability from preschool to senior high school levels: (1) self-contained classes, (2) resource rooms, (3) itinerant programs, and (4) special education programs in regular classrooms. Respectively, 58,059 (56.16%) students with disabilities were in resource classrooms, 15,488 (14.98%) received special education programs in regular classrooms, 17,192 (16.63%) were in itinerant programs, and 12,646 (12.23%) in self-contained classes. The self-contained classes were mainly for students with intellectual disabilities, while resource rooms and itinerant programs were non-categorical.

There are two types of programs in special education schools for students with disabilities: self-contained classes and itinerant programs. There were 6,007 students in self-contained classes, among them, 4,937 students had intellectually disabilities, while 145 students were in itinerant programs for homeschooling. National Hemei Experimental School set up its regular classrooms in Senior High School Department and placed 5 students with disabilities in each class.

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In Taiwan, students in special education include those with disabilities and the gifted. In Statistics of the Ministry of Education, students with disabilities cover four levels: preschool, elementary school, junior and senior high school, as well as college and university, while gifted students were covered from preschool to senior high school level.

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In an ideal world, we would not have this outcome. However, it is a real possibility given the culture here. The best the teacher can do for this outcome is continue to work and support the student however they can.

The attached article highlights the benefits of having a good relationship with the parents. The teacher should consider this for future classes and students.

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Effective communication is essential for building school-family partnerships. It constitutes the foundation for all other forms of family involvement in education.

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Step Five: Diagnosis Assessment and Next Steps

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Step Five: Diagnosis Assessment and Next Steps

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If the parents agree to a diagnosis assessment then the appropriate people and bodies can get involved. It is important to work well with them and provide your observations and documentation if they require it.

If the student is diagnosed with a learning difficulty then one possible outcome could be an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which is well explained in this video.

The teacher should continue to work well with all parties, if they are still involved in the student's teaching, after the diagnosis.

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National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)

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After the whole process the teacher should reflect:

1. What went well and worked smoothly?

2. What didn't go well?

3. What can the teacher/school/management do better next time for the best possible outcome?

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American Federation of Teachers. (No date) Building Parent-Teacher Relationships. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/parent-engagement/articles/building-parent-teacher-relationships

Becker, H. (2001). Teaching ESL K-12: Views from the classroom. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

Hamayan. E, Marler. B, Sanchez-Lopez. C, & Damico. J.

Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services. Caslon Publishing, 2007. p.40

Iris Centre. No Author. What do teachers need to know about young dual language learners with disabilities?. Iris Centre. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/dll/cresource/q1/p02/. (Accessed May 6th, 2024)

Morin, A. (February 18, 2021). Recognizing Signs of Potential Learning Disabilities in Preschool. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/recognizing-signs-potential-learning-disabilities-preschool/ (Accessed May 6th, 2024)

National Centre for Learning Disabilities. https://www.ncld.org (Accessed May 6th, 2024)

National Centre for Learning Disabilities. Kaloi. L. What is an IEP?. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XlAWcMAUk

National Special Education Network. https://special.moe.gov.tw/eng/article.php?paid=284&1732420075 (Accessed May 6th, 2024)

Images:

Child with Help Image. https://blog.acceleratelearning.com/math-strategies-for-struggling-students. (Accessed May 6th, 2024)

Differentiation is Image. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/differentiated-instruction/. (Accessed May 6th, 2024)