Identification of Learning Disabilities in Early Childhood - Case Study Example

Identification of Learning Disabilities in Early Childhood Introduction Identification of learning disabilities in early childhood and their relative treatment has been a subject of thorough research in past few decades. Dyslexia is one of such disorders that have been identified as a major learning impairment disorder which hampers children’s ability to learn as it influences their ability to read. In order to comprehend on how such learning disabilities can be understood and their respective treatment be designed, there are various learning theories that can be used. Some of these theories include social learning theory which is part of behaviorist theories and Kolb’s experiential learning theory that stems out of humanist school of thought. These theories will be used for understanding how different learning methodologies can assist a dyslexic student overcome a learning disability. This analysis of theories concerning learning disabilities like dyslexia is supported by a case illustration of someone I know from childhood. I have studied with this individual and have also spent several years observing him coping with dyslexia with the help of his parents and teachers following theories like social learning and experiential learning theories. Case Study The case study involves my childhood friend James who was my neighbor as well as my class mate. James was often seen as facing difficulty in class reading assignments and finding it relatively difficult to differentiate between similar looking alphabetical letters and numbers; he also often complained about numbers and alphabets dancing in the notebook. Due to this inability to understand the figures shown to him, he was incapable of understanding and comprehending on the lessons taught to him like other normal students and same was reflected in his grades as well. Harsh teacher’s attitude, constant pressure from his parents about low grades in academics and social stigma demonstrated by his school fellows made him opt for less social contact. However, he was often appeared to be stimulated by drawing, figures, statues and anything having apparent appearance. James’ mother being a former educationist herself identified this learning disability when James was in second grade. The positive side of this identification was relatively less pressure at home which made him trust his parents and also increased his confidence level. James told me that he was having a tutor after that who taught him with the help of sand trays, note cards, drawings, colors books and many other fun activities that make him memorize and understand the lesson being taught. Even they were found playing in the neighborhood park with sand and singing different poems out loud that were part of our curriculum however according to him, that was his study time and he was not playing. Since James’ mother wanted him to continue him to study with normal children, she sought assistance from his teachers’ as well. We often saw our teachers handing out different notes to him containing visual content about the lesson intended for that class. Slowly and gradually, James began to gain understanding of what was being taught to him. He was able to identify differences between similar numbers and alphabets and his grades started getting better with same reflecting in his confidence as well. Theoretical Analysis Analyzing James’ learning disability and his coping with it helped in understanding how magnocellular theory of dyslexia, social learning theory and Kolb’s experiential learning can be used to design treatment for dyslexic children. Since dyslexic patient faces difficulties in reading, phonological tasks, memorizing things and phonic skills along with other tasks, having an auditory support for visual imagery can help in understanding and fulfilling phonological needs of reading (Department for Education & Skills, 2004). This illustration helped in understanding why James and his tutor used to sing poems while watching visuals of it and why he was listening to different auditory tapes about our lessons during lunch hours. Behaviorist approach ensures that various educational strategies are used in classroom settings supporting direct instructions. Some of these strategies include breaking down tasks into smaller manageable segments so that a dyslexic student does not become overwhelmed by it, modeling which helps student in understanding how the task is accomplished explicitly and direct instructions assisted by some kind of reinforcement (Steele, 2005). James’ tutor and teachers at school adopted similar strategy by designing lessons that were divided into small segments. Since this practice was time taking, he also spent summer learning the same lessons so that he could remain at the same pace as other students later and develop general understanding of phonic sounds and related visuals. Social learning theory stems out behaviorist approach and was proposed by Albert Bandura (1977). This theory asserts that observing things and mechanism helps children learn and imitate whatever they have learned (Cherry, 2013). Such learning can be supported by a live model which was James’ instructor in this case, a verbal instructor that were James’ tutor and different auditory lessons that he used with his regular lessons in order to understand the sounds of what he sees in the notebook and also symbolic models which involved various movies that he saw regarding lessons and stories that he learnt. Another theory that can be used to understand James’ coping mechanism for his childhood disability was Kolb’s experiential learning based on humanistic approach. Once James was able to identify the sounds of different letters and shapes of alphabets and numbers, his tutor employed experiential learning practice. With the help of this four-stage phenomenon, the user can put concrete experiences into practice followed by reflective observation, reviewing one’s conceptual understanding and then active experimentation (Kolb, 1984). Once James’ was able to develop understanding of different similar looking alphabets and numbers and was able to pronounce them, he used this learning to comprehend on more complex lessons like reading a whole chapters and doing math’s exercises. After experiencing how numbers and alphabets can be identified (concrete experiences), he managed to reflect on what he has learnt earlier (reflective observation), review it in terms of new and complex lessons (abstract conceptualization) and then develop understanding of new lessons along with memorizing them. Hence, it can be said that social learning theory helped him in overcoming the initial barriers of learning disability. On the other hand, experiential theory helped him in developing understanding of complex tasks in the light of simpler ones he had accomplished earlier. It is important to note that social learning theory lead to a time taking learning mechanism and its direct instruction approach requires special sensitivity to the students which is difficult to practice in the classroom settings. This is the reason why James mainly relied on his tutor instead of his teachers. On the other hand, experiential theory is mainly dependent on earlier lessons learnt; any faulty learning or understanding would be reflected in future experiences as well if not rectified on time. Conclusion Dyslexic children require special support of those around them especially elderly figures. There are various theories that act as a corner stone of teaching methodologies used for such children. In the given case, James was able to overcome his learning disability with the help of social learning theory and experiential learning theory. The earlier helped him in breaking down complex tasks into smaller and manageable segments whereas later helped him in developing understanding of complex tasks by reflecting on his previous learning experiences and develop new experiences with its help. References Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. General Learning Press. Cherry, K. (2013). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm Department for Education & Skills. (2004). A Framework for Uniderstanding Dyslexia. Retrieved from http://www.texthelp.com/media/39354/USAdultLiteracy.pdf Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Steele, M.M. (2005). Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities: Constructivism Or Behaviorism? Current Issues in Education, 8(10). Retrieved from http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume8/number10/ Read More