Learning Disabilities and Diversity

Victoria E Judd M.D.

Poster available at www.disabilityisnatural.com

Objectives

• 1. Describe how disability and diversity cultures relate to each other

• 2. Identify the impact on students who have learning disabilities and are ethnically and racially diverse

• 3. List ways health and mental health professionals can help

Disability

• The loss of or limitation of opportunities to take part in the community on an equal basis with others.

• It is not something that the person suffers from.

• It is the product of interaction of the person and the community.

Disability

• A disability may impact a part of one’s life yet it is considered the defining characteristic by others.

Disability

• Currently 1 in 5 American’s have a disability.

• 1 in 10 American’s have a severe disability.

Who has a disability?

• Anyone with a mental or physical impairment that limits one or more major life areas.

Life Areas

• Walking• Caring for one’s self• Performing manual tasks• Sleeping• Eating• Dressing• Thinking• Working• Lifting

• Seeing• Hearing• Speaking• Breathing• Learning• Reading• Concentrating• Communicating• Standing• Others

Traditional Culture

• Oldest model

• Places blame on the person for having something wrong with them

• Disability is shameful and something to hide

Medical Culture

• A shift to a scientific understanding of the causes of disability

• Focuses on “cure” and “rehabilitation”

• The disability is the problem resulting in the implication that the “disabled” individual is never okay.

Social Culture

• Looks at the strengths of the person with a disability

• Identifies the physical, social, etc. barriers that obstruct a individual with a disability

• The constructs within society are the problem

• Disability is a civil rights issue

Students with Learning Disabilities

• Learning disabilities (LD) comprise the largest single category of students served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)– (US DOE, 2002)

• Students with LD now represent the largest single category of students with disabilities in 2-year and 4-year postsecondary institutions– Henderson, C. (1999). College Freshmen with

disabilities, statistical year 1998. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education

Growing Number of Students with Disabilities

• 11% of all college students and 9% of first-time college freshmen report some type of disability

Growing Number of Students with Disabilities

Type of Disability Reported:

• 46% - Learning Disabilities

• 14% - Mobility Impairments

• 11% - Health Impairments

• 8% - Mentally Ill or Emotionally Disturbed

• 6% - Hearing Impaired

• 4% - Blind or Visually Impaired

• 1% - Speech or Language Impediment

• 9% - Other

Leonardo da Vinci

– outstanding artist, engineer, architect & scientist

– famous for his mirror writing

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Great scientist but!

• unable to read until he was nine

• failed first college entrance exam

• lost two teaching jobs because of problems with written language

Famous People with a Learning Disability

• Albert EinsteinGalileoMozartWright BrothersLeonardo da VinciCherBruce JennerTom CruiseCharles SchwabHenry WinklerDanny GloverWalt DisneyJohn LennonGreg LouganisWinston ChurchillHenry FordStephen HawkingJules VerneAlexander Graham BellWoodrow WilsonHans Christian AndersonNelson Rockefeller

• Thomas EdisonGen. George PattonAgatha ChristieJohn F. KennedyWhoopi GoldbergRodinThomas ThoreauDavid H. MurdockDustin HoffmanPete RoseRussell WhiteJason KiddRussell VarianRobin WilliamsLouis PasteurWerner von BraunDwight D. EisenhowerRobert KennedyLuci Baines Johnson NugentGeorge Bush's childrenPrince Charles

Famous People with a Learning Disability

• Gen. WestmorelandEddie RickenbackerGregory BoyingtonHarry BelafonteF. Scott FitzgeraldMariel HemingwaySteve McQueenGeorge C. ScottTom SmothersSuzanne SomersLindsay WagnerGeorge Bernard ShawBeethovenCarl LewisJackie Stewart"Magic" JohnsonWeyerhauser familyWrigleyJohn CorcoranSylvester Stallone

• Musicians: Mozart, Beethoven, John Lennon, and Cher.

• Athletes: “Magic” Johnson, Bruce Jenner, Carl Lewis, and Nolan Ryan.

• Politicians: John F. Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, Dwight Eisenhower, and Woodrow Wilson.

• Military leaders: General Patton and General Westmoreland.

