Literacy and Numeracy: Students with Learning Difficulties

This post focuses on the development of literacy and numeracy in children with learning difficulties. The two key readings I have used are:

1. Klein, M. D., Cook, R. E., & Richardson-Gibbs, A. M. (2001). Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings: Adapting Daily Activities in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings. Delmar: Albany, NY.

2. Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early Identification and Interventions for Students with Mathematics Difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(4), p. 293-304.

As children grow and develop in such literate and numerate societies, developing adequate reading skills is vital to their contribution and success within their community, and lifelong achievement. Some of the statistics around reading are rather dramatic. Hoff (2009, pg. 354) explains how children are more likely to drop out of school due to their lack of reading ability, with “only 4 percent of children with serious reading difficulties finish school.” Mathematics learning grows naturally from experience, strengthening children’s curiosity and enthusiasm; however, for children with learning difficulties, entering into the initial experience is not all that straight forward. According to Gersten, Jordan, and Flojo (2005) children who exhibit mathematics difficulties include those performing in the low and well below average range (at or below the 35^th percentile).

According to Chall’s stages of reading development as mentioned in Klein, Cook and Richardson-Gibbs (2001), typical developing children from birth to age 6 are at the pre-reading stage, stage 0. Throughout this stage the learner “pretends” to read, following adult role-models. They tend to rely heavily on pictures for understanding the story context. They can retell a story with some accuracy after listening to it being read. They can name most letters of the alphabet, along with some words/signs from environmental print. Being able to identify then write their name are typical first steps. Meanwhile, children are also developing knowledge around equity, numbers, patterns, problem solving, measurement, etc, through mathematical principles, and building effective numeracy skills.

Some children face specific challenges in the development of literacy, however, it is highly important for us as Early Childhood Educators that we do not simply assume that if a child cannot talk, they cannot learn to read. According to Klein, Cook and Richardson-Gibbs (2001), development of early literacy skills can provide important advantages for children with special needs, such as, providing support for communication. As educators there are many strategies and adaptations we can implement to ensure each child is given the best opportunity to develop. In promoting literacy and numeracy development in children with learning difficulties, many highly motivating strategies can be used throughout each activity of the day (Klein, Cook & Richardson-Gibbs, 2001). Pictures and print can benefit literacy development, supporting expressive language in children who are nonverbal, strengthening children’s language comprehension and memory,  and reducing behaviour problems through building children’s understanding of daily events; all of which impact of a child’s numeracy development also.  Gersten, Jordan and Flojo (2005) mention using strategies based around whole-class activities to encourage development in students with mathematics difficulties; such as practice in counting on, practice in listening to coins being dropped in a box and counting, practise in counting backwards, practice in linking adding and subtracting to the manipulation of objects, etc. These activities could also be done in small groups of children, and could help us as educators in building a sense of the number of students who need further progress in this area.

A final point, that I believe is essential to remember, from McQuiston, O’Shea and McCollin (2008), states that “students who have failed to read well are capable of learning to read when teachers offer them sufficient time and intensity for interventions, and appropriate instructional practices.” This is an important message for myself and any educator as it is our role to give children the best opportunity to become literate and numerate, even if they lack the skills or are delayed in their development. Early identification and intervention are critical when it comes to ensuring students are given the best opportunities to become independent and successful readers. One of my own key goals of instruction and intervention in early childhood is to minimise the number of children who develop later reading problems by maximising the number who enter kindy and school with sufficient phonological skills to benefit from formal reading instruction.

Finally, we need to be aware that all children sit at numerous points along the continuum, with different abilities, at different stages of development- we need to teach them according to where they sit, to suit their abilities, and to encourage them to progress to the next stage of development.

References:

Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early Identification and Interventions for Students with Mathematics Difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(4), p. 293-304.

Hoff, E. (2009). Language Development. Wadsworth, USA: Cengage Learning.

Klein, M. D., Cook, R. E., & Richardson-Gibbs, A. M. (2001). Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings: Adapting Daily Activities in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings. Delmar: Albany, NY.

McQuiston, K., O’Shea, D., & McCollin, M. (2008). Improving phonological awareness and decoding skills of high school students from diverse backgrounds. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 67-70.