Archives: Learning disabilities

The claim

Students with learning and behavior disorders cannot benefit from evidence-based reading interventions.

The facts

In the previous posts, I focused on the connection between learning and behavior problems. I then provided some useful strategies that were found to be effective. This week’s post will focus specifically on reading interventions for students with learning and/or behavior problems. First, I will present some background information on the existence of reading problems for students with combined learning and behavior problems. Then, I will present evidence-based practices based on the findings of the National Reading Panel. These findings cover the five areas of reading identified by this panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Some researchers have found that most students referred for special education services experience reading difficulties. When these reading difficulties exist, students are often at risk for behavior problems. Achievement problems are often experienced by students with behavior problems, as they generally earn lower grades, have higher retention rates, have problems passing end-of-year tests, and experience higher dropout rates than students without behavior problems. Specific problems in reading achievement appear to negatively effect children with behavior problems. Sadly, when these academic and behavior problems persist, interventions become less effective, further resulting in school failure.

As we discussed in the post on comorbidity, many researchers suggest that reading deficits result in problem behaviors while others suggest that it is the other way around: Problem behaviors lead to deficits in reading. Regardless of your position, we can all agree that both reading and behavioral deficits interfere with student learning. For students with challenging behaviors, reducing problem behavior is certainly a priority. However, it is extremely important to not overlook academic instruction, specifically reading instruction. The good news is that research has shown that interventions targeting specific academic and reading skills may also reduce problem behaviors.

The National Reading Panel (NRP) was formed to review the body of literature on reading instruction and to make recommendations for evidence-based practices that promote reading achievement. After reviewing more than 100,000 studies for its 2000 report, the NRP identified five components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Additionally, they found that instruction that was systematic (skill instruction that is planned in a logical sequence with scheduled opportunities for practice and assessment to monitor skill acquisition) and explicit (expectations are clearly stated and modeled by the teacher) was most effective. As a result of their recommendations, these five areas of reading instruction were included in the No Child Left Behind Act, and have become a part of reading programs in school districts across the country.

The five areas of reading

Phonemic awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to attend to the individual sounds in spoken words. It is a good predictor of early reading ability and also an early predictor of future reading difficulty. Research has shown that teaching phonemic awareness to young children increases reading achievement and that some children, especially those with learning and behavior problems, require systematic, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness in order to make the connection between individual sounds and words. The following are some evidence-based practices that support phonemic awareness instruction. These activities focus on segmenting and blending sounds.

• Daily language-play activities such as nursery rhymes and chants: These activities teach children to attend to the features of sounds in words.
• Explicit instruction of sounds through segmenting and sound isolation can occur when presenting children with words that have the same beginning, middle, or ending sounds, and then into individual sounds. Small group instruction is best for teaching phonemic awareness because children can receive immediate feedback from the teacher and observe others performing the same tasks.

Phonics

Phonics instruction focuses on a child’s ability to understand the alphabetic principle, or letter-sound knowledge. A child who understands the alphabetic principle demonstrates an awareness of the relationship between a written letter or word and the sound(s) it represents. Researchers found that systematic instruction in phonics that occurred during beginning reading instruction lead to significant reading achievement. Evidence-based practices that support systematic phonics instruction include:

• Word work: Word work includes the use of manipulative letters to improve children’s understanding of the alphabetic principle. During a word work activity, children engage in encoding and decoding of words, manipulating the sounds to form new words and working with onsets and rimes in word families.
• Making words is a similar program by Patricia Cunningham. Enables students to manipulate six to eight letters to make a variety of words.
• Invented spelling involves allowing children to use their knowledge of letters and sounds to invent their own spellings of words. Teachers can incorporate word work into literacy centers and encourage the use of invented spelling in children’s creative writing.

