Scientific Communication with a Special Needs Learner (#5)

Description: It is estimated that over 20% of the US population lives with some type of learning disability. This can span a wide variety of conditions, from physical disabilities such as being blind or deaf to developmental disabilities like autism and down syndrome. Learning disabilities can affect each individual differently, and so scientific communicators must be able to adapt their ways of communication such that the individual has the highest chance of successful learning. Personally, my Mom works with special needs students, and so this topic is very near to my heart. In this assignment, I will be focused on younger learners with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), which is a behavioral disorder found in approximately 5-15% of all school-age children (1).