Supporting ELLs with Special Needs (E.Yuen)

Learning Disabilities (LD) can be expected to be evenly distributed among all students; ELLs are
just as likely as other students to have a special learning need8

There are reports of both overidentifiation and underidentification of ELLs with LD6
topic

it can take an ELL at
least 5 to 7 years to develop the academic and language skills of their monolingual peers

Not making progress, or progress is uneven

Has not made the same progress as other students with
similar backgrounds (linguistic and academic)

Writing is very challenging and is not reflective of oral
language skills

Difficulties in all languages spoken

How can we support parents of ELLS with Special Needs?

What are the most impactful literacy strategies and Reading Interventions for this group?

Build a student profile

Share Assessment Information

SubtoPresent the Student at an In-school School Team Meetingpic

Provide the Student with Literacy Interventions

Instruction should take language development into account. For ELLs, there should be a focus on
different aspects of vocabulary development1

Instruction should be systematic and explicit, and should incorporate on-going assessment and
progress monitoring18, and opportunities to apply new skills in authentic contexts

Involve parents, utilizing interpreters where necessary

Teachers should share concerns about ELLs through the same processes used for all students. Students
should be discussed at IST whenever teachers have concerns about their progress even if the student
needs continued ESL/ELD support13.

These classroom-based interventions and adaptations should be age-appropriate

There is no need to wait until the student is proficient in English in order to begin interventions that
target areas of deficit5