Lesson 4.

e Learners with Difficulty

Remembering and Focusing
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session, student can…
 analyze the different types , identification, assessment and characteristics of learners
with difficulty remembering and focusing.
 use knowledge of general and specific curricula in designing individual educational
plan for learners with difficulty remembering and focusing.

Introduction
Learners who have difficulty with memory may have deficits in
encoding information, in sorting information and in long-term memory or in
retrieving information from long-term memory. Focusing is about attention.
Attention is a critical skill in learning and essential in education. To be an
effective learner, you need to be able to initiate attention. Deficit in this area
can impact the performance of the child in school at all areas. They cannot
take notes during discussion and lecture time, cannot follow simple direction
that is essential in school performance and they can be unresponsive due to
lack of understanding. Learners who has difficulty struggle in school and
needs attention so that their needs can be address in an inclusive setting.
Knowing the nature of their disability, its characteristics and research-based
teaching strategy will be very helpful for them to function and be in their
maximum potential in school.

Engage!

Activity Title: How Dyslexia Reads

Instruction: Choose a partner and each pair will prepare a different sentence
with words written backward or scrambled. The partner will take turn in trying
to read the sentence that the other created. While reading it aloud, experience
having the disruption in the class such as other pairs are talking loud and the

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teacher continues to talk such as telling the class to hurry with the activity or
few minutes more. Example of the sentence:
Sentence:I like to read and write while listening to music
What the student will write: I ilek ot erda nad rwtie hiwel lsietngin ot
msuic.

Each pair would then reflect of the following question.

1. What difficulties sis you encounter while reading the sentence?
2. Did the statement asking you to hurry or the teacher reminding you help
you in reading or it made you difficult to concentrate?
3. What would have helped you to do the task?

Discuss!
The two disabilities that are under the learners with difficulty in
remembering and focusing are the learners with learning disabilities and those
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which is widely known as ADHD.
Because of their difficulties, these learners are struggling to survive in the
general classroom even they have general average level of intelligence and
with the support of the teachers.

A. Learners with Learning Disabilities

1. Definition of Learners with Learning Disabilities
There are different definition of learning disabilities in different
sources.
The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) defines
specific learning disability as a disability in one or more of the basic
psychological process involved in understanding or in using language
whether spoken or written that may manifest in terms of imperfect
ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or perform mathematical
calculations. The following criteria are usually considered.
a. severe discrepancy between one’s intellectual ability and
academic achievement

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 b. learner’s difficulties are not the result of another known
condition
c. there is a need of special education

The National Joint Commission on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD)

defines learning disabilities as a general term referring to
heterogeneous group of disabilities manifested by significant difficulties
in acquiring and using listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning
or do mathematical abilities. These disorder are intrinsic to the
individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction
and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory
behaviors, social perception and social interaction may exist with
learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning
disability. Although it may occur with other extrinsic influences, they are
not the result of those conditions.
According to Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA),
learning disabilities is a disorder in one or more basic psychological
processes that may manifest itself as an imperfect ability in certain
areas of learning.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke define
learning disabilities as disorder that affects the ability to understand the
use of spoken or written language, do mathematical calculations,
coordinate movements and direct attention. This can occur at a very
young age but can be notices until the child will be in school age. It can
be a lifelong conditions and to some people this learning disabilities
may overlapped. those with isolated learning problem may have a little
impact on their lives.
American Psychiatric Association used the definition of learning
disability for clinical and diagnostic settings. From specific learning
disorder (single disorder), they changed it to combine all three learning
disorder. Specific Learning Disorder are developmental disorder that
are typically diagnosed in early school-aged children although may be
recognized until adulthood. They are characterized by persistent

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 impairment in at least one of the three major areas: reading, written
expression and/or math.

2. Types of Learners with Learning Disabilities

APA uses the following specifiers in the diagnoses of learning
disorders
a. dyslexia - impairment in reading; word reading accuracy,
reading rate or fluency and reading comprehension.
b. dygraphia - impairment in written expression; spelling
accuracy, grammar and punctuation accuracy, clarity and
organization on written expression
c. dyscalculia - impairment in mathematics; number sense,
memorization of arithmetic facts, accurate or fluent
calculations; accurate math reasoning

