Significant progress has been made in developing effective interventions for adolescents with learning disabilities. This article presents an agenda on how schools can present excellent instruction that allows adolescents with learning disabilities to flourish.
Ms. Vorenberg has a BA from the University of New Hampshire and a MS in Early Education from Wheelock College. She has worked extensively in independent schools in the Boston area. A special interest is the effects of the media on children. She is a Felton Media Scholar who has made a video program for children “On My Own - Kids’ Learning Adventures.” A Shady Hill School teacher featured in the video “ADHD and the 21st Century,” Ms Vorenberg is now the head of the lower school program at Shady Hills School.
From pre-K through second grade, Asher Meytin attended a Jewish day school where each fall, the kids were asked what they most looked forward to that year. Asher’s number one goal was to learn to read. That was it. But he just couldn’t get it.
Out of frustration, many high school teachers today ask ‘why test?’ This book chapter describes authentic ways to evaluate student progress and, thus, the true effectiveness of instruction. Other topics are a discussion of grading students with disabilities, their participation in high stakes assessments, and making accommodations and modifications in testing.
Good reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading instruction at all grade levels and for all children, including those with learning disabilities. However, many scientific investigators of reading agree that further work on measures of reading comprehension is essential.
Students with language learning difficulties can learn foreign languages in school, when they have appropriate instructional modifications. This article looks at the kinds of students who may have difficulty successfully fulfilling a foreign language requirement in school, instructional methods that help, and additional adaptations at-risk students might need.
