ABSTRACT The study was carried out in Shauri yako primary school, Homa bay District Kenya. The study aimed at identifying the relationship between teaching approaches and academic performance of learners with SLDS. The objectives of the research were to determine the level of performance of learners with SLDS. To find out the approaches used by teachers to teach learners with SLDS. To establish the indicators of SLDS and to identify support services and remedial instruction that can be offered to learners with SLDS. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was the teachers handling learners with SLDS. The researcher preferred the convenience sampling to get the sample population. The researcher used the questionnaire to collect data. The researcher analyzed the data using tables in which frequency and percentages were used. The main findings of the study were that learners with SLDS perform poorly in English and Mathematics because they don’t understand symbols, find difficult in interpreting multiplication tables, illegible hand wring and reverse of letter. The study also found out that most teachers use approaches which are not child centred to teach learners with SLDS which have also affected the pupil’s performance. The study concluded that performance in mathematics and English by learners with specific leaning difficulty was generally poor in Homabay District The researcher recommended that the curriculum developers (KIE-Kenya Institute of Education> should modify the curriculum of learners with SLDS so that it can meet the diverse needs of learners with SLDS.
