The Struggling Student: Finding Answers

Key Focus: Moving beyond assumptions
Defining the “struggling student”
Barriers to learning:
Beyond the child (instruction, environment)
Within the child (cognition, memory, language, attention)
Why environment + curriculum can intensify student weaknesses
Introduction to “Peeling the Onion” diagnostic thinking model:
Describe behaviors before identifying causes
Avoid assumptions; gather patterns

Key Focus: Understanding underlying causes
What is a learning disability?
Impact on listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning
Role of attention:
What attention is vs. what looks like ADHD
Overlap with language and processing issues
Language as the foundation:
Phonology (critical for reading)
Semantics (vocabulary and meaning)
Syntax & comprehension
How phonological deficits impact reading development

Key Focus: Identifying students early and accurately
Importance of subtle vs. obvious deficits
Subtle weaknesses can be more harmful over time
Developmental red flags:
Preschool–1st Grade
Weak phonological awareness
Difficulty with letters/sounds
Trouble with rhyming and word segmentation
2nd Grade and Beyond
Slow, labored reading
Poor decoding strategies
Word retrieval and language inefficiencies
Shift from oral language to academic language demands:
Increased reliance on memory and language processing

Key Focus: Matching instruction to student need
Three-tiered response approach:
Accommodation
Supporting access through strengths
Modification
Adjusting expectations and output
Remediation
Addressing core deficits directly
Importance of specialized, explicit instruction
Aligning intervention with:
Language needs
Cognitive demands
Academic expectations
Practical application:
Case examples
Instructional decision-making framework

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