Massia Bailey | Learning disabilities’ impact on teachers and families

With the ever-growing human population, diversity, including neurodiversity, has become more prevalent. In 2011, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Report on Disability estimated that about 15 per cent of the world’s population lived with some form of disability. The WHO, estimates that 1.3 billion people experience one or more significant disability that impacts their daily functioning, including learning. This represents 16 per cent or one in six of the global population.

According to a publication by the World Bank, Jamaica currently has a disability prevalence rate of 15 per cent which translates to approximately 425,876 people at present living with one or more disabilities. Jamaica’s official estimate is likely understated, however, due to factors such as respondent reluctance or inability to answer accurately to census questions. Although estimated lower than the current global average, Jamaica’s developing status might present a unique set of challenges, in terms of policy and resources, to address the unique needs of people living with disabilities.

In classrooms these increased numbers are reflected, and likely, magnified clearly to general education teachers in the form of the varying learning and behavioural exceptionalities they encounter in their students. This might be attributed to the reality, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), that at least 240 million children in the world have one or more disabilities. This is applicable to classrooms where at least two in 10 students will present with neurodiversity and/or other significant learning difficulties. These increased disability prevalence rates in modern classrooms might inadvertently expose teacher unpreparedness to support the unique needs of these learners, not only due to their increasing numbers, but also their inherent variability.

GENERAL UNEASE

A common refrain from teachers indicates that there is a general unease that the pace at which these students are showing up in classrooms might be outpacing their readiness in identifying learning differences, and or difficulties in a timely manner, in addition to being unequipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to meet the unique learning needs these particular students require.

In a 2020 study by Chu et al found that teachers believed that inadequate training, lack of supports and resources, and increase in student mental health and behavioural concerns represent the challenges they currently face. Additionally, they are doubly concerned that their potential unpreparedness is compounded by the fact that these students present neurodevelopmental learning differences. These are within themselves extremely varied and that these students require specialised and individual instruction, within inclusive settings, to achieve expected learning outcomes.

These varying neurodevelopmental learning differences causing teacher angst might be associated with learning exceptionalities, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disability, intellectual disability, language and speech impairments and traumatic brain injury, among others. These disabilities present unique characteristics that will require specific and targeted strategies to address how they individually and collectively impact the general education inclusive classroom and by extension knowledge acquisition and learning.

Another important consideration in the rapidly evolving landscape of human neurodiversity is the ability of parents and families to meet the needs of their children’s neurodivergence at home. These differences not only impact learning needs and outcomes, but also behaviours, social and emotional states, and functional and adaptive skills. Families must manage the brunt of these differences often with little understanding of their etiology and evidence-based mitigation strategies. As a result of this lack of understanding, parents and families might be susceptible to misinformation and superstitions and therefore utilise methods that can cause irreparable damage to their children’s academic progress, mental health, confidence, and overall wellbeing.

WIDENING POOL

Fortunately, along with the rapid growth of special education needs and family support, there also exists a widening pool of professionals, experts, and resources that can help teachers and families navigate the changing landscape of neurodivergence in education and in the home. Numerous studies have shown that early intervention, in the form of evidence-based academic and behavioural remediation strategies, and parent education programmes and counselling can improve outcomes for children in the areas of knowledge acquisition, social emotional functioning, and trajectories for future success. A simple trigger for early intervention might be families noticing and responding proactively to their children not meeting age-related developmental milestones and engaging infants and toddlers in stimulating activities.

Subsequent to astute parental observations and actions, as a precursor to early intervention mitigation opportunities, standardized evaluation and assessment instruments have been designed to specifically isolate and identify where these unique neurodevelopmental challenges lie. Additionally, teaching and learning strategies informed by evidence-based research have provided the means by which identified needs (clinically or otherwise) can be mitigated to improve learning outcomes and learner wellbeing. Individual education plans or individual intervention plans are typical by-products of these assessments. Using specific goals, objectives, and strategies, along with appropriate progress monitoring procedures, these plans chart a clear path in addressing the unique problems facing individual learners.

Massia Bailey, EdD is a special education specialist at a Broward County Public School and adjunct professor of special education at Nova Southeastern University, Florida. Send feedback to learninganddevelopmentdoctor@gmail.com