APPENDIX - B

NIMHANS INDEX FOR SPECIFIC LEARNING

DISABILITIES FORMAT

LEVEL -1

YOUNGER STUDENTS (5-7 Years)

ATTENTION

The ability of the child to focus his attention on a given job can be
tested by using
1. Simple Colour Cancellation test.
2. Double Colour Cancellation test.

For Simple Colour Cancellation request the child to cancel out any one colour
from the colour cancellation sheet, within the time limit of one minute.

For the double colour cancellation request the child to cancel out any
two colours.

Directions:

"I am going to show you a sheet which has different coloured dots. I
want you to cancel out all the black and yellow colours as fast as you
can". If the child still doesn't understand, you can demonstrate it.
VISUAL DISCRIMINATION

Directions- "Mark the one that looks the same as the first one" Three
or more errors suggest difficulty with visual discrimination for children
aged 5 or older.

1. M T M P G

2. 3 2 3 5 „ 8

3. II M N u 11

4. b D P b G

5. ME SHE WE \
HE ME
.jr,,..,-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. SHIP SNIP SLIP SHIP SKIP

7. ARE AIR FIRE ARE ART
8. (G
Supplement your test findings with your behavioural observation/
information obtained from parents.

- May have difficulty in matching shapes, geometric forms.

- Loses place frequently when copying,
- Has difficulty in recognizing objects when parts are missing.
- Makes poorly formed or reversed letters.

VISUAL MEMORY
Directions
"I am going to show you a row of pictures. After I cover the pictures,
I want you to tell me each time exactly what pictures you saw. Try to
tell me in the same order they were in \
For children age 5, recalling 3 items in any order within a row suggests
adequate visual memory,
For children age 6 and older, recalling four items in any order within a
row suggests adequate visual memory.

Exposure time for each row

Row 1 & 2 : 2 Sec
3 ; 3 Sec
4 : 4 Sec
5 : S Sec

Response
1.
2.
3,
4,
5,
Supplement your test findings with behavioural observation / information
obtained from parents.

- the child may recognize the symbol when shown but unable to recall.

- the child may remember all the parts seen but got them in wrong
sequence

AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION

Directions

The child should not see the examiner's face. This Is to avoid guessing
from lip reading.
ip

"I am going to tell you some words and you tell me if they are same
or different".

If the child makes a mistake, a second presentation could be made of

the same words. If he fails again it can be counted as an error. Five
or more uncorrected errors by children age 6 or older suggest difficulty
with auditory discrimination and possible problems with learning through
a phonetic approach.

1. shine - sign

2. tin thin

3. pine - pine

4. mob - mop

5. ship - Sip
6. goal - coal

7. run run

8. bus buzz

9. lake - lake

10. and - and

11. moon - noon

12. mud - mug

13. bill - mill

14. and - and

15. kill - till

16. drink - drink

17. mash - mush

18. deck - dock

19. band - band

20. slid - slad Total errors

Supplement your test findings with your behavioural observation/

Information obtained from parents.

Cannot tell when the sounds are the same or when pitch or
Intensity is changed.

Confuse similar sounding letters like d and t, b and p.

Auditory Behaviour

1. Has difficulty in paying attention to the speaker,

2. Is a poor listener.

3. Disturbed by background sound/ noise, Specifically.

i) Speech; (ii) Whispering; (iii) Shuffling papers, feet etc., (iv) Play
ground noise; (v) noise from other class rooms or halls and (vi) others.

4. Poor comprehension of speech in the presence of competing sounds

such as: (i) T.V./Radio broadcast; (ii) background communication.

5. Misunderstands verbal instruction.

6. Asks to repeat verbal instructions,

7. Slow or delayed response to verbal stirrfuli.

8. Relies heavily on visual cues.

AUITORY MEMORY

Directions

"I am going to read some sentences to you. When I finish, just repeat
what I said".

1. The bdy has a ball.

2. I like to sit in the car.

3. Last Sunday we went for a movie

4. Ramu is going to the market,

5. I like to go to school,
6. Sita is dancing.

7. I like to eat sweets.

8. It is raining heavily

One or more errors in each of the eight sentences suggests difficulty

with auditory memory in children age 5.

A child of 6 years can repeat atleast five sentences without any error.
Supplement your test findings with behavioural observations/information
obtained from parents,

may have difficulty in following a sequence of directions at home

or in school.

able to understand and to recognise words but has difficulty

retrieving them.

parents complain that what they told him yesterday, has

been forgotten today.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

Verbal language expression - Directions

Pointing to the picture tell the child, "Tell me all you can about this"
''Tell me what it is, and what it does or what you can do with it".

- List the number of responses,

- For children ages 4-6 less than four total responses (atleast one per
item) suggests problems with verbal language expression.

