Learning disability

Support for the Learning Disabled

In many states, there are programs that will help those with learning disabilities make in the competitive job market. Of course, there are laws against discrimination as well, but sometimes a learning disabled person needs a little extra help to make their way and become independent in today’s society. Here is a description of one such program and some of the services they offer, many states have similar services.

In Washington State there is a program with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) that helps learning disabled make their way in the job market. One of the services offered is to set up that person with the tools to equalize their opportunities. For instance, some people will by having additional software installed on their computer that can help them. An example of this is a software program that can translate spoken words into text or text into spoken words. With the addition of these aids a person is better prepared, either as a student or as a member of the workforce to perform the functions of their job.

In many states, there are laws that require reasonable support in the workplace for those people that are labeled as “learning disabled”. The state programs can help the person get the testing completed so that they receive the benefit of the law. At times these tests and reviews can cost too much for a person without the means.

In order to help people become independent there is also help to get them the physical items needed to do their job. Maybe a person needs new glasses or hearing aids. A state program can help the person purchase these items. The program may even help the person repair a car so they can make it to their job or interviews. There is a need for balance in our society and there are state programs that help the learning disabled.

Filed Under: Family Support Tagged With: Learning disability

The Stigma of a Learning Disability

Do you deal with a learning disability? Do you find yourself scared of what others will think of you if they knew about your learning disability? Do you judge someone with a learning disability as always being less intelligent as others? For some people, the judgement, as well as the fear of being judge can be as hard or even harder to deal with than the learning disability itself.

It is important to clarify that a learning disability such as dyslexia has little to nothing to do with that persons intelligence. Too often in our society people that are different are somehow viewed as not as good or flawed somehow. There is an organized effort it appears to make sure if you do not fit into the definition of “normal” there is something wrong with you. In the case of learning disabilities this could not be further from the truth. A learning disability does not immediately mean that you are a burden on society. The term “learning disability” should be changed to something like, learns differently than the average human.

It is sad that the average person with a “learning disability” is taught to think that they aren’t good enough, but what is terrible is that many of them end up believing that it is true. The truth is that every individual has different capacities and different abilities, even among the average person this is true. It is time that we as a culture, found ways to spread acceptance and helped every person equally to become successful. In the United States, the education system is developed, in general, to move as many kids through as best it can and if you don’t fit the mold, you will be treated as an outsider. It is not those that are labeled with “learning disabilities” that need to change or work harder, it is the rest of us.

Filed Under: Learning Theories Tagged With: Learning disability

Higher Education Options for Children with Disabilities

Having a disability does not mean that reaching life long goals are not attainable. Personal success in education, sports, and in business can be achieved. A good foundation for success is completing education. This could be in the form of completing high school and continuing with college.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also known as IDEA t states that all public primary, secondary, and high schools are required to give an appropriate form of education to all students. The programs offered help to adjust and meet the needs of the student. The school actively is flexible in making curriculum changes and catering to the need of the individual. This is important because it creates more graduates, and discourages dropping out.

Becoming a high school graduate is necessary to apply for national Military service, gain entrance into certain colleges, and as a core qualification for some jobs. Building upon high school graduation often involves starting college courses.

Schools and colleges that can meet the needs of students with disabilities are in demand. Many parents have moved across town and in some cases hundreds of miles away to take advantage of these services provided at these centers for learning. The IDEA Act does not operate exactly the same for colleges. Examples of the college programs to aid in the learning process are tutoring, access to the library and computer labs, training for managing time, writing workshops, good study practices, and one on one counseling. The American Disabilities act has made it mandatory for colleges to provide some level of accommodation for students with disabilities.

Landmark College in Vermont is an example of one college that has special programs for students with adhd and learning disabilities. One resource finding more than 750 degree programs the learning disabled is authored by Charles T. Mangrum and Stephen S. Strichart and entitled Peterson’s Colleges With Programs for Students With Learning Disabilities.

Filed Under: Teaching Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Learning disability, Student

The Intelligence Understanding: Learning Difficulty

It’s a common accusation. It’s a vicious belief. Teachers deem your child too strange, too hopeless, to educate. They claim his intelligence is lacking — a consequence of his disorder, a proof that he does not belong in the standard classes. He is beyond their help and must therefore be placed with others like himself: branded as a special needs pupil.

And it is not this name that offends you. It is instead the assumption that your child is not brilliant — because you know that he is. He simply can’t offer it in the usual ways, can’t verbalize his thoughts with ease.

Too often is it believed that children with learning disabilities are of low intelligence and cannot be taught. This is incorrect, however, and must be understood immediately as nothing more than a myth. Most individuals with forms of disorders are of above average intellect. They excel with creativity and can offer information in new ways. They are not — despite what so many declare — unable to learn.

The complication that comes from a difficulty, however, is in the way information is absorbed. Children can be precocious but can also be unable to demonstrate this. Words may elude them; numbers can confuse; and the necessary motor skills (such as holding a pencil properly) can disappear, leaving them unable to communicate as others do.

This is not validation of below average potential, though. It is instead a need for unconventional applications — all of which must be utilized by teachers to ensure that school becomes a welcoming environment and not a simple terror.

