Assignment:
What are characteristics of students with learning and behavior disabilities?
Students with difficulties during the learning process and social interactions, exhibit behaviors like focusing problems, they are easily distracted, and tend to be impulsive not acknowledging the consequences of their behavior. Their learning and behavior difficulties always call the educator's attention, it can be manifested in diverse ways as the following:
- Poor academic performance: these students despite of having the cognitive processes to succeed academically, they have a significant difficulty in one or more learning areas.
- Memory: students with problems remembering the lessons they are taught, these students have short memory problems, they may remember one day and may not remember the next day.
- Attention problems: it is very hard for these students to keep themselves on task for a long period of time, they have problems following directions and are very easily distracted.
- Hyperactivity: they are overactive and find it very hard to be seated, or in the same place for extended periods of time, they hardly complete a task and are very distractive.
- Aggressive behavior: they are physically or verbally assaultive. They tend to kick, hit, get involve into fights, and insult others.
- Poor language abilities: this characteristic can be manifested in many ways, through problems understanding vocabulary, concepts, expressing themselves writing or orally, even developing age-appropriate math skill.
- Withdrawn behavior: these students are very shy and hardly interact with other students, they are considered loners who avoid getting involved with others.
- Bizarre behavior: they may stare at objects for a long period of time, they ma sit and rock, or can exhibit aggressive behaviors.
When determining the complexity of the learning and Behavior disability we need to consider that students can exhibit more than one of the difficulty or behavior mentioned before, and that there are many factors to consider in order to determine the severity of the disability.
References:
Vaughn, S. & Bos, C.S. (2015). Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning and Behavior Problems (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.