Learning Disorders ─ A Response-to-intervention Perspective

What are learning disorders? How can schools endeavour to address these disorders in today’s inclusive classrooms? This book answers these important questions in practical terms and discusses in detail the instructional needs of students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and other significant disorders that affect learning. Peter Westwood draws on international research literature to provide supporting evidence of best practices.

The book is unique in linking the teaching methods recommended for overcoming learning problems directly to each of the three tiers of support in the Response-to-Intervention Model. It presents examples of effective whole-class teaching, intensive small group instruction and individual tutoring, as well as addressing key topics such as:

• educational progress of students with learning disorders;
• principles for teaching dyslexic students;
• difficulties with writing and spelling;
• developing students’ numeracy skills;
• specific intervention strategies;
• nonverbal learning disabilities.

Learning Disorders will be of interest to practising teachers, trainee teachers, teaching assistants, educational psychologists, school counsellors and parents. It will also provide valuable insights for any school planning to upgrade its support system for students with special educational needs.

Peter Westwood has been a classroom teacher, an educational psychologist, a teacher educator and an associate professor in universities. He is widely published in the field of education, including the bestseller Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs (Routledge), now in its seventh edition.