The misconception that plagues individuals with learning disabilities is that they can never succeed. Their intellect is thought to be weak. The truth, however, is that they are often the most dynamic students in the classroom. They simply must express their skills differently. And this requires patience from all.

A difficulty is not a failing. It is instead merely unique.

Filed Under: Learning Theories Tagged With: Child, Disability, Education, Learning disability, Special needs

The Schoolyard Reality: Learning Disability

It’s the slam of a door, the beginnings of a sob — your child goes thundering up the stairs, refusing to answer your calls, hurrying to the safety of her room. She flings herself onto her bed, tugging the sheets up high. And you can coax no explanations, are forced to simply… wait. The minutes are long and terrible; but they finally yield a word you can understand: mockery. She was teased at school, branded ignorant. All friends became traitors. All enemies became merciless. And she never wants to return.

You’re tempted not to let her.

Because your child suffers from a learning difficulty and this scenario is far too common.

Individuals who have some form of disability — whether trouble with reading, an inability to understand numbers or even a lack of vocalization for thoughts — are often the targets of bullying. Their perceived weaknesses mark them appealing to those who wish to gain power by hurting others. Cruel names and physical violence can be offered daily.

And for parents this is almost too much to bear.

They wish to take their children from school. They wish to keep them protected. And, while these feelings are understandable, they’re not entirely fair.

Any child with a learning disability should be exposed to the world. She can gain the skills to handle her problem, as well as make vital social connections. Parents must not simply take her from school, refusing to offer her the chance to receive a proper eduction. Teasing must first be addressed in other ways.

Speak with all teachers, informing them of your concerns. Talk with the parents of the bullying children. Involve your child with extracurricular activities, so she may make new friends and have a better experience. Teach her to be confident in herself and her talents.

These methods must first be attempted before you simply remove her from school. She deserves an education. You must allow her to have it.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Bullying, Child, Learning disability

Learning Difficulty: Understood

It’s an assumption of ignorance, of weak minds and flawed comprehensions: a disability brands all individuals unable to be taught and undeserving of the chance. There’s a confusion of intelligences, with labels flung out, naming each child futile. Parents despair; teachers falter; and the entire education system considers the cause to be a lost one. There’s nothing to be done and nothing to consider. These students are deemed failures.

And the stigma of learning difficulties continues.

The notion of a disability is one that’s too often met with worry, tension and misunderstandings. Children who are burdened by even a mild worry are often forced to suffer from the misconceptions of their family, friends and peers. Education becomes an impossibility — not because of their problem but because too many others refuse to help them.

It’s essential therefore that all individuals understand what a learning difficulty truly is and what must be done about it. This is not a failing of the brain. It’s merely a new way of receiving — and communicating — information.

Defined simply: a learning disability is when a child cannot process letters, numbers, phrases of speech or other elements as his peers do. It’s a disorder (with causes that cannot be directly predicted. Physical impairment, illness, genetics and more can spark a complication). It is not, however, a reflection of intelligence or ability. Students cannot absorb facts as others do; but they can still be taught. The methods may just require creativity, with an emphasis on visual aids and repetition.

And this must be recognized. Too often are children thought to be unworthy of their teachers’ time, left behind while their classmates move forward. They are deserving of an education, however. It merely must be presented differently. This is not an indicator of mental deficiency. It’s just a compromise of traditional methods.

A learning difficulty is not an excuse to abandon any student. It’s instead a demand for patience and understanding.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Disability, Education, Learning disability, Mental retardation

The Input Worry: Learning Difficulty

It’s the wince at a blackboard, the slow beginnings of a frown: a child leans forward at his desk, trying to understand the words that are sprawled before him. But the letters start to tangle, and the meanings soon fade. All information is reversed, with entire sentences transposed (becoming parodies of themselves, baffling). He cannot understand the facts. He cannot comprehend the intentions. He merely stares, trying to hide his confusion. His peers would mock him for it, he believes. They’re all taking notes so efficiently and he… can’t.

He thinks something must be wrong with him. He thinks his mind must be broken.

It isn’t — the synapses are merely misreading what’s being presented.

The most common of all learning difficulties is the misunderstanding of new information. This is deemed an Input Disability, with individuals unable to recognize specific words, letters, distances or visual clues. Their perceptions are instead obscured. They do not see the world as others do. Their outlooks are shaped to miscommunication — with their brains unable to easily process facts and skills.

And this too often brands a child foolish. He is thought to be distracted and weak minded. Teachers assume a lack of effort; peers assume a lack of intelligence.

This is not true, however. Those who suffer from an Input Disability are neither inattentive nor ignorant. They are merely unable to understand information in the traditional ways. They must instead have help.

And this is offered in the form of auditory aid (with lessons explained verbally, allowing for greater comprehension), repetition, carefully worded guides (with all important factors highlighted and properly spaced) and elements that can be mastered through touch instead of reading. The intention is to strengthen the body’s ability to receive information by offering alternatives. Exposure must be wide and varied.