Disability as a part of Diversity

• College campuses need to be aware that:– Disability shapes students’ experience of

learning and of the classroom just like race, gender, national origin, culture

• College campuses need to adapt and adopt existing resources for students with disabilities to be included in “inclusive teaching” and “teaching diverse learners”

Diverse Students Fear of Disclosure

• Fear of Inaccurate Labels

• Accused of Faking Their Disability

• Experienced a Chilly Classroom Climate

• Poor Self-Advocacy Skills

What is stereotype threat?

• Fear of being treated and judged according to a negative stereotype about one’s group

– Occurs when an individual is in a performance situation and is aware that there is a negative stereotype about their group that suggests they will not perform well

– Occurs regardless of whether the individual believes the stereotype

– Occurs regardless of the accuracy of the stereotype

What are the conditions that lead to stereotype threat?

• The task an individual is performing is relevant to the stereotype

• The task is challenging

• The individual is performing in a domain she or he identifies with

• The context in which the task is being performed is likely to reinforce the stereotype

What are the consequences of stereotype threat?

• Decreased achievement test performance

• Decreased short term task performance

– Vast majority of research has examined these outcomes

Proposed mechanisms for effect of stereotype threat on performance

• Physiological arousal

• Reduced working memory capacity

• Anxiety

• Excess effort

• Lowered performance expectations

Source: www.ReducingStereotypeThreat.org

Intelligent, motivated student faces a difficult, stereotype relevant test

Search for explanation of difficulty

Others assume student that performance accurately reflects ability

Student performs test, but performance is disrupted by

stereotype threat

Student becomes frustrated and

demotivated

Stereotype comes to mind

Context reinforcesstereotype

Documented in a large number of groups

– Women on math tests(Spencer, Steele & Quinn,1999)

– African-Americans on standardized tests(Steele & Aronson, 1995)

– Hispanics on standardized tests(Gonzales, Blanton & Williams, 2002)

– Low SES students on standardized tests(Croizet & Claire, 1998)

– Women on negotiation tasks(Kray, Galinsky & Thompson, 2002)

– Men on social sensitivity tasks(Koenig & Eagly, 2005)

– Whites on tasks that require being non-racist(Richeson & Shelton, 2003)

– White men (compared with Black men) on athletic tasks(Stone, Sjomeling, Lynch, & Darley, 1999)

– White men (compared with Asian men) on a math tests(Aronson, Lustinga, Good, Keough, Steele, & Brown,1999)

A Few Suggestions on Overcoming Stereotype Threat

• Reframing the task

• Deemphasizing threatened social identities

• Encouraging self-affirmation

• Emphasizing high standards with assurances of capability

• Providing role models

• Providing external attributions for difficulty

• Emphasizing an incremental view of ability

• Source: http://reducingstereotypethreat.org/reduce.html

Cognitive Dissonance

Research on Race Bias

Research on Race Bias

Research on Race Bias

Research on Race Bias

Unconscious Bias

Unconscious Bias

Characteristics of students with learning disabilities

• poor short term memory• speaking vocabulary than written

vocabulary• struggles with decoding words• poor at computation• refuses written work• handwriting is not legible• difficulty with spelling & phonics

Characteristics of students with learning disabilities

• struggles with easy sequential material

• difficulty with rote memorization

• inattentive in class

• emotions overpower reasoning

• poor auditory memory/listening skills

• weak in language mechanics etc

Characteristics of students with learning disabilities

• needs to be interested to learn

• performs poorly on timed test

• disorganized

• avoids weak areas

• foreign languages sequencing memory subjects difficult

Diverse Students

• Students with hidden disabilities: psychiatric, learning, environmental, cognitive disabilities

• “nontraditional students:” working parents, entering college a few years after high school

• From culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CLD), or new immigrants

• Low socioeconomic status

CLD students with disabilitiesmore likely to face:

• Language and social barriers• Negative effects of having grown up in

poverty• Difficulty processing “standard English”

oral and written information• All of which may contribute to their risk of

school failure• Greene, G., & Nefsky, P. (1999). Transition for culturally and linguistically

diverse youth with disabilities: Closing the gaps. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 3(1), 15-24.

