OnlineClassesHelper Help Learning Disabled Students Online – Over the past three decades, we have learned a lot about learning disabilities. They don’t affect only individuals that have them but also us collectively. Besides, they are quite common in the demographic of US college students.
The most common learning disabilities are dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia. According to the latest statistics, they affect 15%, 9.4%, 5%, and 4% of college undergraduates in the US.
Since they are prevalent in the US college population, it is vital to raise awareness and help these students achieve their academic goals. Below you can learn more about these disabilities and discover some of the valuable resources students can use to pursue education opportunities at US universities.
Learning disabilities & student impacts
Studying is a very delicate process that consists of several phases. One thing that makes learning disorders unique is that they can affect the education process at different stages. Each of these states comes with specific challenges and causes various symptoms.
Auditory Processing Disorder
APD is one of the most common learning disabilities. People who experience it have specific problems with connections in the central nervous system. Due to these problems, they have difficulties processing auditory information. It translates into challenges associated with understanding verbal directions and comprehending lectures.
Dyslexia
Students with dyslexia experience the following:
- Difficulty reading
- Problems with recalling words
- Problems with using the right words
Their academic achievement is impaired since they can’t use the same studying materials the other students do.
Dysgraphia
Undergraduates with dysgraphia find it extremely hard to express their thoughts and ideas through writing. They also can’t correctly spell and write.
Students can showcase poor performance on written exams and essays at college even though they are familiar with the subject and thoroughly understand it.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is characterized by difficulties understanding math-related ideas and using numbers.
For these students, it is nearly impossible to keep up with math classes. They can also experience problems understanding graphical and numeric information, often found in learning materials.
Language Processing Disorder
Students with LPD can’t process or understand written and spoken language.
Even though they can have great ideas, such people can’t share them or participate in discussions.
Nonverbal Learning Disorder
NLD causes people to be unable to understand social cues or successfully engage in spatial and physical learning experiences.
With this impairment, students cannot follow the teacher’s demonstrations which can be challenging in physics and chemistry labs where it is often required to replicate experiments and understand them.
Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Students with ADD or ADHD have problems focusing on matters at hand. Their attention is all over the place. Some may even exhibit impulsive behavior.
At university, these people struggle with meeting deadlines, and they often procrastinate until it’s too late to do anything with an assignment or exam.
Dyspraxia
People with dyspraxia have problems with coordination which can come with a lack of social skills.
These students can fall behind in classes because they can’t take notes as fast as others might do. They can also experience challenges when they want to participate in classroom discussions.
Executive Function Disorder or Difficulties
Executive Function Disorder is similar to ADD and ADHD when it comes to symptoms. However, it can be characterized by different symptoms:
- Procrastination
- Inability to work in teams
- Difficulty completing tasks on time
These students can hit a wall when they need to contribute as team players. But, unfortunately, they also often find themselves paying too much attention to irrelevant details.
Memory Deficit
As the name implies, memory deficit is a disorder that makes it hard for people to remember information. It can appear as many problems ranging from accessing to organizing information.
These students can’t recall the information even if they spend hours learning. They also can’t remember what’s in the notes they took during the classes. As a result, their academic performance suffers, and their grades don’t reflect their effort.
Visual-Perceptual or Motor-Deficit
Visual-perceptual or motor-deficit is also one of the learning disabilities. They can completely understand everything when teachers express it verbally but not so much through a copy.
These students, for instance, may be unable to take notes during classes, mainly if professors write them on the blackboard. In addition, diagrams and maps are extremely hard for them to copy, making certain lectures insurmountable.
How to prepare for college with a learning disability
Given that a college student with learning disabilities has unique needs, it’s essential to carefully address the college preparation phase. Their academic challenges and personality can make it hard to prepare for college. For instance, they might need access to custom-tailored studying materials, support from their colleagues, or professional guidance and help from the faculty staff.