F.A.T.

City
Problem Ownership
What might this look like for a student with learning disabilities?
Experiencing
Frustration and
Anxiety

Using sarcasm as a teacher with students puts them on the spot and they will
remember it. Maybe no other child in the classroom, but the victim will.
If I cant see the teacher, then the teacher cannot see me. This is a natural
reaction to anxiety, the student wants to hide themselves.

Processing
(Pace)

Students with learning disabilities struggle processing material. They

process the question first, then the answer. Not the answer like regular
education students.
Have a private conversation with students who may be struggling and find
out how you can decrease their level of anxiety in the classroom.

Distraction

Attention Span vs. Distraction

Attention span means that the students is not paying attention to anything.
Distraction means that the student is paying attention to everything.

Risk-taking

Students with disibilites do not like surprises. They need positive attention.
Not negative attention which causes them feelings of anxiety and stress,
which can lead to a lower performance.
Why volunteer if I will be made fun of?

Additional Notes:

General Notes/Suggested Accommodations

Visual
Perception
(blurry picture)

Teachers just bribe students by giving them something, or teachers take

things away from students.
Teachers also BLAME the victim. The childs not motivated. Theyre not
trying.

Reading
Comprehension
(two stories, one
with known
vocab, one
without)
Visual
Perception (title
for a story)

Teachers need to give direct instruction. Perception is what were are

looking for. Students perceiving what they see.
Teach comprehension through vocabulary does not work if children dont
understand the vocabulary.
Comprehension has to do with funds of knowledge and background, NOT
VOCABULARY.
Kids cannot learn this on their own. They need direct instruction.
Students with disabilities oftentimes do not know why they are in trouble.
Teachers mis-proceed the stimulus. Students oftentimes perceive something
different than what is being taught.

Visual Motor
(handwriting in a
mirror)

Visual motor skills are difficult for children, which makes it difficult for
them to multi-task. Like, copying out of a book to take notes. The student
has to read the text, but also write in their journal.

Oral Expression
(story without a
the letter n)

The human brain has storage and retrieval.

With children with disabilities. struggle to retrieve data and also struggle to
place it back into a retrievable folder for later use.
Speaking is usually sociative, but students with disabilities, speaking is a
cognitive process.
Students become obsessed with correction if they are always corrected at
school.

Reading and
Decoding
(story with
interchangeable
pdbq)

Give students enough time to contemplate what they are learning and allow
appropriate time for them to answer in class.
Students with disabilities confuse pdbq.
Spatial orientation does not dictate the object except with pdbq.
Rhetorical questions are hurtful questions usually asked to another adult to
make one feel better about themselves. Do not ask students rhetorical
questions.
All energy goes into decoding, not understanding the material that is being

read. Again, give students time!

Auditory and
Visual
Capabilities
(story understood
by listening)

Some students need to hear instruction. Until the teacher gives auditory
imput, it does not make sense to their student.
Use auditory books.

What is fairness?
Lawrence Kohlberg: Kids learn morals based on example and modeling.
Fairness doesnt mean every kid gets the same, it means that students get what they NEED.