3. Characteristics of Learners with learning Disabilities

Most of the learners with learning disabilities have problem in
listening, reasoning, memory, attention, selecting and focusing on
stimuli and perceiving and processing of visual and auditory
information. Among these problems are reading problems, written
language, deficits, math underachievement, poor skills, attention deficit
and hyperactivity, behavior problems and low-esteem or self-efficacy.
The following are the characteristics of learning disabilities although
these are diverse as these learners are heterogeneous, one thing that
is common is that they share low achievement despite giving general
effective instruction and having an average level of intelligence.
1. Reading problem
a. Difficulties learning to read by the first grade
b. Inability to accurately and fluently decode single words
c. Difficulties understanding structure of words
d. May have difficulties in visual naming speed
e. Difficulties with reading comprehension (phrases, sentences,
paragraphs, and stories)
f. May struggle to accurately summarize what they just read

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 g. May have trouble learning the alphabet or connecting letters
to sounds
h. May make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat
and pause often
i. May have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make
j. May have trouble hearing slight differences between words
k. May have trouble understanding jokes and sarcasm
l. May mispronounce words that sounds similar
m. May not be able to retell a story in order
n. May be slow to learn rhymes, numbers, letters, colors, and/or
shapes
o. Pronunciation and/or vocabulary issues
p. Inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or
sounds
2. Written Language Deficits
a. Performs poorly across most writing tasks, especially
vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and spelling
b. May use minimal planning, effort, and strategies when writing
c. May use an approach when writing in which they write down
whatever they remember with no planning or organization
d. Reverses letters
e. Produces poorly organized writing products
f. May have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly
g. May have a limited vocabulary and struggle with language
h. Eye-hand coordination problems
i. Poor overall coordination
j. Difficulties with fine motor skills
k. Cannot copy accurately, eyes hurt and itch
l. May have trouble organizing thoughts when speaking, or not
be able to think of a word for writing or conversation
3. Math Underachievement
a. Difficulty with number concepts
b. Difficulties in memorizing number facts and solving word
problems

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 c. Doesn't make connections, such as 5+3=8 and 3+5=8
d. Has difficulty comparing things, or classifying and sorting
items
e. Difficulty with time concepts (before, after, tomorrow, last
week)
f. May confuse math symbols and misread numbers
g. May struggle to solve multi-step problems
h. May struggle to extract and manipulate important information
from word problems
4. Poor social skills
a. May struggle to accurately interpret non-verbal cues (e.g.
gestures, facial expressions)
b. May have low social status, few positive interactions at school,
difficulty making friends, and seem lonely
c. May not display appropriate verbal and non-verbal cues in
conversations
d. Might misunderstand jokes, puns, idioms, sarcasm, etc.
e. May not follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking
turns
f. May stand too close to a listener
g. May have a non-verbal learning disability (difficulties
recognizing and translating nonverbal cues into meaningful
information)
5. Attention and behavior problems
a. May have difficulty attending to a task
b. High rates of movement (hyperactivity)
c. Short attention span
d. Poor memory
e. Difficulty following directions
f. May display behavioral problems in the classroom
g. Difficulty following multi-step instructions
h. Often seems slow to respond
i. Comments may seem off topic

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 j. Often requires a great deal one to one support for
understanding
k. May be diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

4. Teaching Strategies for Learners with Learning Disabilities

The following are the general educational approaches intended
to learners with difficulty remembering and focusing.
a. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - This is an educational
framework and set of instruction that maximize learning
opportunities for all learners by creating and implementing
lesson with flexible goals., methods, materials and
assessments. It emerged from urban design and architectural
and refers to the process of crafting practical solutions to meet
the needs of those with disabilities. This incorporate the three
principles
1. multiple means of representation to give diverse
learners option in acquiring information and
knowledge
2. multiple means of action and expression to provide
learners options for demonstrating what they
know
3. multiple means of engagement to tap into
student’s interest. offer appropriate challenges
and increase motivation.
b. Direct Instruction - This is an evidence-based practice
effective in increasing learners’ achievement across different
skills and content areas. This incorporate active responding to
learners with systematic error and system for monitoring
progress. This include the following.
1. response card - helps identify scenarios that will
give response through the following steps: 1 creating
response card, 2 posting a question, 3 performing
quick scan to see learner’s answers.