As a Results CLD students:

• In comparison to non-CLD students with disabilities, CLD students tend to:

• Have poor transition outcomes (from secondary to postsecondary)

• Lower employment rates• Lower average wages• Lower participation in postsecondary educationBlackorby, J., & Wagner, M. (1996). Longitudinal postschool outcomes of youth

with disabilities: Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study. Exceptional Children, 62, 399-413.

As a Result CLD students:

• Sense of social isolation• Basic mismatch between home culture and

educational culture they face in schools• Support programs for students with disabilities

tend to focus on academic issues• CLD students may also need focus on social

supports to achieve academicallyCarey, J. C., Boscardin, M. L., & Fontes, L. (1994). Improving the multicultural

effectiveness of your school. In P. Pedersen & J. C. Carey (Eds.), Multicultural counseling in schools: A practical handbook (pp. 239-249). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

CLD Student Challenges

• Transition from high school to college• From IDEA to ADA• Responsibility shifts from school to student• Importance of self-advocacy• Difficult for CLD students:

– cultural values against disclosing personal challenges or asking for help

– Difficulty in approaching persons of higher status, such as professors, disability support personnel

Leake, D. &Cholmay, M. (2000). Addressing the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education. National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, Information Brief 3 (1).

CLD Student Challenges

• It is difficult to determine if a student’s learning difficulties are a result of learning disabilities, or due to issues related to their CLD status

• Danger of under-diagnosis of CLD students learning disabilities because the assumption is that the problem lies in English language comprehension difficulties.

• Shortage of qualified bilingual diagnosticians to determine eligibility for supports

D. Shulman (2002). Diagnosing Learning Disabilities in Community College Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 16 (1)

Faculty Attitudes

• Survey of faculty attitudes and practices• Two-thirds of faculty have limited contacts with

students with disabilities• Large majority had little or no experience teaching

students with disabilities• Those with experience had it with students with LD

and students with visual, hearing, or orthopedic impairments

• Least experience with psychiatric disabilities and chronic illness

Leyser, Y., Vogel, S., Wyland,S., and Brulle, A.(1998). Faculty Attitudes and Practices Regarding Students with Disabilities: Two Decades after Implementation of Section 504. Journal on Postsecondary Education and

Disability

Faculty Attitudes

• Surveys of students assessing faculty knowledge of disability issues and accommodations

• Faculty were evaluated on the low-to-moderate end

Roessler, R. and Kirk, M. (1998) Improving technology training services in postsecondary education: Perspectives of recent college graduates with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and

Disability 13, 48-59

Faculty Attitudes

• Faculty attitudes towards accommodations for LD

• Saw LD as different from other disabilities

• Questioning the legitimacy of the LD diagnosis

• Concern about academic freedom– Jensen, J., McCrary, N., Krampe, K. and Justin Cooper, J.(2004). Trying to Do

the Right Thing: Faculty Attitudes Toward Accommodating Students with

Learning Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 17 (2)

Faculty Attitudes

• BUT: focus group of faculty showed strong desire to understand the experiences and concerns of students with disabilities in their classes

Hennessey, M. (2004). An examination of the employment and career development concerns of postsecondary students with disabilities: Results of a tri-regional study. Doctoral dissertation, Kent State

University.

The greatest barriers individuals The greatest barriers individuals

with disabilities have faced for with disabilities have faced for

decades and continue to face decades and continue to face

today are today are attitudinal barriersattitudinal barriers..

Why the Attitude?

FEAR Many people fear they will say or do the wrong thing and, therefore, avoid people with disabilities.

BACKLASH People believe that individuals with disabilities are given unfair advantages.

DENIAL "Hidden" disabilities are not "real" disabilities that require accommodation.

SPREAD EFFECT People assume that a person with a disability is totally impaired. For example, people may talk loudly to a person who is blind.

Myths about Students with Disabilities

• Students with disabilities cannot be taught a vocation. This is not true. Each student with a disability is an individual with certain

abilities. The focus should be on what the individual can do, not limited by what he/she cannot. For instance, a student with a cognitive disability may have weaknesses in traditional academic areas and may have trouble reading; however, this student may do well in other areas such as art. The key is to provide the student with the training he/she needs to match both their abilities and interests.

