lined up, following through on long division problems
Ⅳ. Treatment approaches
6. Treatment approaches to LD
1) Biological Approaches
Despite the fact that biological factors are considered dominant in causing LD, most treatment approaches focus on the amelioration of academic and learning problems.
Stimulant medications may be considered. In the presence of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, stimulants can decrease problems of inattention, impulsivity, and disruptive noncompliant behaviors, and can improve classroom productivity and short-term academic performance.
2) Behavioral Approaches
The traditional behavioral approaches aims at identifying academic or social skill deficits and modifying them through contingency management, feedback, and modeling. The goal may be to increase the number of completed arithmetic problems, strengthen comprehension of written material, or improve handwriting. Reinforcement can include verbal praise, tokens, or desired activities. In practice, such behavioral techniques are often combined with direct instruction and cognitive approaches.
3) Cognitive Approaches
The cognitive approaches tends to emphasize the remediation of metacognition and executive functions in information processing. That is, students are taught to understand better their own cognitive processes and to regulate cognitive activity. They are encouraged to be active problem solvers. Instruction emphasizes increasing awareness of task demands, using appropriate strategies, monitering the success of the strategies, and switching to another strategy when necessary. The approach has been applied to reading comprehension, mathematics, written expression, memory skills, and study skills.
The cognitive-behavioral approach is closely aligned to the cognitive approach, but it places special emphasis on students' monitoring and directing their own learning. They do so by assessing, recording, and self-reinforcing their own behavior.
* References
Rita Wicks-Nelson & Allen C. Israel (2003). Behavior Disorders of Childhood (Fourth edition). Prentice Hall.
http://helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm
http://cafe.naver.com/kinder67
http://www.ncld.org/