Workshop Opportunity: The Characteristics, Assessment, and Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities

Robert L. Mapou, Ph.D.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
8:30 am – 12:30 pm

About the Program
Over the past 10 years, neuropsychological research on learning disabilities in older adolescents and adults has advanced to the point where it is now possible to specify the components of an evaluation that are crucial for diagnosing reading, writing, mathematics, and nonverbal learning disabilities. Within this same time period, there has been a parallel development of guidelines for assessment and documentation of learning disabilities, including those that are language based, in adolescents and adults.

This workshop will integrate these two important knowledge bases by providing an overview of assessment and documentation of learning disabilities in older
adolescents and adults. The material will be geared toward those who evaluate or treat individuals with learning disabilities, who review evaluation reports, who
refer individuals for evaluation, and who are involved in educational and occupational intervention and planning.

Topics will include:
• Current definitions of learning disabilities
• Learning disability subtypes supported by research
• Summary of research on adult learning disabilities
• Neuropsychological evaluation
• Documentation requirements of standardized testing agencies, colleges, and
universities
• Documentation under 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and criteria changes
based on the 2008 ADA Amendments Act
• Accommodations and interventions
• Case example of a college student with dyslexia

Attendees will
• Identify the research basis for assessment of learning disabilities in older
adolescents and adults, including hose with language difficulties
• Outline the most common types of learning disabilities in older adolescents and
adults, and the components of assessment needed for diagnosing language learning
disabilities
• Examine the requirements for testing and agency/university documentation
guidelines for assessment of language learning disabilities in postsecondary
education students and test candidates;
• Identify acceptable accommodations and interventions for individuals in school or
the workplace with language learning disabilities.


About the Presenter
Dr. Robb Mapou is a clinical neuropsychologist in independent practice with William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Associates, LLC, Silver Spring, MD, where he specializes in the evaluation of adolescents and adults with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). From 1996 to 1999, he was the Neuropsychology
Director for the Centers for Neuro-Rehabilitation,Bethesda, MD, where he worked with individuals who had suffered brain injuries.

Dr. Mapou was on the board of directors of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology from 2002 to 2007 and served as President from 2004 to 2006 and Vice
President from 2002 to 2004. He holds faculty appointments in the Department of Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Mapou has published and presented widely on topics of adult learning disabilities and ADHD, neuropsychological assessment, cognitive and behavioral effects of traumatic brain injury, the neurobehavioral effects of HIV disease,
and other neuropsychological issues.

His new book, Adult Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Research Informed Assessment, was published by Oxford University Press in October 2008. He is currently working on a chapter on dyslexia in adults for the Casebook of Clinical Neuropsychology, to be published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.

Special Needs Advocacy Training for Parents and Students by Rich Weinfeld

Please join us for an exciting training opportunity. The Special Needs Advocacy, LLC, in partnership with Montgomery College Workforce Development and Continuing Education, presents Special Needs Advocacy Training Institute: Everything an Advocate Needs to Know. This 4-session course, based on Rich Weinfeld and Michelle Davis' Special Needs Advocacy Resource Book, begins in March and is expected to fill quickly. Please pass this on to others who may be interested.

Parents Do you want to become more effective advocates for your children with special needs?

Graduate Students and Professionals Are you interested in a career as a Special Needs Advocate?

School Staff and Administrators Have you been looking for an opportunity for a deeper understanding of special education law, and what you can do with the resources that you have to work cooperatively with special needs families?

This is more than just the cursory overview of special education law offered by others. You will gain an in-depth understanding of all facets of advocacy through supervised practice and application of skills, both during and between sessions taught by practicing advocates, attorneys, psychologists and other related service providers. You will receive individualized feedback from practicing professionals. Learn what advocates know so that you, too, can get results that make a difference for each child's future. You will leave this course with the knowledge and skills you need to advocate effectively for children. This is the opportunity you have been waiting for!

Dates: 4 Sunday sessions, 8:30 am 4:00 pm

MARCH 8, APRIL 26, MAY 3 and MAY 17, 2009

CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR SUMMER DATES in 2009.

Place: Montgomery College Silver Spring/Takoma Park Campus

7977 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910

CEU Credits available (3) for this graduate level course

For More Information and Registration visit:

http://specialneedsadvocacyinstitute.com/advocacy-training.html

A Tutor Weighs In!

Making a Personal Connection in a Group of Students
by Liz Latwin


As a tutor who focuses mainly on test prep, my tutoring experience usually involves trying to get a student to feel comfortable with and prepared for standardized tests like the SSAT and SAT. One of the most rewarding aspects for me about one-on-one tutoring is being able to personalize something as impersonal as a standardized test. Helping students find ways to have the test make sense to them is a unique and exciting challenge. I have employed techniques to personalize the test including "Gossip Girl" centric vocabulary lessons, sport analogies, and the website www.celebrityenglish.com (a great website where you learn how to correct the grammatical errors of celebrities). I also employ empathy; as an attorney, my career path has been filled with standardized tests. I understand how difficult, tedious, and painful test prep can be, and I have found that my students like that I don't try to sugarcoat the process. I can attest to the success of the techniques I teach because I have used many of them myself.

This past fall, I taught an SSAT preparation class with another EC tutor. Our goal was to give as close an approximation as possible to private tutoring for a class of 15 kids. While I went in to the class with the lofty goal of making a personal connection with each student and finding a way to personalize the class for each member of the group, I realized soon after the first class that this goal was impossible. Two hours a week with the group was not enough time to get the basics across, much less find ways to get through to each student. Some of the kids made it clear that they didn't want to spend their Saturday mornings preparing for the SSATs. Others kids were too shy in a large class to admit they weren't catching on to concepts other kids seemed to grasp.

By the end of the class's run, some kids felt comfortable enough to ask questions in class and seek extra help. The class as a whole had an "A-ha!" moment when we played a root words game (perhaps because the winners of the game got candy prizes). But there were certainly a few kids who I could never get through to in any way; but there were also a few who seemed to really benefit from the instruction and internalize the material. It was humbling to realize that my goal of making the studying for the SSATs a relatable process for the whole class would never be achieved. Not achieving this goal didn't make the class any less rewarding or successful, but it did make me rethink how I try to relate to a large group of people. One take away from my approach was that with this kind of class, a micro and macro approach to personalizing the test might be the best way to make connections, if not personal, but intellectual.

Straight From the Tutor's Mouth!

At Educational Connections, we LOVE our tutors! We're certain that we have the kindest, most experienced, and most knowledgeable tutors out there. For the next couple of weeks, we'll be posting thoughts and entries from our tutors themselves. There's no better way to showcase the wonderful relationship that they have with their students!

This week, we're fortunate to have thoughts from Carla H--She's been with us quite a while now and absolutely loves her families.

Carla writes:

Sarah,
I would just like to say that Chris S. and his family are absolutely
wonderful. I have a lot of fun tutoring Chris and his family has become
like a "pseudo" family to me. They are very kind and they make me happy
to tutor on Mondays after school.

David and Bradley S. and their family are also absolutely fabulous
to tutor with after school and on weekends. They are extremely kind and
very accommodating. They are like a "pseudo" family as well.

These two students make tutoring worthwhile and it is so exciting to see
how much progress they all continue to make.

Carla Henderson
Special Education Teacher