• Students with disabilities cannot make academic gains. With reasonable accommodation, the student may make academic gains in

language or math, etc.All students with disabilities have low mental abilities.

Every individual with a disability is unique just as each individual without a disability is unique. Even manifestations of the same type of disability may present differently in different individuals. Get to know the person before making judgments based upon a label.

WORDS

The words you use can create either a positive

view of people with disabilities or it can

reinforce common myths.

WORDS

It’s not just a matter of semantics or being “politically

correct”; the language we use reflects how we

feel about disability.

http://www.disabilitylearningservices.co

m/unit03.htm

Person First Language

Person First Language puts the person before the disability and

describes what a person has, not who a person is.

A “person with a disability” not a “disabled” person

Why Person First?

• Group designations such as "the blind," "the retarded" or "the disabled" are inappropriate because they do not reflect the individuality, equality or dignity of people with disabilities.

• Further, words like "normal person" imply that the person with a disability isn't normal, whereas "person without a disability" is descriptive but not negative.

• http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/comucate.htm

Barrier Removal – Reasonable Accommodation

• Sometimes our misperceptions and biases about what a person with a disability can or cannot do exist because there is not an awareness or knowledge base of how those barriers might be alleviated with the use of appropriate reasonable accommodation

How Accommodations Remove Barriers

Examples of what some individuals with certain types of learning disabilities might “see” when looking at printed material or

how they might “write” on paper.

Overcoming Those Barriers

• There are many ways in which barriers due to a disability may be accommodated.

Examples:– Use of a word processor

• Spell check• Word prediction

– Use of text to speech software– Use of voice dictation software

Creating Inclusive Environments

Keep in mind that knowing how to react appropriately in every situation requires

time and practice.

As with all other etiquette issues, when mistakes are made, apologize,

correct the problem, learn from the mistake, move

on–do not be discouraged, and above

all,

keep trying. 

Universal Design

• Principle of Universal Design comes from architecture and was developed by Ron Mace, an architect who had polio and used a wheelchair. In essence, UD means anyone can use whatever is built.

Definition of Universal Design

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

The Center for Universal Design: Environments and Products for All. (n.d.). About universal design.

http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm

The Nine Principles of Universal Design for Instruction

• Scott, S. S., McGuire, J. M., & Shaw, S. F. (2003).

• Universal design for instruction: A new paradigm for adult instruction in postsecondary education. Remedial and Special Education, 24, 369-379.

Principle 1: Equitable UseInstruction is designed to be useful to and accessible by people with diverse abilities. Instruction is identical whenever possible, equivalent when not.

Example: Class materials are available online so students can access materials when needed.

Principle 2: Flexibility in Use

• Instruction is designed to accommodate a wide range of learning styles. Provide choice in methods of use.

– Example: Create lectures that use visual aids, group activities, hands-on tasks, or web based discussions.

Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive

• Instruction is designed in a straightforward and predictable manner regardless of the student’s experience, knowledge, language, or current concentration level. Eliminate unnecessary complexity.

– Example: Class assignments, due dates, and course evaluation are communicated clearly on the syllabus.

Principle 4: Perceptible Information

• Instruction is designed so that necessary information is communicated effectively to the students.

– Example: Select course materials that can be accessed through hardcopy or electronically. This allows students with print impairments and other learning disabilities to use screen enlargers or screen readers.

Principle 5: Tolerance for Error

• Instruction anticipates variation in individual student learning pace and prerequisite skills.

– Example: Climate supports students to turn in drafts of work for constructive feedback and editing before the final project is due.

Principle 6: Low Physical Effort

• Instruction is designed to minimize nonessential physical effort in order to allow maximum attention to learning (does not apply when physical effort is integral to the course).

– Example: Allow students to use a laptop in class for taking notes or have access to a word processor for writing essay exams.

Principle 7: Size and Space for Approach and Use

• Instruction is designed with consideration for appropriate size and space for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of the student’s body size, posture, mobility, or communication needs.

– Example: Provide a wheelchair accessible science lab station.

Principle 8: A Community of Learners

• The instructional environment promotes interaction and communication between students and among students and faculty.

