Reading Problems noted Among Students with Learning Disabilities (page 2)

Overdependency

Students with learning disabilities seem to be overdependent upon others for direction in their learning. This is particularly devastating on reading assignments, which are typically individual assignments.

Difficulty Monitoring Performance

Students with learning disabilities are not usually adept at monitoring their own understanding of reading material.

Failure to Modify Strategies

Strategies needed for successful reading vary from one type of assignment to another. Reading a textbook requires different skills than reading a story, and students with learning disabilities fail to modify their reading strategies accordingly.

Memory Problems

Students with learning disabilities demonstrate many memory problems and are less likely to retain their understanding from reading material.

Difficulty Mastering Letter Sounds and Vocabulary

Students with learning disabilities have much more difficulty learning letter sounds, combinations of sounds, and vocabulary words.

Difficulty in Generalization

These students fail to transfer concepts that have been learned in one context to another context.

Difficulty in Approaching a Task Positively

Students with learning disabilities often display less than positive attitudes toward a challenging learning task, and this has been associated with repeated failure experiences throughout the early school years.

Source: Adapted from "Linking the Needs of Students with Learning Disabilities to a Whole Language Curriculum" by C. MacInnis and H. Hemming, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28, 1995, 535–544.