EDITORIAL

Abstract

Learning difficulties constitute the lived experiences of children and adults with unique dispositions and cognitive profiles who find themselves in learning environments that offer both opportunities and challenges. Young people and adults with learning difficulties go to schools, attend clinics and pursue further education. In this issue of the Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, these different contexts provide the backdrop for an exploration of the nature and impact of learning difficulties and disabilities. The challenges experienced by the individuals discussed in this issue include reading difficulties, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, non-verbal learning disability and Down syndrome. The learning contexts involved include mainstream primary schools and high schools, special education schools and university. The authors contributing to this issue have been particularly interested in the interaction between the individuals and the learning contexts in which they find themselves, and have explored, through surveys and case studies, how individuals might experience these contexts and be supported in their learning. Lim, Arciuli, and Munro (2017, this issue) have investigated the impact of an established literacy intervention programme, Multilit, on the reading strategies of five students with Down syndrome. The importance of students with Down syndrome acquiring functional literacy skills cannot be overstated, and this study provides a useful and ecologically valid contribution to research in this area. The investigators used a case study approach to identify changes in the reading skills of the students, aged 11– 15 years, by analysing reading errors and tracking reading fluency. The context of this study was particularly interesting; the authors chose to investigate the reading skills of the students in the naturalistic context of shared parent–child story reading. The possible contribution of the Mulitlit intervention to changes in error type and increased reading fluency is considered. It is very important that researchers and practitioners come to understand the range of challenges faced by individual learners in school, vocational education and university settings. Non-verbal learning disability confers one such challenge. Non-verbal learning disability is much less commonly diagnosed than dyslexia or language impairment, although it can also impact significantly on learning to read and general classroom functioning. In a comprehensive exploration, Brenchley and Costello (2018, this issue) use a case study approach to highlight how this condition affects students in the context of their school experiences. The features and presentation of non-verbal learning disabilities are explained, and their impact on classroom and social functioning teased out. The impact of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder on adolescent boys in the classroom is explored by Gibbs (2017, this issue). The article is again based on a small, case study approach, involving a group of secondary students enrolled at an AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF LEARNING DIFFICULTIES