Is it because he can’t do it or because he doesn’t want to?

Understanding the behaviour of students with a learning disability

By Angela. E. Rudderham

Educators and parents want to help students reach their full potential. It has been my experience that one of the biggest challenges in working with some students who have a learning disability is trying to figure why they behave the way they do.

It still surprises some people to hear that intelligence is not affected by a learning disability. In fact, in order to be diagnosed with a learning disability, one must have an average or above average IQ. This can add to the puzzlement of adults working with these students. The key to understanding their behaviour is to distinguish between a performance deficit and a skill deficit.

A skill deficit is when someone has not learned how to perform a task. It’s not that they don’t want to please their parents, teachers and peers, it’s simply that they don’t know how to perform what they’re being asked to do.

Here’s an example of a skill deficit. An eleven-year-old student I worked with used vocabulary that would leave his teachers scrambling for a dictionary. He also could recall anything that was said to him in any of his classes from any point in the year. The impression he left on those he met was that he had a superior intelligence and was very capable. The problem? The student could never get to English class on time. When he would enter his teacher would ask him, “Do you know what time it is?” The student would shrug and reply, “I don’t care”. The student would be sent to the office and disciplined for being disrespectful. The very next day this student would be late again with no explanation. His teacher thought him unmotivated and disrespectful, and his parents took away privileges along with numerous other consequences. Nothing worked.

As it turned out the English class was directly after lunch. When he re-entered the school, the student had to locate his locker and find the class that was in a section of the building he was not familiar with. We soon discovered that he was unable to perform this task because he had a non-verbal learning disability. This disability can affect one’s sense of direction and their ability to find their way around. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be on time, he didn’t know how to be on time. And when someone doesn’t know how to do something, no reward or punishment will magically teach them. We call this a skill deficit rather than a performance deficit.

A performance deficit is when the student knows what is expected and has learned how to perform the expected behaviour but chooses not to. There are at least two possible explanations for this. One may be the student is experiencing a lack of motivation or payoff for performing the desired behaviour. All that may be required to correct the behaviour is to teach the benefits to the student for performing the behaviour and positively reinforcing the behaviour. The reinforcement can be as simple as noticing when the student does what is expected.

Another reason for performance deficits may be the student may not be able to tell when to use the skill that they know how to perform. One example I can think of is a grade 4 student who had difficulty using an indoor voice. We discussed that when she was outside, it was appropriate to be loud; however, if she was inside she had to use a quiet voice. She worked very hard on this goal until her volume in class was no longer an issue.

Later that year, I found out her basketball coach had benched her because she had stopped communicating to her team mates on the floor. No one could hear her because she was lowering her voice; her games were inside. It was not that the student could not adjust her voice properly she had trouble understanding when and where to perform the appropriate skill.

We know that learning disabilities come with all kinds of deficits and can make the simplest tasks such telling the time, keeping track of belongings or even refraining from interrupting seem impossible even to super-intelligent students. It’s confusing to parents to know that their son/daughter could win first place in the science fair, yet not understand that it’s rude to grab an object out of someone’s hands.

When the majority of the student population experience a skill deficit, it’s usually due to not being exposed to the skill, or not having an opportunity to learn the skill. For a student with a learning disability, a behavioural or social skill deficit is not acquired even after correct modeling and opportunities to learn - direct instructing is needed. No amount of scolding or punishing will miraculously give the student the knowledge they need to understand the skill.

Walker, Colvin, and Ramsey (1995) recommended a nine step process for teaching skills to children with learning disabilities. The steps include:

1. Definition of the skill with guided discussion of examples,
2. Modeling or video presentation of the skill being correctly applied,
3. Modeling or video presentation of incorrect application (non example),
4. Review,
5. Modeling or video presentation of a second example with debriefing,
6. Modeling a range of examples, coupled with hypothetical practice situations,
7. Modeling or video presentation of another positive example if needed,
8. Role playing, and
9. Informal commitment from student to try the skill in a natural setting.

So next time your child or student is not performing the expected behaviour, stop and do some detective work before reacting. Ask yourself three questions:

1. Have you even seen the student perform the skill in this setting before?
2. Do you know enough about how the student’s learning disability affects this particular skill?
3. Does the child perform the skill only after being offered a big reward?

If you answer no to these questions then stop scolding and start teaching.

Angela E.K. Rudderham is the Director of Behaviour and Social Skills at Bridgeway Academy.

Just Because I Have Trouble

This is a poem written by one of our students.

