Learning Support
Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) can avail of Learning Support when registered with the disability support service.To avail of additional examination provisions students with SpLD must first be assessed by the learning support tutor.
What is Learning Support?
In this context learning support refers to the additional support required by students with Specific Learning Difficulties to access and progress through programmes of learning. The focus is on additional needs of the individual student that may result from their Specific Learning Difficulty.
Accessing Learning Support
To avail of Learning Support, students can make an appointment to register with the Disability Support Service Coordinator at the information desk.
Needs Assessment
The Learning Support Tutor will carry out individual needs assessments as each student has very different learning needs. The student will be asked about current needs as they see them and areas of their course they find most difficult. The assessment will be used to plan Learning Support provision for the student and with the student. A report will be sent to the Disability Support Service Coordinator who will then inform Heads of Department and make appropriate arrangements.Confidentiality
Both the Needs Assessment and the content of the report to the Disability Support Service Coordinator are confidential. These will be discussed and consented to by the student in question before being forwarded.
Programme of Learning Support
The content of the programme for each individual is negotiated between the student and the tutor. The programme remains flexible in the course of the academic year and is guided by the student’s requirements. It may contain any of the following elements:
- Developing techniques to improve reading, writing and comprehension.
- Note taking and making.
- Preparation for exams, revision and exam techniques.
- Organization and time-management skills
- Memory techniques
- Essay and assignment writing
- Project planning and report writing
- Proofreading
- Word processing skills
- Structuring of sentences
- Spelling strategies
Dyslexia Screening
If a lecturer suspects that a student has learning difficulties (or if the student suspects it) they can make an appointment to be screened for Dyslexia. The Disability Support Service Coordinator should be contacted first. It is important to note that only dyslexia screening tests (LADS –Lucid Adult Dyslexia Screening and DAST Dyslexia Adult Screening Test) are carried out by the learning support service. These tests are only indicators that a student may have a probability of having dyslexia and are not complete assessments. The student may be further advised to obtain a full Educational Psychologist assessment before dyslexia can be confirmed and supports put in place.
For Learning Support to be effective students are encouraged to identify their own needs and bring in work that they want to focus on. The programme remains open to feedback at all levels and stages and operates on the principle of matching provision to need.
Contact
Ms Bernie Langtry
The Learning Support Tutor
Tel: + 353 (0)90 647 1884
Email: blangtry@ait.ie
Room no. D1135
