Practitioners were asked to list the referral agencies they direct students to for learning disability screenings/assessments. Practitioners provided a limited number of agencies available for screening/assessments, including: the Society for Manitoba with Disabilities, Provincial Building Public Health, Education and Employment Preparation Services and the Adult Learning and Literacy Branch of the Province‘s Advanced Education and Training.
The researcher made telephone inquiries to these agencies to determine the type of services offered. In most cases, the result was the researcher was given another agency to contact before being directed to either LITERACYWORKS or The Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba (LDAM). The LDAM does not provide a screening/assessment service; therefore, individuals contacting them or any of the other agencies listed above are ultimately directed to LITERACYWORKS.
This question was not applicable to a little over half (60%) of respondents because they reported they do not refer students out for screening/assessments in a previous question.
We asked practitioners if they would make referrals to a diagnostic service outside of their program if one were available to them.
There are a number of specialized learning strategies that help promote learning success when teaching individuals with learning disabilities. The purpose of this section of the survey was to determine what strategies practitioners use and if they were interested in learning more about specialized learning strategies for students with learning disabilities.
These strategies range from giving extra time to complete tasks, one-on-one tutoring, curriculum adaptations, use of various technical supports and teaching/learning strategies compatible with learning styles and individual learning strengths.
We asked practitioners, “Do you have experience instructing individuals that exhibit the characteristics associated with having a learning disability?”
Qualitative information obtained in the survey describes the various experiences practitioners have instructing students with learning disabilities. The predominant themes that emerged from the qualitative data reflect both negative and positive aspects of having learners with learning disabilities in their programs. Practitioners highlighted the supports required by the students, teaching strategies, programming considerations, time considerations and practitioners‘ concerns related to incorporating these adjustments into the classroom environment.