- For age 7 and older under 6 responses suggests difficulty in the area
of verbal language expression.
Supplement your findings with behavioural observation / information
obtained from parents.

doesn't speak

speaks only in monosyllables

has problems with articulation

<■ lacks ability to describe persons, places, etc.

doesn't comprehend simple sentences

, t

VISUAL-MOTOR SKILLS
Directions

The child is asked to copy a design exactly the way he or she sees it,
The child is given three chances, but only the best effort is counted.
Difficulty with these designs after age seven Indicates a need for a
programme of comprehensive visual- motor activities to develop eye-
hand readiness skills.
Normative Data

1. A child 3 years of age should be able to make a single circle.

2. A square shape is normative for age 4.

3. Triangle is normative for 5 1/2 to 6 years age.

4. The diamond is for children after age 6 to 7 years.

Supplement your test findings with behavioural observation / information

obtained from the parents.

poor in games and appears clumsy or uncoordinated

unable to catch or throw a ball

loses balance easily

unable to walk steadily

WRITING SKILLS

Write the Alphabets

Capital letters ____

Small letters

Write the letter that comes before and after

Before After

~ K

R
 Remarks :

Numbers

Write the numbers up to 20

Write the number that comes before and after

Before - After

17

25

39

63

Remarks :

Level I Profile

INTERPRETATION
Most children in the age range of 5-7 years are able to perform
adequately on the tests. If a child aged 5-7 years is not able to perform
adequately, it indicates a 'difficulty' not 'disability'. If a child aged above
8 years is unable to perform adequately it indicates a learning disability.
Level II

OLDER STUDENTS (8 to 12 years)

ATTENTION

Number cancellation or letter cancellation test can be used to test the

student's ability to sustain attention.

Instruction

"Of the several numbers given below, I want you to cancel all 3s and
4s. Do it as quickly as possible",

Note down the time taken, number of right letters cancelled and number
of wrong letters cancelled.

Score = No. of right letters cancelled - no. of wrong letters cancelled.

READING

Instruction:

"I want you read this passage loudly and clearly."

Note down errors as child reads. "Now I will ask you some questions
about what you have read. You can write down the answers. I will also
give you a few words to spell." (Give 5 words list and 15 words list.)
I. THIS IS A BIG TREE. IT IS A MANGO TREE.

THESE ARE MANGOES.

THIS IS A ROSE PLANT. THIS IS A ROSE.

THIS IS A LEAF. IT IS SMALL.

THESE ARE SMALL LEAVES.

THESE ARE ROSE PLANTS. THESE ARE ROSES.

THESE ARE RED ROSES.

THESE ARE YELLOW ROSES.

II. Once there were many rats In a house. One day a big brown cat
came Into the house. She killed many rats. The rats were always
afraid of the cat. A big gray rat was their leader. It said, "Let's
kill the cat." A small gray rat said: "Let's all catch her. Then I can
bite her hard with my teeth," A big black rat said "I can pull her
tail with my teeth." A small black rat said. ”1 can kick her with
my legs." Their leader said: "We can kill her without trouble,"
Other rats, said: "we can all dance round her with Joy."

III. Tenali Ramakrishna was a jester in the court of Krishnadeva Raya.

He was from Tenali, a place in Andhra Pradesh. There are a
number of interesting stories to tell us how he made fun of
people. Here is one of them.
 One day Krishna Deva Raya told Tenali Rama, "I want to give you
a horse. I want you to take good care of it. I am going to send
an official after some time to see your horse. Take the horse with
you when you go home this evening."

Tenali Rama took the horse home with him that evening. He
wanted to have some fun out of this. So he tied his horse in a
small room with only, one window to it. Everday Tenali Rama gave
his horse a handful of hay through this window. After a few days
the horse became very hungry. He was always looking out of the
window for some more hay.

IV. Once a monkey lived on'a free near the bank of a river. There
was a crocodile in the river. One day the crocodile came near the
tree and saw the monkey eating delicious fruit. The crocodile was
hungry, "My friend I am hungry. Please give me some fruit to
eat", begged the crocodile. ..

! The monkey was moved at the request of the crocodile and threw
sortie fruits to the crocodile, The crocodile ate the fruit and
thanked the monkey. Very .soon both of them became very good
friends. They ate the fruit together. One day the monkey suggested
to the crocodile to take some fruits to his wife who lived on the
other bank of the river.

V. Ananda, a merchant, from Bangalore, had borrowed a sum of

three thousand rupees, from his old friend Srikant, a merchant. He
borrowed this money to give his friend. Bharat, Bharat needed the
money to marry Parvathi, a rich and beautiful lady. Ananda also
signed a bond fixed by Srikant. According to this bond, the penalty
 was that Srikant could cut a piece of flesh from his body if he did
not repay within three months. You might wonder why Ananda
signed such a foolish bond. The reason was that he was expecting
money from his business before the end of three months. But
unfortunately Ananda did not get his money. Three months had
passed away. Srikant filed a case against Ananda, claiming for the
piece of flesh from his body.

VI. Once there lived a wood- cutter named Ali Baba. He was a poor
man. Every morning he went to the forest to cut wood. He
returned in the evening and sold the wood in the market.

