*This is strictly based upon personal experience from teaching/tutoring at various institutions/classrooms for those with Learning Disabilities and Mental Handicaps. Through these and personal experiences, I have always tried to find a way to explain to others the easiest method possible. This is my Philosophy to better assist those with a Learning Disability.
~ K.Hobbs

Teaching strategies for assisting students with Learning Disabilities is a topic, which a personal interest has always existed in. Being diagnosed with dyslexia at age eleven, all school systems should to cater to students that need extra aid with their education regardless.
Learning disorders may be “informally flagged” by observing significant delays in the child's skill development. Test outcomes depend not only on the child's actual abilities, but also on the reliability of the test and the child's ability to pay attention and understand the questions. Each type of LD is diagnosed in slightly different ways. To diagnose speech and language disorders, a speech therapist tests the child's pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar and compares them to the developmental abilities seen in most children at certain ages.
In the case of academic skills disorders, academic development in reading, writing, and math is evaluated using standardized tests. In addition, vision and hearing are tested to be sure the student can see words clearly and can hear adequately. The specialist also checks if the child has missed much school. It is important to rule out these other possible factors. After all, treatment for a learning disability is very different from the remedy for poor vision or missing school.
Disabilities are not limited to what is “apparent”. The term LD is general, and sums up a large variety of common disorders, which exist amongst students in schools. Most common disabilities:
• Emotional Disability (ED)
• Hearing Impaired (HI)
• Mildly Mentally Handicapped (MIMH)
• Other Health Impaired (OHI)
• Visually Impaired (VI)

A large portion of the school day is spent listening to the classroom teacher or special education teacher present material orally. A great amount of material presented daily is in lecture format. This can be a frustrating experience for the student who experiences difficulty with auditory processing.
This is often why Large Group Instruction can be either beneficial or an absolute disaster, depending on the student. Ways to help the student could be to state goals and objectives of the lesson at the beginning of the session. Perhaps review previous lessons, notes, and other vocabulary so the student is able to build to prior information. What I find works when tutoring is to provide information in an organized sequential format.
When knowing there is a student in your class with a possible learning disability, presenting only the relevant information is an excellent method. It leads to less confusion, and the student is more likely to grasp the concept rather than left in the dark with out a flashlight. Use nouns when possible. The use of pronouns may also cause confusion to some students, especially if they did not understand the subject at the beginning of the lecture.
When students are required to take notes, simplifying vocabulary allows them to comprehend what they are writing. Instead what is on the paper before them appears to be a bunch of jumble, which later will be tossed in their locker never to be looked at again.
Visual aids are excellent when giving oral presentations. Also making use of the tools around such as the overhead projector, blackboard, charts, etc. Getting the students involved will increase their chances of remembering what is being taught.
During classroom lectures pause frequently. Ask the student(s) to summarize given information. It is helpful to ask questions frequently to check for understanding and relate information to previously learned concepts as much as possible.
Having the students remove all unnecessary materials from his/her desk during classroom discussion is a guarantee to have their attention. Depending on the age of the student, I found with High School level paper and pencil (for erasing “mistakes”) is all right. Middle School age, on the other hand, give them anything during discussion, and there will not be one.
One valuable tool that I took was varying the level of questioning during discussion. I want everyone to participate, and no one to feel left out. The key point in classroom discussion is: class.
Note taking is a difficult process. Think about the last time you attended class or a workshop and needed to take notes. Did you take notes on the syllabus provided for you? Perhaps you brought a tape player from home a recorded the information so you could listen to it in your car on the way home. Did you happen to jot down words or phrases? Or did you write entire phrases verbatim (word for word)? Perhaps you were able to generalize the information and fill in a chart or graph. When the instructor stated, “This is important!” Did you furiously write down every word? As adults we use several different strategies at different times in special situations. Note taking is not a simple skill. It requires the student to process information auditory and visually. The student must be able to output the information in another format. Students must be taught various strategies to take notes successfully regardless of a learning disability or not.
Encouraging students to take notes in their own words besides copying from the instructor will help the better understand what is taught. Also using abbreviations is a key to allow them to keep up, and not spend so much time dwelling on what was being said, but instead pay attention to what the discussion is now. Cue the students to major points with the use of key phrases, such as: “Please remember this,” “This point is very important,” while the student is taking notes. At the end of each discussion, I found it good for the students to compare and discuss notes. Also summarizing important points at the end, therefore they are able to go back over notes and highlight important information.
Although diverse from person to person, these difficulties make up the common daily experiences of many learning disabled children, adolescents, and adults. A person with a “learning disability” may experience a cycle of academic failure and lowered self-esteem. But this academic failure does not have to be, if the learning style of the individual can be revealed, found, opened. I believe everyone has their own unique way of learning, some just cannot adapt to our formal education system.
This is why I decided not to continue in education, due to the formal education system. There would be more court cases against than teacher awards.