Just Because I Have Trouble

Just because
I have a learning disability doesn’t mean
I’m not smart.
Just because
I have trouble in school doesn’t mean
I’m not bright.
Just because you think I am doesn’t
Mean you’re right.
Just because
It’s hard to do things
Just let me do my best.

BY: Joseph H.
April 2nd 2009

Positive Parenting for Tired Parents

To gain control of the situation, we must first gain control of ourselves

By Angela Rudderham, Director of Behaviour and Social Skills, Bridgeway Academy

You love them, provide for them, sacrifice for them, and have at least twenty years of life experience over them; however, this alone probably won’t save you from dramatic statements such as, “You’re ruining my life.” If you have children, then you’re probably worried constantly about doing the right thing for them. This can be mentally and physically exhausting on you and your entire family. Here are a few tips to accomplishing more parenting with less energy.

Find your magic silent voice
Have there been times during parenthood when you’ve felt like the teacher on a Charlie Brown cartoon? It’s as if your child is only hearing, “Wa wa wa wa wa” when you speak. There are a few reasons for this. On average, we give our children over 2000 compliance requests a day - get ready, put your shoes away, wash your hands, use a tissue etc. The result? They’re really good at tuning us out.

It’s been my experience that the more a parent nags and yells the less a child will listen. Like the Elvis song says, “a little less conversation, a little more action,” might be the solution. When you need your child to do something, start with a calm, polite request. If the child doesn’t act, make the request again, but also tell him what will happen if he chooses not to comply. Do not repeat this request more than once.

If the child still doesn’t comply, calmly and silently follow through on the consequence you said would happen. Here’s an example. “Johnny, I need you to pick up your toys in the next five minutes.” Set a timer for him for 5 minutes. You notice there are 60 seconds left and Johnny has not moved. Now you say in a very calm and quiet voice, “Johnny, I need you to pick up your toys in the next minute. If you don’t, it shows you are not able to take care of them and mommy will have to take them away for a few days.”

If he hasn’t acted by the time the timer runs out, then quietly and kindly pick up the toys. If he is upset and protesting simply do not engage in reasoning and bargaining or explaining again. You can empathize in one short sentence. “I really wish you had made the right choice because mommy doesn’t like to see you sad and angry.” Do not have any further discussion. Remember the goal is energy conservation.

All serious requests should be done by lowering your voice rather than raising your voice. If you look at history’s greatest leaders, you’ll notice that they used dramatic pauses and lowered their tone and volume to hold their listeners’ attention. Yelling will only exhaust you and prevent your child from hearing your voice.

Stop feeling guilty about having to work

We live in a busy world and have responsibilities and obligations outside the home. You should not feel guilty about modeling a productive lifestyle to your child as long as you are fully present when spending time with your child. It truly is about quality over quantity. Children know when you are pretending to listen or if your mind in on something else. This why you can be with them for hours every day and still hear your child say, “You never spend any time with me.”

If this is the only type of interaction your children have with you, their self-esteem may suffer. They will also quickly realize they can receive your full attention when you are angry. Negative attention is better than no attention. Instead, set aside definite quality time with your child. It can be 15 minutes a day or a full Saturday. What matters is that you don’t try to multi-task. Trying to answer the phone, check your email or do the dishes will take away from your ability to focus on your child.

Also remember not to judge your child during your time together. Remember, feelings are never wrong. For example, if your child complained of, “never getting to have fun,” trying validating her feelings by asking what types of activities she thinks would be fun instead of providing examples of why that isn’t true. When parents feel guilty, they have a tendency to over indulge their child. They may allow poor behaviour or expensive gifts so that the child will not be mad at them. This does not teach the child responsibility or love.

Do not engage
Young people will often test the person in charge. When they aren’t satisfied with the final word, they may argue, throw fits or bring up new or past issues. Don’t take the bait. When you become upset or rattled you have lost your authority. More importantly, the issue is lost in a pile of shouts and accusations that usually end with slamming doors and soaked pillows. This is very emotionally draining and is not teaching assertive communication.

When your child starts to raise their voice, insult or be disrespectful in any way, you need to remain calm and end the conversation. Your child will learn quickly that she cannot communicate with you in an aggressive way because she will lose her audience. Simply say, “When you are able to speak properly to me you can try again,” and leave. You are then truly controlling the situation and saving yourself a lot of energy.

Parenting is the hardest job in the world but it doesn’t have to be as stressful as we sometimes make it. Remember to stay calm and use your problem-solving skills rather than raw emotion.
If you would like more positive parenting tips check out Bridgeway Academy’s workshop series.