Fluency

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with accuracy, speed, and prosody. The National Reading Panel found that fluency developed significantly when children were given the opportunity to practice with repeated readings. Other researchers have also found that when children are able to practice reading repetitively with feedback, gains in reading achievement occurred. The following are two examples of evidence-based practices that promote fluency:

• Partner reading: A more fluent reader is paired with a less fluent reader as they read text aloud. By modeling fluent reading, the more fluent reader is able to demonstrate accurate reading for the less fluent reader. The less fluent reader is then able to read the text aloud on his or her own, receiving immediate feedback from the more fluent reader until the student can read the text independently.
• Reader’s theatre: Text is read repeatedly in the form of a play that is rehearsed and performed for an audience. Fluency building occurs in the repeated readings of the scripts, and comprehension occurs when students learn to understand the characters’ actions and feelings. Classroom teachers can implement reader’s theatre by using adapted stories or parts of stories and typing them into script form. Students can practice reading the scripts in pairs, then act out the scripts in front of the class.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary instruction is an important component of the reading process. Without word knowledge, children could not learn from what they read. There are four types of vocabulary: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Vocabulary plays a vital role in word recognition as readers use words in their oral vocabulary to recognize words they read. Vocabulary is also important for comprehension because if children don’t understand the words they are reading, comprehension cannot occur. Research has shown that vocabulary is crucial to basic skills acquisition and in the development of content knowledge. Research has shown that despite the fact that vocabulary is often learned indirectly, it should be explicitly taught and drawn from authentic literacy experiences where students encounter words through listening and reading. Here are two evidence-based practices used to develop vocabulary:

• Semantic maps help students brainstorm details they know about a word, thereby accessing their background knowledge and helping them build understanding (Stahl, 1999). The teacher places a concept in the middle of a graphic organizer and students’ ideas are placed around the topic. This can be used in small or whole group instruction and in all content areas.
• Word studies encourage students to analyze words by breaking them into parts that children know. Prefixes, suffixes, and roots are broken down so that students can decipher words based on the parts they understand. This method can be used to teach strategies to students who are encountering difficult words in content areas such as social studies and science.

Comprehension

Comprehension is the goal of reading; without it, we couldn’t gain meaning from text. Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary development all contribute to comprehension of text. Research has shown that good readers who comprehend what they read use a variety of strategies while they read, and know what strategies to use and when to use them without being prompted. Throughout history, in most classrooms, comprehension is most often tested rather then instructed. Within the past decade, however, teachers have become interested in evidence-based practices that aid their students in comprehension. Here are two of these practices:

• Creating questions: Students connect what they are reading to prior knowledge. This leads them to make predictions or identify the author’s perspective. Proficient readers who ask themselves questions as they read have better recall of information and improved accuracy in identification of main ideas.
• Story structure instruction: Students organize the structure of a story including characters, setting, plot, and main idea. This helps with a greater understanding of these elements as they occur. Story maps can be used to graphically represent the structures of stories and can help students organize stories elements while they read. Teachers can provide students with graphic organizers to complete while they read so that they can identify the story’s sequence, characters, plot structure, setting, and other details.

Conclusion

This week’s claim should be considered fiction. The five components of reading, as identified by the National Reading Panel, act as a blueprint for effective reading instruction, especially for students with learning and behavior problems. Teachers who engage in the instruction of these components understand how each component builds on the other, and that explicit instruction in each area is necessary for students to become proficient readers. Obtaining an in-depth knowledge of these components helps teachers plan effective instruction for readers of diverse levels and abilities.

The claim

Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) are effective ways to help students with learning and behavior problems succeed.

The facts

In the previous post, I discussed the relationship between learning and behavior problems and the negative effects these problems have on children in school and in life. With recent trends in assessment, schools and teachers are held accountable for the academic and social success of their students, regardless of their disability. Many schools have found they lack the resources to meet the needs of all students in the inclusive classroom setting.

Still, schools have to demonstrate they are meeting the academic and social needs of their students. They also have to document the ways in which they are implementing these practices effectively and efficiently. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA), the practices that are being used to work with students with academic and behavioral challenges must focus on “scientifically, research-based interventions.” As an alternative, schools have begun to implement the use of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS), both at the school-wide level and at the classroom level.

