PSY 4490 Week 1 Assignment 3 Understanding Specific Disorders

PSY 4490 Week 1 Assignment 3 Understanding Specific Disorders

A specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving difficulties learning and using academic skills. It includes difficulties with reading (Dyslexia), writing (Dysgraphia), and mathematical calculations (Dyscalculia).
Diagnosis of a SLD requires the persistence of one of the following symptoms over a period of six months, despite targeted interventions:

Ψ Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading
E.g., reading single words aloud incorrectly, slowly or hesitantly; frequently guessing words; has difficulty sounding out words.

Ψ Difficulties understanding the meaning of what is read
E.g., reading text accurately but not understanding related sequence, relationships, inferences or deeper meanings of what’s read.

Ψ Difficulties with spelling
E.g., adding, omitting, or substituting vowels or consonants.

Ψ Difficulties with written expression
E.g., making multiple grammatical or punctuation errors within sentences; employing poor paragraph organisation; unable to express ideas clearly by writing

Ψ Difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or calculation
E.g., having poor understanding of numbers, their magnitude and relationships; using fingers to add single-digit numbers (rather than recalling the fact); getting lost in arithmetic computation and switching procedures

Ψ Difficulties with mathematical reasoning
E.g., having severe difficulty applying mathematical concepts, facts, or procedures to solve quantitative problems

Individuals with SLD are typically identified during school-going years. Their academic skills are significantly below those expected when compared to peers of the same age. That said, they may generally be able to cope with the rigors of learning until their capacities are pushed to the limit (like during timed tests, tight deadlines, heavy academic loads and so on). For those no longer in school (or aged 17 years and older), history of learning impairments may take the place of standardized assessments.

According to the DSM-5, the symptoms above are then classified according to the following severity levels:

Ψ Mild:
Individuals with mild SLD experience some difficulties learning skills in one or two academic domains, but are generally still able to function well with support and accommodation services, particularly if received during school-going years.

Ψ Moderate:
Individuals with moderate SLD experience more difficulties learning skills in one or more academic domains. They are unlikely to become proficient without some forms of intensive and specialized intervention during the school-going years. Support services might be required across settings, such as school/workplace and at home, to help them complete activities accurately and efficiently.

Ψ Severe:
Individuals with severe SLD experience significant difficulties learning skills across several academic domains. They are unlikely to learn without any intensive individualized and specialized intervention for most of the school-going years. They may not be able to complete all activities accurately or efficiently even with the provision of appropriate support services across settings.

Discussion Questions (DQ)
• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.

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• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy
• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
o Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
o Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.