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 2. self-monitoring - This is a behaviorally-based
interventions that promotes self regulation. The
person observe own behavior systematically and
records the occurrence and non-occurrence of a
specific behavior.
c. Explicit Instruction - This is direct and systematic approach to
instructional design and delivery. The students are guided
through the learning process with clear statements about the
purpose and rationale for learning the new skills, clear
explanations and demonstrations of the instructional target. It
is supported practice with feedback until independent mastery
has been achieved. This include the following
1. Modeling and explanation
2. Guided practice
3. Independent Practice
d. Teaching Strategies
 Reading Instruction
This is recommended for learners with problems in
reading acquisition and reading difficulties. Teaching reading
comprehension includes using self-questioning, use of graphic
organizers, mnemonics and summarizing. Additionally, it is
recommended that teachers should encourage students to
make their own learning strategy based on their own personal
approach.
1. Language Experience Approach - attempts to integrate
reading skills with that of development of listening,
speaking and writing skills. This follows the basic
elements 1. what the child think, 2 what the child can say
or write 3. what the child says and writes. The sequence
starts from thinking to talking to writing to reading
2. Kinesthetic-auditory Visual Emphasis Methods - This
method makes the reader to correctly write and read own
written words, combining the sense of touch, hearing and
seeing and then move to more extensive reading material.

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This include finger tracing while pronouncing the same
word, learning new words by looking at the teacher
written copy of the word, speaking to self and writing it
down, learning directly to the new word by looking at the
printed word and saying it to himself before writing. It also
include recognizing new words, learning about their
similarity to printed words.

3. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity - Reading is a

thinking activity that in order to direct reading to the
thinking process, meta cognition should be applied by the
reader. The reader needs to ask himself the following
question; what do you think, why do you think, and can
you prove it? Other people said that learning disabilities is
a disability that they don’t have strategy in reading thus
known as “strategy deficiency”. Teaching strategy on how
to read and cognitive learning strategies will surely help
these learners improve their reading and understanding.
In this strategy you can use graphic organizer, general
concepts and linking them together for better
understanding using a schema, verbal-rehearsal, teacher
modeling and self-verbalization.

4. Miscue Analysis or Oral Reading- an assessment

strategy that was introduced by Goodman (1969) that
identify miscuing when the learner reads. Instead of
focusing on the error when reading, the learner will
analyze the miscues of what he/she is reading. Finding
what he/she is doing right to create his/her own strategy.
It was believed that when a reader misread it is not a

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 random but has a pattern. The reader needs to make
sense of the text with their experience and language skills
to correct this.
 Writing Instruction
Learners with difficulty in writing has problems with the
basic handwriting kills, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Explicit instruction and giving feedback could help them
improve their skills. The use of technology can also aid writing
difficulties.
1. Study Test Technique - This strategy is giving pretest
and post test to the learner. Based on the pretest, you can
provide list of topics that the learner needs to study so that
he/she will have a better understanding when he/she will
take the postest. This is a technique that will enhance the
mastery skills of the learner,
2. Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing (CSIW)- This is
a research program that aimed to developed the learner’s
expository writing skill and knowledge on how to
organized text in various ways. In this program the reader
will describe his/her plan on how to write. The teacher will
guide them to internalize and perceive themselves as the
one giving the idea or the informants when writing.
3. Self-regulation - This requires the learner to manage
tasks and monitor their own progress. Example of self-
regulated strategy development is using the RAFT
strategy for prewriting. This helps learner to plan an
engaging piece of writing by having consider the Role,
Audience, Format and the Topic of the writing assessment.
 Mathematics Instruction
Explicit instruction is also beneficial if the learner has
difficulties in mathematics skills.
1. Motivational Approach - Teaching mathematics should
be motivational than teaching computation skills without
context. This means that when teaching math, learner

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 should be exposed to problem-solving approach and
strategies that they are using in their daily life. They
should relate to the problem that they need to solve to be
able to find mathematics interesting and would motivate to
work on it.
2. Error Analysis - When the learner make mistake in
doing mathematical computation it gives an information on
which mathematics skills the learner needs to work on.
Common errors of place value, computational facts, poor
concept on borrowing or carry over and left to right
computation process. Identifying the error of the learner
will give the idea to the teacher on what to focus during
discussion.
5. Current Trends and Issues
Since inclusive education was being implemented, there are
prevalence of learners with learning disabilities in the Philippines.
Acknowledging that there are learners that exists in the classroom that
despite providing them effective general instruction, they are still
struggling. Researches and programs were provided for these learners
to maximize their potentials when participating in the classroom.
A study of Martin (2021) titled “Issues and Challenges in Special
Education: A quantitative Analysis from Teacher’s Perspective”
revealed that the classrooms for learners with learning disabilities in
Ilagan City have poor support in SPED. They lack budget, curriculum
guide and instructional Materials and school facilities. With this, learner
with learning disabilities were placed in inclusive classroom with not
enough proper support. Other problems revealed in this study were
sustaining positive working environment among school heads, teachers
and stakeholders.
Another issue nowadays regarding the learning disabilities is the
online learning. This type of education is now common mode of
instruction. The flexibility of this instruction provides opportunities for
learning disabilities to learn but not in traditional setting. However, their
participation in class has become an issue. They is no data that shows

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 if learners with learning disabilities do improve when they enrolled in
online classes. Support from teachers is also limited that can be
provided when they are in traditional setting.