PBS has been proven to be an effective model that addresses both learning and behavioral challenges in the classroom. The PBS model takes into account that many students often have academic and/or behavioral needs that can be met along a continuum of academic and behavior supports. In this week’s post, I will present the most effective, research-based strategies within the PBS model that are effective at helping teachers work with students who demonstrate learning and behavioral challenges within the general education inclusive classroom.

1. Establish a safe learning environment. Problems with academics and behavioral challenges often occur in environments where students do not feel they can express themselves without fear of being ridiculed. Classrooms should be places where students can share their feelings and knowledge freely. As a result, teachers who establish structured, supportive environments where learning and emotional/behavioral issues can be discussed openly tend to have students who experience higher rates of academic and social success.
2. Use data to assess students’ instructional and behavioral needs. Maintaining records in the classroom occurs naturally when teachers collect students’ work and conduct curriculum-based assessments on a regular basis. These academic records can provide teachers with insights into the specific academic problems a student may be having. Additionally, simple observations of a student’s inappropriate behaviors can also be used to identify the problems he or she may be having. They also provide some insights into why these problems are occurring.
3. Establish clear behavioral and learning expectations. When students know what is expected of them both academically and behaviorally, they are more likely to experience success. Providing clear directions on academic tasks can improve performance on daily classroom tasks and limit common misbehaviors. Similarly, making behavioral expectations clear through the use of posted class rules, established routines, and consistent consequences for misbehavior provide students support for successful behavior.
4. Focus on effective instruction at the appropriate level. Students who struggle academically often misbehave to avoid academic tasks that are too difficult. They learn that they can avoid completing challenging tasks if they act out and are removed from class. This cycle of academic difficulty and behavior problems was presented in last week’s post. Students who are presented with work that is either too hard or is not accompanied by appropriate instructional supports can easily get lost and fall victim to this cycle of behavior. Conversely, students who are presented with work that is too easy may become bored, resulting in challenging behaviors. Knowing students’ instructional levels is key to providing effective classroom instruction. This information can be found through initial assessment and through constant monitoring of student progress.
5. Use continuous progress monitoring to assess students and yourself. Monitoring student progress is key to providing successful academic and behavioral supports in the classroom. One example of progress monitoring that teachers do every day is taking running records of students’ reading fluency. These measures can provide the teacher with detailed information on students’ reading levels, as well as the progress students are making after reading instruction. Behaviorally, teachers can collect data using daily point sheets or behavior logs to determine when and where problem behaviors are occurring and to develop ideas about the function of students’ behaviors. Regardless of the method, teachers who continuously monitor students’ academic and behavioral progress are better able to make informed decisions about the kinds of interventions that can be successful for students.
6. Teachers should continuously monitor and reflect on their own behavior and instruction. It has been proven that progress monitoring is beneficial for students; however, effective teachers do not stop there. Teachers who monitor their own behaviors and instructional practices can lead to student growth academically and socially. Evaluating interactions with students, as well as the ways in which misbehaviors are addressed, can help teachers determine if they are in fact reinforcing inappropriate behaviors or missing some important instructional opportunities for students. Additionally, reflecting on their own instructional practices can often help teachers determine if they are relying too heavily on one instructional method over another (whole class, group, or one-on-one instruction). They can also see if they are setting an appropriate pace of instruction for the class, or providing tasks that are too easy or difficult for specific students. Being aware of one’s own instructional or classroom management style can help reduce or eliminate common classroom academic and behavior problems.
7. Help students become aware of their own behavior and academic problems. When teachers help students become aware of their own academic and behavioral challenges, students increase their ability to learn to monitor their success effectively. It is important for students to understand their own behavioral deficits and to use problem-solving strategies that help them learn to cope with their behaviors. Academically, students who are aware of the challenges they have with learning are better able to advocate for the supports they need to learn, as well as to be successful across learning environments. Awareness of these challenges often leads to better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. This leads to opportunities to increase self-monitoring and to better generalize the skills learned within the classroom to outside areas such as home and community.

