a. inaccurate/slow/effortful word reading
b. difficulties understanding the meaning of what is read
c. difficulties with spelling
d. difficulties with written expression
e. difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or calculations
f. difficulties with mathematical reasoning (applying mathematical thinking)
2. Affected academic skills are below what is expected for individual's chronological age, interfere with academic/occupational performance, or daily living activities, as documented by a standardized assessment (17 years and older can sub assessment with documented history of impairment.
3. Learning difficulties begin during school-age but may not manifest until academic demands outweigh ability/capacity.
4. Learning difficulties are not better accounted for by intellectual disabilities, uncorrected visual/auditory acuity, mental/neurological disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of language knowledge, lack of adequate instruction.
1. with impairment in reading: accuracy/fluency/comprehension
2. with impairment in written expression: spelling/grammar and punctuation/organization and clarity of written expression
3. with impairment in mathematics: number sense/memorization of arithmetic facts/math reasoning
Mild- some difficulties learning skills in one or two academic domains- may be able to function well with accommodations.
Moderate- Marked difficulties learning skills in one or more academic domains in which individual cannot become proficient without intense intervals of specialization- some accommodations/support services throughout the day.
Severe- Severe difficulties learning skills affecting several academic domains; individual is unable of learn those skills without intensive individualized support throughout school years, even with support- individual may not be successful.
+ (core feature) Persistent difficulties learning keystone academic skills with onset during formal schooling
+Keystone academic skills include: reading of single words accurately/fluently, reading comp., written expression/spelling, arithmetic calculations, and mathematical reasoning.
+ SLD disrupts learning, not just a consequence of inadequate edu.
+ (core feature) Learning difficulties are persistent (restricted progress in learning)- not transitory
+ Manifested difficulties are observable, attained clinically, through school reports, or through assessments.
+ Performance of affected skill is below average for the individual's age.
+ Indicator (especially in adults): Avoidance of activities which require skill.
+ (core feature) Learning difficulties are apparent in early school years for most individuals (later is possible as learning demands increase)
+++Comprehensive assessment required: clinical,educational,assessments, observations...
2. SDL can not be attributed to external factors (economic disadvantage or lack of education.
3. SLD cannot be attributed to neurological/motor/vision/hearing disorders.
4. SLD may be restricted to one academic domain or even one skill (ex: reading single words).
+Uneven abilities are common: (example)Above average drawing, design and spacial with effortful/poor reading and writing skills/comprehension
+Cognitive processing deficits may co-occur but are not required for diagnostic assessment
+Increased risk for ideation and suicide attempts
+ No known biological markers
+Precursors such as language delays, difficulty rhyming, counting, and with fine motor skills are common before formal schooling.
+ Precursors may also be behavioral
+SLD is lifelong- persist until adulthood
++but the expressions are variable (may change with age), depending on demands of the environment, severity, range of disabilities, availability of services
Kindergarten: Unable to recognize and write letters, their own name, make up spelling, difficulty understanding syllables and rhyming words, difficulty connecting letters to sounds.
School-age: Marked difficulty learning letter sounds correspondence, word decoding, spelling, math and reading aloud is difficult.
Adolescents: May have mastered word decoding, yet reading is effortful, reading comprehension and written expression may be a problem.
Adults and adolescents may avoid work or leisurely tasks which involve reading/writing/math tasks.
+ Genetic and physiological- appears to aggregate in families
+ Second language learners need to have their native language development taken into account
+Intellectual disability (SLD differs because the learning deficits occur in conjunction with normal learning)
+Learning difficulties due to neurological or sensory disorders
+Neurocognitive disorders(Findings based on neurological exams, which are not necessary for SLD)
+Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD does not always reflect difficulty in learning)
+Psychotic disorders (with these disorders there is a decline in functional domains)
persistent in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts as manifested by these 3 criteria
2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.
2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat same food everyday).
3. Highly restricted, fixed interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
4. Hyper - or hypo activity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).
Social Reciprocity - social interactions and communication
2. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies later in life).
3. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
4. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay. Intellectual disability and autism spectrum frequently co-occur; to make cormorbid diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, social communication should be below that expected for general developmental level.
2. with or without accompanying language impairment
3. associated with a known medical or genetic condition or environmental factor
4. associated with another neurodevelopmental, mental, or behavioral disorder
5. with catatonia
2. average or high intelligence will still be uneven in their skills and capacities
3. there is a gap between intelligence and what they can do with it.
4. autism is comorbid with anxiety and depression and may also be cataonia as well.
5. onset is between 12 and 24 months
6. it is not progressive (does not get worse with time)
7. first indication is lack of interest in social interaction
8. early onset has a worse prognosis than late onset
9. large genetic component as high as 90%
10. still not certain if there are gene markers for autism
11. people's genetic make-up is too complex to make a one to one relationship.
2. when a female is diagnosed, they are more likely to have intellectual impairments
3. this suggests females have better social skills than males to mask the presence of autism