Learning Disabilities
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LEARNING DISABILITIES Edited by Wichian Sittiprapaporn LEARNING DISABILITIES Edited by Wichian Sittiprapaporn Learning Disabilities Edited by Wichian Sittiprapaporn Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Martina Durovic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published March, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Learning Disabilities, Edited by Wichian Sittiprapaporn p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0269-4 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Learning Disabilities 1 Chapter 1 Language Disabilities: Myths and Misconceptions vs. Reality 3 George S. Mouzakitis Chapter 2 Achievement Gaps: Learning Disabilities, Community Capital, and School Composition 19 Bob Algozzine, Erik Porfeli, Chuang Wang, Ann McColl and Robert Audette Chapter 3 Dyslexia in Hong Kong: Challenges and Opportunities 31 Chi-man Tsui, Cecilia W. P. Li-Tsang and Pui Yee Grace Lung Chapter 4 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Writing Learning Disabilities 49 Celestino Rodríguez, Paloma González-Castro, Rebeca Cerezo and David Álvarez Part 2 Diagnosis and Interventions of Learning Disabilities 67 Chapter 5 Reading and Writing Achievement Tests for Assessing Orthographical and Phonological Impairments of Japanese Children with Developmental Disorders 69 Kiyomi Yatabe, Takaaki Goto, Katsumi Watanabe, Makiko Kaga and Masumi Inagaki Chapter 6 Interventions in Specific Learning Disabilities Through Families 87 Patricia Robledo-Ramón and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez Chapter 7 Preventing Children’s Writing Difficulties Through Specific Intervention in the Home 105 Patricia Robledo-Ramón and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez VI Contents Chapter 8 The Family Environment of Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD 129 Patricia Robledo-Ramón and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez Chapter 9 Meeting the Needs of Twice-Exceptional Children in the Science Classroom 149 Manabu Sumida Chapter 10 The Quality of Teaching Determines Students' Achievement in Writing 175 Deilis Ivonne Pacheco Sanz and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez Chapter 11 Diagnosis of Teachers’ Practice in the Teaching of Written Composition 195 Deilis Ivonne Pacheco Sanz and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez Part 3 Neurodevelopmental Disorders 215 Chapter 12 Motor Skill Performance of Children with Sensor Impairments 217 Danijela Ilić-Stošović and Snežana Nikolić Chapter 13 Could Motor Development Be an Emergent Property of Vestibular Stimulation and Primary Reflex Inhibition? A Tentative Approach to Sensorimotor Therapy 241 Mats Niklasson Chapter 14 Contributions of an Augmented Reality Musical System for the Stimulation of Motor Skills in Music Therapy Sessions 275 Ana Grasielle Dionísio Corrêa, Irene Karaguilla Ficheman, Marilena do Nascimento and Roseli de Deus Lopes Chapter 15 Deafness-Specific Tactic Knowledge: A New Understanding of Mental Health, and Social and Professional Participation 289 Paul G. Jacobs Chapter 16 Environmental Chemical Substances in Relation to Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review 313 Hideko Sone, Tin-Tin Win-Shwe, Xian-Yang Qin, Hiromi Akanuma and Satoshi Imanishi Chapter 17 Disability and Oral Health 343 Jenny Gallagher and Sasha Scambler Preface Learning disability, or learning disorder, is an umbrella term for a wide variety of learning problems in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive and process information. That is, the brain of people with learning disabilities is wired differently and this difference affects how they receive and process information. This disorder can make it problematic for a person to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone who is not affected by a learning disability. Specific learning disability is defined as a heterogeneous group of disorders that is manifested by significant difficulties in verbal expression-comprehension, reading, writing and mathematical reasoning and ability, and it presumably stems from a dysfunction of the central nervous system. While these conditions are essentially conceptual and define learning disabilities as intrinsic to the individual and with a biological-genetic basis, they can coexist with problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception and interaction. They can also exist together with other disabilities, such as sensory impairment, mental retardation, severe emotional disorders or with extrinsic factors such as cultural differences or inadequate schooling. Depending on the type and severity of the disability, interventions may be used to help the individual learn strategies that will foster future success. Some interventions can be quite simplistic, while others are intricate and complex. Teachers and parents will be a part of the intervention in terms of how they aid the individual in successfully completing different tasks. This book is divided into three main parts; myths and fundamental concept, diagnosis and intervention of learning disabilities, and neurodevelopmental disorders, respectively. Thus it deserves a wide audience; it will be beneficial not only for teachers and parents struggling with attachment or behavior issues, but it will also benefit health care professionals and therapists working directly with learning disabled persons or special needs such as sensory integration dysfunction. Dr. Wichian Sittiprapaporn Faculty of Medicine, Mahasarakham University, College of Research Methodology and Cognitive Science, Burapha University, Thailand Part 1 Learning Disabilities 1 Language Disabilities: Myths and Misconceptions vs. Reality George S. Mouzakitis Educational Organization e-DEKA Greece 1. Introduction It is strongly supported that the involvement with the persons who encounter various problems due to certain disabilities in no way can be claimed to be a philanthropic pursuit nor to be limited only to this form of support. It is true that a support based on volunteering work includes organization of social gatherings for disabled persons in order to strengthen their belief in their capacity for work, their ability to behave independently, to be included in the workforce of their country and enjoy the recognition of their environment as concerns the positive traits of their character (Pato,B.,2010) Evidently, the measures which should be taken by official state services in the line with the expressed support of ordinary people not only will contribute to the relief of persons in need, but, also, will support national efforts to meet the crucial situation as a result of the economic crisis almost worldwide. The Employment and Social Affairs Directory of EU, in a survey on disability matters (2007) identified that the 74% of the EU27 population thinks that more people with disabilities are needed in the work place. The crucial point of the employment indicators, and the involvement of persons with disabilities in the labour market is the disputable figures of prevalence A survey has been, also, conducted by my research team almost two years ago,for this study among a randomly selected sample of 138 persons concisted of 70 males and 68 females aged between 25 to 37 years old employeed in small and medium enterprises (SME) .The problem statement was:“ It is claimed that more people with disabilities are required in our today’s labour market. Do you agree?” Please tick one of the following five options .The responses are shown in the following table 1. Consequently, it is very promising that an increasing interest in recruiting persons with disabilities to the workforse will be an effective treatment of these persons who constitute the “major minority” as it will be proved in the following pages of this paper. Besides, there are plenty of jobs ranging from laborers, gardeners and upholsterers through auxiliary services to unskilled workers. It is clear that to achieve these goals, persons with disabilities are required to attend tailor-made training courses supplied by specific schools with the use of educational tools adapted