Conclusion

This week’s claim is fact. The strategies discussed above include the most powerful interventions used in classrooms that have adopted a PBS approach to learning and behavior problems. These strategies have been identified by leaders in the field of Positive Behavior Supports such as Drs. Terry Scott, George Sugai, and Robert Horner through the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Network. The PBIS website offers additional information on the many ways in which PBS models can be implemented within your classroom or school.

The claim

Students can suffer simultaneously from learning and behavior problems.

The facts

Two of the most common problems students have in the classroom relate to learning and behavior. Academic research is producing a growing body of knowledge that looks at students experiencing both problems at the same time (often referred to as comorbidity). This issue can be looked at in two different ways.

The first is to adopt the view that students diagnosed with learning difficulties also have behavior difficulties. Many research studies adopting this view have shown that some students diagnosed with learning disabilities also tend to have some behavior difficulties.

The other way to view the issue is through the perspective that students diagnosed with behavior disorders also have learning difficulties. Research studies adopting this view have shown that most students with behavior problems also suffer from learning disabilities.

Although these views seem similar, the distinction between them is important and should be considered when evaluating this week’s claim.

What, exactly, are behavior problems?

Because this is my first post addressing behavior, I’ll explain what I mean by behavior problems. This definition is adapted from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):

• Behavior problems are categorized as Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED).
• A condition exhibiting such characteristics over periods of time and severity:
  • Behavior that negatively affects educational performance
  • Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
  • Inability to start or keep social relationships with peers and teachers
  • Inappropriate behaviors or feelings in normal social situations
  • Common mood of unhappiness or depression
  • Development of fears associated with personal or school problems

These types of behaviors are of serious concern for parents and teachers. Research indicates that students who exhibit these challenging behaviors typically have higher rates of negative interactions with school personnel. As a result of these negative interactions, students unfortunately establish negative reputations as being troublemakers. These students tend to be punished more often and more severely causing their behaviors to become more extreme. Students with these kinds of behavior problems also typically spend less time academically engaged with their teachers. This lack of positive experience in the academic setting has been shown to be extremely detrimental to their academic development.

Research into these issues has identified what can be seen as a cycle of problem behavior and negative academic experiences. Provided below is a visual example of this cycle, called the Academic-Behavior Connection, created by Scott, Nelson, & Liaupsin (2001).

This graphic illustrates the ongoing cycle of negative experiences between behavior problems and learning difficulties. Challenging behaviors represents the wide variety of behavior issues students have in the classroom. These include issues such as inappropriate speech, anger management, talking out of turn, inability to sit still, etc. Removal from class represents one of the typical repercussions from these types of challenging behaviors. In inclusion classrooms, one of the more common punishments for negative behavior is to take the student out of the class in order to continue teaching the rest of the students. As a result of being removed from class, research has shown these students fall behind academically. When the student is not in the classroom, they are not receiving the information and instruction necessary to keep up with the curriculum and academic expectations.

When students fall behind academically, more and more of the typical classroom assignments students encounter seem to be difficult work. Although a given assignment might not be more difficult than the regular assignments, the students’ lack of preparation results in increased frustration. And as described previously, students faced with work they feel they cannot complete tend to exhibit more challenging behaviors. Therefore, a student who falls into this cycle engages in a series of academic and behavior problems that may continue throughout his or her entire academic career.

Conclusion

This week’s claim is fact. Research has shown that learning problems and behavior problems often coexist. This issue has serious implications for classroom teachers, who need to be aware that students with one of these diagnoses are typically more susceptible to the other.

The claim

Males are more likely than females to be referred for special education services.

