The study of the prevalence rate and diversity of specific learning disabilities in students of primary school of Shiraz city

The aim of the present research was to determine the rate of prevalence and diversity of specific learning disabilities in students of third and fourth grade of primary school. In this research we used one questionnaire and four checklists. Rater’s behavior disorders questionnaire administered for screening of students with behavior disorders.Four checklists inclusive of Myklebust’s learning disabilities checklist, Reading learning disability checklist, Mathematics learning disability checklist and Writing learning disability checklist were administered to determine the rate of prevalence of learning disabilities. The sample consisted of 446 students (231boys and 215 girls) from third and fourth grade of primary schools of four regions of Shiraz department of education that were selected by clustering random sampling method. After screening of students with behavior disorders 401 students (200boys and 201girls) remain for statistical calculation. The results showed that out of 401 students 39 students identified as learning disability; this is 9.7 percent of total sample. Also out of 401 students 35 students identified as reading learning disability, this is 8.7 percent of total sample. Another results indicated that out of 401 students 27 students identified as mathematics learning disability, this is 6.7 percent of total sample. Also out of 401 students 29 students identified as writing learning disability, this is 7.2 percent of total sample. The result of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, test-retest reliability and Pearson’s correlation coefficient proved the reliability and validity of checklists that administered in this research. In this article we discussed about results and limitation and offered suggestions for future studies.