B. Learners with ADHD

1. Definition of Learners with ADHD
The American Psychiatric Association,(2013) defined the
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a persistent pattern
of inattention and/or with hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with
functioning or development. The main symptoms include the following:
a. Inattention - manifest of not attending to details, difficulty
keeping attention to task or activity, not listening, not following
direction, disliking to do task that requires mental efforts,
being easily distracted and forgetful
b. Hyperactivity - Can cause fidgeting and becoming restless>
describe as being “on the go” and “driven by the motor”. The
learner may talk excessively, difficulty waiting for its turn,
rushing through stuff and may find it difficult to resist
information.
c. Impulsivity - The learner may blunt out answers, interrupt
other and act without thinking.
2. Characteristics of Learners with ADHD
The following are the common characteristics of learners with
ADHD.
a. Inattention
 having trouble staying in focuses, easily get distracted or
get bored before task is being completed
 appearing to not listening when spoken to
 having difficulty in remembering things and following
instruction, not paying attention to details or making
careless mistakes
 having trouble staying organized, planning ahead and
finishing projects

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  frequently losing or misplacing homework, books, toys
and other items
b. Hyperactivity
 constant fidgeting
 having difficulty sitting still, playing quietly or relaxing
 moving around constantly, often running or climbing
inappropriately
 talk excessively
 having a quick temper
c. Impulsivity
 acting without thinking
 guessing rather than taking time to solve a problem
 blurting out answer in class without waiting to be called
 intruding other people’s conversation
 often interrupting others saying wrong thing at a wrong
time
 inability to keep powerful emotions in check, resulting in
angry outburst or temper tantrums
3. Teaching Strategies for Learners with ADHD
ADHD and learners with learning disabilities are both learners
that has difficulty staying on focus and remembering facts and instruction,
most of the teaching strategies mentioned for teaching learning disabilities
are also applicable for ADHD.
One of these strategies are using the UDL principle that was
previously discussed. UDL uses multiple means of representation,
expression and means of engagement of learners. This approach has
been an effective for learners with memory and focusing problems that
uses explicit instruction for literacy skills, comprehension and writing
strategies.
Moreover, planning classroom environment and how routine are
implemented is important in an inclusive classroom, Because learners
with ADHD tends to be restless and move around most of the time, highly
structured and with clear expectation is very essential. Classroom rules
and norms, routines, schedule are needed to be written and accompanied

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with simple images for them to follow. These needs to be explained,
displayed and implemented consistently to make classroom
environmentally structures and safe for all of them.
One intervention that has been reported to be an effective strategy
that helps learners with ADHD is using the Daily Report Card (DRC)
which is an individualized intervention to manage the target behavior of
the child. It begins with identifying the desired behavior to be changed
with the help of parents and other adults that work with the child with
ADHD. Once the target behavior is identified, it will be monitored using the
DRC and see the progress of the child. A system of reinforcement and
consequences is developed to changed the target behavior.
Reinforcement will be tangible such as stickers and the consequences will
be giving opportunities for the child to reflect his action such as staying
with the teacher during recess, staying in the library for an extra time.
4. Current Trends and Issues
Philippine Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
therapeutics market projected to witness growth from $65Mn in2022 to
$120Mn in 2030 with annual growth rate of 8% for the year 2022-2030.
This shows that their is a vast increase in ADHD awareness in the
Philippines that the drug for ADHD increase in the market. Stimulants
and non-stimulants are two primary types of medications used to treat
ADHD in the Philippines. Antidepressants are also utilized. The most
popular form of therapy for kids is stimulants. This is usually the first
medication that the doctor will prescribe to the diagnosed ADHD child.
It supports the brain’s ability to regulate behavior, focus and impulses.
A study published on 2022 titled “TikTok and Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: a Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media
Content Quality revealed that what the social media disseminate about
ADHD is misleading. This study investigate the content of the TikTok
videos about ADHD.
Another study on ADHD was published in The Journal of Special
Education Apprenticeship titled “Teacher Knowledge of Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and classroom Management” by
Bolinger with her colleague in 2020. This study contributes to the filed

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by adding the literature on teacher knowledge of ADHD and how it
relates to classroom management. This study found that the level of
knowledge of ADHD does not relate to classroom management nor
translated to more self-reported proactive classroom management.
This implied that teachers need further education and professional
development on evidence-based practices on proactive classroom
management.

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