Learning Disabilities

This tool kit was developed in response to requests from community service providers, teachers, and tutors for a simple guide to identifying and dealing with learning difficulties among adults and students on Haida Gwaii, the chain of islands off the northern coast of British Columbia. The area is populated mainly by the Haida Aboriginal people.

This document is part of a resource package developed through a project designed to address the needs of literacy practitioners working with adults who have learning disabilities.

It contains sheets for three activities that can be carried out either one to one or in small groups to help adults improve their reading and numeracy skills.

This video shows how the Ts'zil Learning Centre in British Columbia uses the four elements of the medicine wheel to address the needs of First Nations students with learning disabilities. The wheel is divided into sections representing the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the person.

This booklet offers a variety of strategies for practitioners working with adults who have learning disabilities.

The authors begin with a series of studying tips for visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. They encourage instructors to assess individuals' learning styles and teach to the stronger style.

The authors of this study designed and measured the efficacy of a kindergarten screening tool aimed at identifying children at risk for reading disabilities.

The study is a longitudinal one that followed 499 Saskatchewan children from kindergarten through Grade 3. The kindergarten screening process consisted of assessments of phonological awareness and letter-sound understanding.

This study looks at preschool speech and language impairments and the role they play in a child’s phonological awareness, the awareness of the sound structure of spoken words. Phonological awareness is considered a reliable predictor of later reading ability.

This document is one chapter in a book entitled “Building on critical traditions: Adult education and learning in Canada.” Its purpose is to address four commonly held concerns about adult literacy and learning disabilities with a Canadian focus.

In the first section of the document, the authors describe the official definition of learning disabilities, adopted by the Canadian Association for Learning Disabilities in 2002.

The authors begin by explaining that assistive technology refers to any piece of equipment, product or system that directly assists, maintains, or improves the functional capabilities of people with learning disabilities.

In this brief document, the authors note that the formal identification and disclosure of the presence of a learning disability can benefit both the employee, by helping him keep a job, and the employer, by reducing costly staff turnover.

The authors describe signs that an employee may have a learning disability, including performance inconsistency; communication confusion; poor coordination; and difficulty concentrating.

The authors of this fact sheet explain that the term “learning disabilities” refers to a number of disorders that can affect the acquisition, organization, understanding, or use of verbal or nonverbal information.