One day while he was cutting wood in the forest, he heard some
sound. Men came riding on horses, Ali Baba saw them and was
frightened. He thought they were robbers. He hid himself among
the branches of a tree. Forty men led by their leader, came riding
on horses. The forty men and their leader got off their horses.
They tied their horses to a tree, Their leader went near a cave
and said, "Open Sesame," Thq door of the cave opened. Ail of
them went in. After some time they came out. Now the leader
said "Close Sesame", and the door closed behind him, They went
away. Ali Baba waited til! they were out of sight. Then he came
down from the cave. He went near the cave and said. "Open
Sesame". The door opened.. He went inside. He saw heaps of gold
coins and precious diamonds inside the cave.

VII. One hot summer morning a forest officer was driving through a
thick forest. He spotted from a distance a group of animals
drinking water at a large water pool. There were chitah (spotted
deer) all quenching their thirst and frolicking merrily. The forest
 officer was attracted by this beautiful sight. As he was trying to
adjust his lens, one of the deer saw him and let out a deafening
yell in terror and bolted into the forest. All the animals understood
that there was danger to their lives and ran away. In a minute all
of them had disappeared. The mere sight of man was a danger
signal to them.

Stdl

Passage (a)

Comprehension Questions Spelling

1. What is the big tree ? * this

2. What plant is this ? tree

3. Are the leaves big ? big

4. What are the colours of the roses? red

Stdl!

1, Who lived in the house ? brown

2, One day who came into the house ? afraid

3. Who killed the rats ? leader

4. Who was the leader of the rats ? black

5. What did the rats want to do to the cat ? dance

Std III

1. Who was Tenali Ramakrishna ? jester

2. Where is Tenali ? official

3. What was he given ? people

4. What did the king ask Tenali Rama to do? stories

5. Where did Tenali Rama tie the horse ? evening

Std iv
1. Where did the monkey live ? crocodile

2. What animal lived near the river ? suggest

3. What was the monkey eating ? fruit

4. What did the crocodile ask ? hungry

5. What did the monkey suggest to the crocodile ? request

Std V
1. Who was Ananda ? merchant

2. What did he do ? thousand

3. Why did he borrow the money ? beautiful

4. Who was Srikanth ? signed

5. What was the strange penalty fixed by Srikanth? claiming

StdVl

1. Who was Ali Baba ? frightened

2. Who came to the forest when he was cutting wood? precious

3. What did they do ? diamonds

4. After they went away what did he do ? thieves

5. What did he see ? cutting

stdvn
1. Who drove through the thick forest ? elephant

2. What did he see from a distance ? through

3. What did he do ? deafening

4. What happened to the deer ? attracted

5. Why did all the animals run away ? disappeared

 SPELLING TEST (Schonell's list)

Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V

Cat Jug Drank Strike Crime
No Get Swing Hobby Risky
Red Sip Sheep Swimming Address
And Drop Bath Folded Hero
The Clip Train Sailor Movies
It Sing Catch Tight Expect
We Thank Child Climb Studying
Like Boat Jump Listen Business
Play Care Waik Study Distress
Here Father Unde Carrying Trouble
Pig Down Light Foolish Quiet
Dog Said Lake . Dancing Lovely
Was Mother Stick Picture Killed
You Ask Short Chair Knowledge
Yes Shop Tall "fable Eating

INTERPRETATION:

If a child's performance on any of the academic skills is more than two

standards below the standard he is studying in currently, it indicates
presence of a learning disability. If the child's performance is just one
standard or two below it indicates a learning 'difficulty'.

Eg. - A student of std. 6 performs adequately only at the std. 3 level

on the reading test (i.e. can read the passage without many errors),
however can complete arithmetic sums appropriate for std. 5, would
indicate a 'disability' in reading and a 'difficulty' in arithmetic.
 RECORD FORM

Level II (for 8 to 12 years)

I. 2. ATTENTION

No. of Time
Test Correct Errors taken
R
Single Number cancellation
Double Number cancellation
Remarks :

II LANGUAGE * Note down the frequency

(A) READING of each error and time taken
to read passage
Type of errors 1“ 2*«J 3"' 4'" 5"! 6*
Std. Std, Std. Std. Std. Std. Std.
1. Reads word by word
2, Ignores punctuation
3. Adds words
4. Omits words
5. Cannot use phonetic cues
6. Spells out words
7. Guesses at words
8, Reversals
9. Others
Total Number of errors
Time Taken
Remarks :
Adequate means there are not many errors.
i, WRITING;
COPYING AND ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

Type of Errors Frequency of errors

1 No space between words

2 Missed out a letter
3 Substituted a letter
4 Reversed a letter
5 Added a letter
6 Wrong Capitals
7 Others

Total No. of errors =

Time taken =
Remarks = Adequate means there are not many errors.

C. Comprehension:

Question 1* 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

No. Std. Std. Std. Std. Std, Std, Std.

1
2
3
4
5

Total Correct Responses

Remarks : Adequate means the child should answer atieast three

out of five questions correctly.
 STANDARD
III. SPELLING

Adequte means the child should spell correctly atleast three out of five
and ten out of fifteen words.

Write a few lines about 'My School'

Remarks