Counseling For Juveniles in with Learning Disabilities (Research Paper Sample)

Counseling For Juveniles with Learning Disabilities in the State of Mississippi
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Introduction
According to the Learning Disabilities Association of Mississippi (2014), there are over 560, 000 people above the age of five years with different forms of disabilities. About 4.7% of the Mississippi population cannot perform their daily tasks such as learning, dressing or even bathing because of these disabilities. This paper examines the case of juveniles with learning disabilities in the state of Mississippi. It defines learning disabilities and the types of learning disabilities. It then addresses the various strategies that Counselors can use to promote education of the children with learning disabilities. This paper discusses two models used to qualify students as learning disabled and determine their eligibility to special schools. It argues in favor of Response-to-intervention (RTI) model against the traditional IQ-achievement Discrepancy model.
Literature review
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (2014), defines learning disability as an intellectual problem characterized by limited intellectual functioning and difficulties in various everyday practical and social skills. The Learning Disabilities Association of Mississippi defines learning disabilities as neurologically-based problem in information processing that interferes with a juvenile’s basic learning skills such as reading, writing or math. Learning disabilities at higher levels may interfere with an individual’s organization, reasoning, time planning, and the short-term memory and attention of an individual.
Types of learning disabilities
The Learning Disabilities Association of Mississippi has identified specific learning disabilities among school-going children. These disabilities include:
1 Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) or Central Auditory Processing Disorder
This disorder affects how sound travels unobstructed through the ear, processed and interpreted in the brain. Children suffering from APD do not differentiate the subtle sounds in words. They cannot tell the source of the sound, give meaning to order of sounds nor block competing background noises.
2 Dyscalculia
It is a typical learning disability that limits a child’s ability to understand numbers or learn mathematics. Such children have difficulties while interpreting math symbols, counting, telling time and have difficulties organizing numbers.
3 Dyslexia
This disability affects a child’s ability to read and process language skills. It also affects ones reading fluency, comprehension, recall, spelling, writing and speech.
4 Language Processing Disorder
It is a type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) that affects the interpretation of words, sentences and stories.
5 Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities
A type of disability that shows the difference between great verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and socialization skills. Such children experience difficulties when interpreting nonverbal cues such as body language or facial expressions.
6 Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit
This disability affects the understanding what a person sees, or the ability to copy or draw. Children with this disorder miss the differences in printed letters or shapes, loss place often, struggles with cutting, holding a pencil too tight; or have poor eye/hand coordination.
Rationale of Counselling
Lovecky (2004), identified autistic disorders, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorders, dyslexia and obsessive-compulsory disorders to be common learning disabilities among juveniles. According to Lovecky, any child who qualifies to be a learning disabled and is also gifted is considered a Twice Exceptional or 2 E child. These children need achieve the same progress as their peers in order to benefit from education. It is the role of counseling to provide the learning disabled children with an environment that enriches their schoolwork.
Children with learning disabilities are emotionally vulnerable. According to Lovecky, children with learning disabilities are likely to display behavioral problems in the classroom such as feeling isolated, inadequate, depression, low self-esteem, self-hatred, anger and irritation, and poor performance. They are also likely to show defiant behavior if they lack effective and consistent counseling programs.
Methodology
The first step of providing counseling children with learning disabilities is identification. Counselors need to understand the characteristic of learning disabled children. A study conducted in Mississippi showed that the reason that learning disabled children are unidentified is because there is little knowledge from the state downwards to other ranks (Perkerson, 1999). There is no empirical support for procedures of determining whether children have learning disabilities and would, therefore, require special education or counseling.
IQ-achievement discrepancy model
The traditional model of qualification of children as learning disabled used five criteria to classify juveniles with learning disability. Counselors must first identify the intrinsic neurological problem in the student, ensure that the juvenile manifest unique learning problems and that they have a discrepancy between their potential. The juvenile must show exclusionary factors such as mental or sensory retardation that signal learning disability. Finally, the student must show development and or academic problems (Fuch & Fuch, 2006). The child must have an average IQ and must show discrepancy in their academic performance and potential.
The traditional model of qualifying students as learning disabled has been found to be unfair, illogical, inconsistent and confusing (Bocian,1999). The bias in the traditional model arose because it was based on IQ-achievement discrepancy. The computation of IQ-achievement discrepancy was very inconsistent and was viewed as wait-to-fail model. The model associated all academic failure to learning disability ignoring the other aspects such as poor teaching.
Response-to-intervention (RTI) Model
A more acceptable model than the traditional discrepancy-based ones is the response-to-intervention (RTI). This method utilizes standard protocol to make decisions about learning problems. According to (Fuch & Fuch, 2006), the RTI model encourages evidence-based instruction cutting across multi-tiers. It provides a remedy that can decrease the number of juveniles identified as learning disabled. According to this model, children are eligible for special education if the amount of service is more than resources available for the general education. This model is better than the older models because it uses a risk scale, reduces bias, helps in early identification and focuses on student outcomes, (Macmann, 1999). According to Macmann, the RTI model can help reduce wrong decision making on eligibility of learning disabled to special schools. However, this model needs further research especially on its application in academic areas such as written expression and mathematics.
Implications of counseling of children with learning disabilities
There are numerous problems faced by the learning disabled that may extend to adulthood if not addressed by Counselors. According to Raghavan & Patel (2005), depression is the most evident internal problem facing the learning disabled. Other issues associated with these disorders include anxiety, low self-esteem, alienation, solitude, rejection feelings. All these effects are secondary to learning troubles that result into poor performance in class. According to Lovecky, children with learning disabilities are likely to display behavioral problems in the classroom such as feeling isolated, inadequate, depression, low self-esteem, self-hatred, anger and irritation, and poor performance. They are also likely to show defiant behavior if they lack effective and consistent counseling programs.
Counselor roles in supporting children with learning disabilities
School counselors should redesign their roles to support the overall academic performance of students including those with disabilities. Counselors can also reduce special education referrals to the juvenile with learning disabilities. Counselors should execute the RTI model to determine eligibility of learning disabled children. Counselors should also be accountable for student learning as recommended byThe No Child Left behind Act of ...