Research tells us that students with learning disabilities often struggle socially and that many suffer isolation and loneliness that can persist into adulthood. Social failure and/or emotional instability can have devastating effects on students’ educational experience, making them vulnerable to academic disappointments and cruelty from their peers. It is essential that schools expand their focus beyond reading, writing, and math and address the social/emotional side of students with LD.

This session will open the conference by focusing on how learning disabilities can contribute to social skills deficits, why so many students with LD struggle as they navigate the social world with their peers and with adults, how students with social/emotional issues tend to feel about themselves and about their potential, how low self-esteem affects academic learning, and what research tells us about the social/emotional dimension of their lives.

“ The Road Less Traveled “  Geet Oberoi    

Emotional and social learning components are as important as the academic. Education is a term which is as much used as it is misunderstood. Education is not only about reading, writing and cracking the mathematical code, but it implies the training and development of an individual through the impressionable years, to make the individual a happy, constructive and an independent person. Somehow in the rush to cover the curriculum, educators appear to have forgotten how important it is to address the social cognition aspects as well. For children with a specific learning disability, this piece is significantly important, and if left unaddressed leaves them at a significant disadvantage as they grow older.   

“The Road Less Traveled” is an interactive session wherein the emphasis will be on the HOW of teaching instead of the WHAT of teaching. Research-based evidence pertaining to the significance of neuro-plasticity and simple strategies based on this will be presented. The similarities and differences in the diverse group of students present in the classrooms will be examined from the fresh perspective of strengths rather than weaknesses.
 
Questions and Answers

Workshop  ( A) 

 “Social Skills Training for Students with Learning Disabilities” Dr.Arlyn Roffman:
 
It's a social world we live in. Our students are involved in dozens of interpersonal interactions every day with family members, with teachers and students both in and out of school, and with other community members in the world beyond the classroom. Many youth with LD stumble as they try to connect interpersonally; this affects not only their friendships but also their relationships in the community and within the workplace.

Since the literature suggests a strong relationship exists between social functioning during childhood and long-term social, vocational, and psychological adjustment, it’s crucial that this area be addressed as early as possible in the education of students with LD. For those who need it, social skills training must be direct and intensive, provided across settings and over enough time to promote generalization of the skills being addressed.

This session will define social skills and social competence and will focus on what teachers can do to help their students become more socially adept. Best practices in social skills training will be presented, and participants will have the opportunity to begin to plan how they can develop a model of social skills training for their own educational settings.
 

Workshop  ( B) 

  “Application  of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom” Geet Oberoi: 
 
Keeping the flow of strengthening the strengths and affinities, this session would focus on the concept of Multiple Intelligences and the various Learning Styles and how a teacher in a ‘regular’ classroom can make use of these concepts and make learning for all subjects including co-curricular, more meaningful and interesting. This will effectively enhance the performance of not only children with learning difficulties but of all the learners in the class.

 This session will include

• Interactive discussions

• Videos

• Hands-on activities for the participants including identification of own learning style and preferred multiple intelligences

• Role play and group work

 “Looking At The Bigger Picture’ – Inclusion” Geet Oberoi   

There is more to education than just studying. We all realize that but do we believe it? Do we follow it in our classrooms? In this session the emphasis will be on the objective of education. What are the various factors that impede the concept of Inclusion to bloom? The beliefs and attitudes, the most significant contributory factors to the spread of Inclusion, will be discussed. A gentle reminder that the unsaid word or gesture can convey our attitudes and beliefs without our active realization and can affect the child. The meaning and scope of learning strategies will be discussed.   

Questions and Answers

  “Life Issues as Youth with LD Move into Adulthood” Dr. Arlyn Roffman

As children grow into adolescence and adulthood, the characteristics of their learning disabilities persist but surface in new ways, with new and varied implications for life beyond the classroom. Issues that emerge are less related to performance in school and more toward successful employment, community integration, self-care, and relationship development.

For example: reading problems can make it difficult to deal with emails or training materials on the job; writing problems can lead to problems filling forms at the doctor’s office. Math difficulties often make it hard to manage money; social skills deficits can lead to difficulties making friends, relating to co-workers, and establishing long-term romantic partnerships.

This session will focus on the non-academic side of learning disabilities and will provide strategies teachers and parents alike can use to help youth with LD prepare for life beyond their school experience.

Questions and Answers

  “Teaching Self-Advocacy and Practical Skills” Dr. Arlyn Roffman

Children with LD have much to learn beyond the academics that are emphasized in schools. In addition to basic skills, they must become self-aware and come to terms with their limitations. It is critical that parents and teachers help students with learning disabilities find the balance - recognize their strengths along with their challenges, realize that there are accommodations and practical strategies that will help them work to their fullest potential, and develop the skills and confidence to ask for what they need in order to succeed in the classroom, work world, and community settings.

This interactive workshop will focus on how adults can foster self-determination by empowering students with self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and self-advocacy skills. Practical strategies will be discussed, particularly for students with executive functioning disorder who struggle with organizing and prioritizing, attending to details, and managing time and space. Role plays and small-group activities will help participants prepare to help their students in this vital area.

“Strategy Training for Reading Comprehension Deficits, Metacognition and Executive Functioning Deficits” Geet Oberoi 

After a vigorous mental workout of our beliefs and notions about meaning and function of education, this session would be hands-on training to assist with children who exhibit reading comprehension deficits, metacognition and executive functioning deficits. These deficits are evident in some children with learning disabilities and (or) ADHD/ADD and the effects of which are far reaching and go beyond the classroom. These higher order skills in conjunction with reading comprehension form the foundation of performing adequately in higher classes. This session aims at equipping the participants with ready-to-use strategies in both general classrooms and smaller groups.

The session  will include

• Video display and group activity for reading comprehension using strategies such  reciprocal teaching

• Role play

• Provision of actual teaching aids

• Multisensory input

• Open house discussion