An Input Disability is not proof of a flawed intellect. It’s merely a requirement for different teaching methods. Understand the visual concerns and combat them.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Education, Learning disability, Understanding

Understanding Symptoms: Learning Difficulty

A child sits alone in a classroom, staring at the blank lines of a page — he’s meant to craft an essay within them, is supposed to offer reasons for his many daydreams (the little glances out a window, the minutes wasted with imaginary conversations). It’s a punishment of idle thoughts and idle hands. He refuses to learn and must now pay the price. The detention will last until his work is completed.

But charting out the explanations for his wandering mind isn’t easy. He can’t express the restlessness, the worry. He can’t tell of how information becomes tangled in his brain, all words blurring together until he can’t read their meanings. There is confusion in the simplest of tasks — and he’s afraid all will brand him weak if he admits it.

So he writes nothing and his problem remains unknown.

Learning difficulties are complicated things: with their symptoms often ignored, deemed a simple lack of focus. Too often do children refuse to confess their own worries; and too often do teachers misinterpret struggling minds. The cycle is a vicious one, if only because it’s perpetuated so easily. It continues when it shouldn’t have to.

It’s imperative therefore that all students, teachers and parents recognize the signs of a disability — and address them quickly. Understand the difference between a wavering attention span or a genuine concern.

Look for:

One: Transposing of letters or numbers.
Two: Difficulty in verbalizing thoughts.
Three: Unstable coordination.
Four: Weak memory.
Five: Inability to comprehend open-ended questions.
Six: Always distracted.
Seven: Failure to grasp new skills.

Most students will experience forms of these symptoms throughout their educational careers (they can be caused by stress or other factors). But individuals who suffer with them daily must be helped. A learning difficulty should be noted early and combated, not merely assumed to be a reflection of poor attention skills. Teachers must recognize the signs and discover ways to counter them effectively.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Education, Learning disability

The Necessity of Silence: Learning Difficulty

It is a common classroom: a greet of too many children and too little organization, a teacher hurrying to solve all of the little complications (the chalk smears and crayon spills, the battles over scissors). Lessons are strewn across a blackboard, meant to be copied but not absorbed. And distractions abound — the constant conversations, gossip, homework lamentations. An environment is loud.

It’s also unproductive.

Because a child who suffers from a learning disability cannot offer focus to her studies. She can only become overwhelmed by the sensory strains: the shrieks of her peers, the scent of erasers and bag lunches (left rotting in desks), the constant pace of her instructor. She can’t learn. She can’t even… try.

An unfortunate truth of the education system is that is defined to an excess of students and a lack of patience. The intention is to fill each day with information, hoping to generate the wanted brilliance. But children with even mild disabilities cannot function in this chaos. They instead will fail — leading many teachers to believe that they cannot be taught, are instead hopeless.

This failure is not proof of low intellect, however. It’s merely a reflection of the classroom madness.

All learning difficulties must be countered with structure and silence. Children must be able to devote themselves to their books, overcoming the worries of their disorders. This is impossible, though, when an environment is too wild. The rooms must instead be quiet, with students spaced apart, allowed to work as they need. Distractions should be avoided and all subjects should be scheduled deliberately (without any deviation from this pattern). And the amount of pupils within the area should be tailored to the teacher’s own abilities: be certain she can offer the necessary attention, rather than being unable to even remember her students names. There must be order.

A disability is not to be perpetuated by a classroom. It is instead to be soothed with quiet.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Child, Disability, Education, Learning disability, Teacher

Testing Tamed: Modifying Methods

Time paces forward — the seconds unrelenting, refusing to offer the much needed reprieve. A child stares at the endless questions of a page, overwhelmed by their possible meanings, the answers they demand. He doesn’t understand them: the words keep leaping, all letters transposed. And the scratch of pencils all around him provides no assurance, only pain. His peers can comprehend a test but he cannot.

And the minutes drag on, yielding only occasional insights, the attempts to fill in every line. He doesn’t know what he’s writing. He doesn’t think it’s relevant to any query. But he must provide… something.

And his efforts are proven futile later when a grade is revealed: he didn’t succeed. He isn’t at all surprised.

Children with learning disabilities are forced to bear a heavy burden — never more so felt than when they must offer knowledge through testing. The strain of their disorder is intensified, with an inability to recognize the questions coupled with a fear of failure. And this leaves them unable to provide information.

Something must change — and it must be the way testing is presented.

Students with learning difficulties (whether dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and more) cannot be held to the common standards. The usual methods of testing — requiring just a pencil and paper — can confuse these individuals. Words can be misunderstood. Numbers can be transposed. And questions may be labeled nonsensical, their interpretations too broad.

It’s necessary therefore for teachers to offer alternatives. Consider:

One: Verbal Testing. Ask questions aloud and accept oral replies.

Two: True or False Reliance. Ignore open-ended questions as these can confuse. Require only concrete answers.

Three: Scribe Assistance. Allow a fellow student to write the child’s responses instead, ensuring correct spelling and interpretation.

These methods will require effort from any instructor, but their results will be rewarding. Children will finally be able to offer what they know, rather than being limited by what they must suffer with.

Filed Under: Learning Theories Tagged With: Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Education, Learning disability, Software testing