Teacher+Education

**Understanding Learning Disabilities**
If you would like to better understand what it's like to be a school child and have a learning disability, and therefore have empathy and strategies, then watch Richard D. Lavoie's video, //How Difficult Can This Be? Understanding learning disabilities: frustration, anxiety, tension: the F.A.T. city workshop// (1989). Don't be put off by the out-dated clothing and spectacles of 1989 when the video was produced. The information is still very relevant and the simulations of the anxiety-producing situations that students with learning disabilities have in the classroom really help to put the viewer in their shoes - critical for genuine understanding. The material is aimed at teaching primary school-age students but would be relevant to understanding all people with learning disabilities.

Lavoie covers topics relating to students with learning disabilities such as:
 * language processing - can have difficulty with and take longer to process language (eg. questions, instructions), so need to work at a slower pace. Instruction that's too fast produces anxiety that affects performance
 * visual perception - can have difficulty deciphering what's being looked at. Direct instruction is required to bring out the meaning
 * risk-taking and motivation - need encouragement to take risks and 'have a go'. Students with learning disabilities don't like suprises. Give them time to think and prepare. Teacher sarcasm will demoralise and isolate the child, causing lasting damage
 * reading, decoding, comprehension - may confuse letters (especially b, d, q, p). Knowledge of vocabulary doesn't lead to meaning-making of whole of text - require direct instruction
 * behaviour - can be non-compliant due to misperception of the stimulus (eg. instructions, cues)
 * visual motor cordination - can have problems in the hand-eye coordination, combined with visual processing difficulties
 * oral expression - can have trouble retrieving information (eg. words) from the memory so can take longer, be confused, mix words up - require more time and concentration

This video is good education for the new teacher in preparaton for their inclusive classroom. It will assist with developing empathy and understanding which is a prerequisite to making adjustments to meet student need. The information guides teachers how to better interact with students with learning disabilities, and offers strategies to work with them. It could be used as a parent-education tool. It also provides a starting point for thinking about how education could be provided to students' peers to foster understanding and acceptance. The video is available by library-hire and various sections of the production can be retrieved on YouTube by searching on the author's name, one link of which is provided below:

Lavoie, R. D. (1989). //How Difficult Can This Be? Understanding learning disabilities: frustration, anxiety, tension: the F.A.T. city workshop.// Alexandris, VA: PBS Video Lavoie, R. D. (1989). F.A.T. City LD Processing. Available at: []