Students diagnosed with reading and writing difficulties are called learning disabilities/individuals with specific learning difficulties. At the beginning of the difficulties experienced by students with specific learning difficulties in educational environments are the difficulties experienced in academic performance. Among these academic difficulties, the most common ones appear in reading and writing skills. The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of fourth grade primary school students with learning difficulties and those with typical development regarding the concepts of “reading” and “writing” through metaphors. A phenomenological design was used in the study. The sample of the research consists of 187 students attending the fourth grade of primary school in Konya during the spring term of the 2022-2023 academic year. Convenience and criterion sampling techniques were used for determining the students. The fact that students with learning disabilities were diagnosed as such was accepted as a criterion. The data of the study were collected using a metaphor form. Content analysis was used for the analysis of the obtained data. Based on the findings obtained in the study, it was seen that regarding the concept of reading, students with typical development generated 53 different metaphors in 8 categories, while students with learning disabilities generated 54 different metaphors in 10 categories. Regarding the concept of writing, students with typical development created 62 different metaphors in 10 categories, while students with learning disabilities created 55 different metaphors in 12 categories. The results of the study revealed that metaphors related to reading were gathered in five categories common to both groups, while metaphors related to writing were included in four categories common to both groups. In both reading and writing, it was observed that unlike their typically developing peers, students with learning disabilities produced metaphors emphasising negative characteristics of reading and writing.

Students with learning disabilities, typically developing students, metaphor