– Example: Fostering communication between students in and out of the classroom through chat rooms, email, and discussion groups.

Principle 9: Instructional Climate

• Instruction is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. High expectations are espoused for all students.

– Example: Create a welcoming and inclusive classroom atmosphere that promotes and encourages diversity.

Universal Design for Instruction (UDI)

• Proactive approach to teaching that uses inclusive strategies to benefit a broad range of learners, including students with disabilities

• Use the “nine principles of UDI” to design courses, rather than retrofitting or using accommodations mandated by law

UDI

• Accommodations like note takers or extra time on tests are typical changes that are retrofitted to minimize the impact of a disability

• These are ways to practice nondiscrimination, but they are not based on pedagogy, or concerns about student learning

• It is preferable to practice UDI proactively

Benefits of UDI

• Today’s college student population is increasingly diverse in: Educational background, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, primary language, and disability

• Faculty who incorporate UDI at the onset create greater opportunities for learning

• ALL students benefit

Benefits of UDI

• Reduce potential stigma of accommodations• Learning environments can never be entirely

accessible to all students individual needs. Some accommodations will be necessary, but all learning environments can be made more accessible and inclusive.

• UDI does not mean lowering your academic standards

• UDI helps you become a better teacher!

Students with disabilities need

• Recognition• Accurate diagnosis• Understanding & acceptance• Appropriate teaching• Appropriate accommodation• Compensatory strategies• Support• Non-discrimination

Student and Peers

• Recognize importance relationship between student and peers in inclusive classroom

• Importance of attitudes of nondisabled peers in “legitimizing” accommodations

• Survey of nondisabled college students attitudes towards accommodations– Specific disabilities lie on a continuum of “deservedness” of

accommodations– Women more likely than men to have positive view of

accommodationsUpton, T & Harper, D. (2002) Multidimensional Disability Attitudes and

Equitable Evaluation of Educational Accommodations by College Students Without Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 15 (2)

What the Law Requires

• Students

– with “disabilities”

– who are “otherwise qualified”

• must receive “reasonable accommodations”

• and

• are protected from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation

Where do we need to go ?

• Focus on Teaching Assistants & Untenured Faculty

• Tend to teach introductory courses• Their teaching style can impact students’

decisions about whether to major in a discipline• Whether students feel at home in a discipline• They are still learning how to teach• Introducing UDI at just the right time• Train our next generation of college professors

Where do we need to go?

• Understand disability as a lived experience• Understand the ways that disabilities can impact

learning process and the college experience• Debunk stereotypes about disabilities and

accommodations– “unfair advantages”– “LD = lack of intelligence or motivation”

• Understand their responsibilities under ADA and Section 504

• Learn “innovative teaching methods” to reach all learning styles

Consensus statements reaffirming Consensus statements reaffirming the concept of learning disabilitiesthe concept of learning disabilities

1. The concept of Specific Learning 1. The concept of Specific Learning Disabilities is valid, supported by strong Disabilities is valid, supported by strong converging evidence converging evidence

2. Specific learning disabilities are 2. Specific learning disabilities are neurologically-based and intrinsic to the neurologically-based and intrinsic to the individualindividual

Consensus statements reaffirming Consensus statements reaffirming the concept of learning disabilitiesthe concept of learning disabilities

3. Individuals with specific learning 3. Individuals with specific learning disabilities show intra-individual disabilities show intra-individual differences in skills and abilitiesdifferences in skills and abilities

4. Specific learning disabilities persist across 4. Specific learning disabilities persist across the life span, though manifestations and the life span, though manifestations and intensity may vary as a function of intensity may vary as a function of developmental state and environmental developmental state and environmental demandsdemands

Consensus statements reaffirming Consensus statements reaffirming the concept of learning disabilitiesthe concept of learning disabilities

5. Specific learning disabilities are evident 5. Specific learning disabilities are evident across ethnic, cultural, language, and across ethnic, cultural, language, and economic groupseconomic groups

Social Society

• Individual is valued

• Strengths and needs defined by self and others

• Barriers are identified and solutions developed

• Resources are available

• Relationships are nurtured

Social Society

• Individual is included

• Disability/diversity are celebrated

• Society evolves