Difficult to formulate concepts, thinking, and study skills.
| Symptoms | Strategies |
|---|---|
| Has difficulty seeing the consequences of his/her actions.Is impulsive — acts, then thinks. | – Take a specific situation and discuss the choices and consequences of each choice. – Provide firm, concise rules, clearly state consequences for breaking them. – Be consistent in making student responsible for his/her actions. |
| Is slow in “shifting gears” to a new task. | – Stand by student’s desk as he/she begins new task; periodically check on student. |
| Unable to generalize (4 x 3 = 12, 3 x 4 = 12).Doesn’t transfer rules; i.e., spelling rules, classroom rules. | – Ask student to state rule each time it is applied until mastery. – Mastering prior to teaching generalization of that rule. |
| Difficulty with abstract reasoning.Student may be verbal and personal but conversation reveals concrete thinking. | – Relate new concepts to practical experience and apply to student’s experiences.Use concrete materials to demonstrate abstractions. – Ask simple, direct questions; compare and contrast. |
| Poor reading comprehension; may be a capable decoder — great word attack skills. | – Use work clues/pictures.Teach study skills. – Teach visualization and verbalization skills. (Use a highlighter) |
| Has trouble drawing conclusions, making inferences.Doesn’t understand riddles, jokes. | – Develop games and exercises to develop reasoning. – Ask student to “defend” his/her answer.Ask riddles: “riddle of the week” |
| Has difficulty making decisions, especially from many choices. | – Reduce range of available choices.Have student verbalize why he/she has made a particular choice. – Reinforce any initiative or decision making. |
| Has trouble with math story problems. | – Teach key words to watch for within the problem (total, differences, in all, etc.). – Assign an operation and have the student write the story to go with the operation. – Break down, using easier number of facts. |
| Doesn’t seem to understand math symbols and concepts. | Go back to concrete objects.Relate percent, fractions, decimals to money. |
| Seems to get lost halfway through a math problem. | – Help student “talk” his way through it, keeping the goal in focus. – Use all modalities. |