Organization

The individual:

• Has problems managing the details of daily life; has trouble organizing;
• Experiences difficulty with prioritizing;
• Has problems identifying the next step;
• Manifests inconsistent performance;
• Jumps from topic/idea to topic/idea;
• Shows poor organization of concepts and tasks (including sequencing, prioritizing, grouping or categorizing, generalizing, grasping similarities between items, relating parts to the whole);
• Has difficulty with maps, graphs, and charts;
• Has trouble following multiple directions, especially in a prescribed sequence;
• Complains of getting lost or disoriented easily;
• Arrives very early or very late;
• Has difficulty spacing assignment on a page (e.g., crowds math problems on a page);
• Has difficulty telling time;
• Has problems adjusting to change.¹⁴

The Georgia Assistive Technology Project website has some excellent information and can be accessed at http://www.gatfl.org/ldguide/default.htm

Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities

The Literacy and Basic Skills Section of the Ministry of Education and Training (now called the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities or MTCU) has worked toward providing opportunities for literacy practitioners to become more knowledgeable about serving individuals with intellectual disabilities. In a report on "Best Practices in Literacy for Adults with Developmental Disabilities", the following mandate helps to outline exactly how individuals with intellectual disabilities can be served in literacy programs.