The facts

This week’s post is a little more straightforward and less controversial than those from the previous weeks. The claim that males are more likely than females to be referred for special education services is relatively clear in the educational literature. Although the methods used to identify students for special education services vary from study to study, the overwhelming consensus indicates that males are more often identified as having learning or behavioral disorders. The following visual representation of some special education statistics provides a useful way to understand this phenomenon:

Gender of secondary-aged students with disabilities, by disability category

	Male	Female
Learning disability	73.4%	26.6%
Emotional disturbance	76.4%	23.6%
Speech impairment	59.5%	40.5%
Mental retardation	58.0%	42.0%
Visual impairment	55.6%	44.4%
Hearing impairment	52.0%	48.0%
Deafness	54.5%	45.5%
Multiple disabilities	65.4%	34.6%
Deaf/blindness	49.5%	50.5%
All disabilities	68.5%	31.5%

Source: Valdes, et al. (1990). The National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students: Statistical almanac (Vol. 1). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

As you can see from the table, males constitute a much higher percentage of the population for each category of disability except for the deaf/blindness category. According to the research in this area, gender ratios vary in severity ranging from a 2:1 male-to-female ratio all the way to an astounding 15:1 male-to-female ratio. Granted, the 15:1 ratio seems to be an extreme case according to the majority of the reports, but the consensus of the literature is quite clear that males are typically more often identified for special education services.

What is the cause of this phenomenon?

This is one of the questions for which researchers in the field of special education struggle to find an answer. Studies in this area propose a wide variety of theories as to why the ratios are so lopsided. Most theories use either an environmental or biological basis as to what causes the differences between males and females. Some researchers believe that males are simply more vulnerable to the environmental factors that influence development, causing males to be negatively affected. However, there is little evidence supporting this environmental argument.

Other theories examine biological influences as the cause for this high rate of special education services for males. Some researchers believe that because boys mature more slowly than girls, both physically and mentally, that they are negatively affected in their educational development. Other researchers argue that chromosomal abnormalities that are more prevalent in boys lead to their higher rate of disabilities. And some researchers even suspect an issue in the development of boys’ brains that results in lack of plasticity, or ability for the brain to adapt. Each of these theories and more have been presented in the literature of educational research, however, each theory lacks validation from multiple studies. So, because there is no conclusive evidence supporting any of these theories, they should remain just that: theories.

Learning disabilities and emotional disturbances

As the table illustrates, there is a significant difference between males and females in the top two categories: learning disabilities and emotional disturbances. Although these categories are different and reported separately, there is support for the claim that these two categories are linked together.

Research has found that the male-to-female ratio of emotional-behavioral disorders ranges from 3:1 to 8:1. Studies investigating this phenomenon have produced extremely helpful results. One of the issues related to this topic is how a school system defines behavioral problems. The overwhelming majority describes behavior problems as actions that are physically disruptive to the classroom, fellow students, or teachers. According to research, males are more prone to the types of behaviors the school view as being categorized as behavior issues. In other words, boys are more likely to outwardly rebel against authority than girls are.

As boys develop, there is a heavier emphasis on achieving status within the classroom, being dominant and more competitive. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to express a greater desire to be liked and therefore tend to be more cooperative and respect authority. Also, girls with behavioral issues tend to act depressed or sad, keeping their emotions inside, while boys express their emotions much more outwardly, showing visible rage, frustration, or anger. These characteristics provide support for the claim that boys are more likely to be referred for having behavioral issues.

Just as boys tend to express negative behaviors more outwardly, the same goes for their inability to keep their attention focused. Boys are more likely than girls to be visibly off task when it comes to school, which leads to more boys being referred for special education services than girls. According to research, when a student is diagnosed with an attention deficit of some kind, he or she is often identified as having learning disabilities as well. As the chart above shows, males are much more likely than girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities, and therefore this claim by researchers should be taken seriously.

Conclusion

Studies in this area lead to the overwhelming conclusion that this week’s claim is fact. Although there is some research in the literature that argues against the claim that males are more often referred for special education services, the majority of research supports this claim. I have yet to come across a study where there are more females represented in the sample than males, although I’m sure it exists somewhere. The underlying cause for this phenomenon has yet to be determined but researchers will continue their search until the question is finally answered.