Through The Eyes of The LD Child

     I suffer from Learning Disabilities and if I were a public school student in today's classroom, I would be eligible to receive Special Education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA ensures that a free appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities. In 1976 while I was struggling in high school, special education was just finding a foothold in the hallways of America’s educational systems. By the end of that year, regular and special educators were discussing such issues as roles, responsibilities, needs, and resources to fulfill the mandates of PL 94-142 while I became just another high school dropout. A key turning point came in 1985 when I turned in to Dr Rev Schuller morning TV broadcast. Dr. Schuller, through his Sunday morning broadcast introduced me to the book “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do.” The book was a turning point in his life. After purchasing the book it became clear to me that I could not read.

     I had dropped out of High school never understanding why school was so difficult for me until 1992 while having a psychological evaluation for depression; I was diagnosed with two distinct learning disabilities (Developmental Reading Disorder and Expressive Writing Disorder). You would have thought this might only add to my depression but it did not. Quite the opposite, just knowing that my problem had a name and that I was not stupid gave me hope.

    Over the past years, I have noticed while speaking to students and adults with learning disabilities and parents and teachers of these same types of students that there is a real need to understand what the student (adult) with a Learning Disability is experiencing and feeling. I have personally found it to be very comforting to know that others have experienced the same problems, fears, and concerns that I have. I never fail to have people in my audience admit that they, too, have felt the way I have felt.

    I now know that just because I learned differently and write poorly, it does not mean that I am stupid. Being "learning different" means that academically I do things a little differently. It indicates that I work most effectively out of the right side of my brain, not the left, as is the preferred side for most people. It means I like to see the whole picture first, I want to spend time getting to experience the idea, and I want to discover the parts of the idea or object for myself. It means I must discover in different ways the knowledge that others have learned through memorization. It means I do most things with average success however; there are a few things that I will have great difficulty.

    I have been told many times by people who knew me as a student, “you are special, you have worked harder than the average student, and you are an exception to the rule.” I strongly disagree, I believe that everyone has the potential to be what they want to be when they are afforded the opportunity to learn in the manner best suited for their individual strengths. For those who think I am an exception to the rule, it is time for that paradigm to be replaced, the rule is “all students can learn.” What we need to do is learn to accept each other for our unique strengths and focus less on our differences.

    So many times students with learning disabilities are miss-diagnosed or incorrectly judged because they have an invisible disability. Students with learning disabilities seem to do a variety of things well, but when their area of deficit shows up it is misinterpreted as a lack of motivation. The truth is a student with a true learning disability lacks the ability to excel in the area for which the disability is associated. For these students, the most effective, most professional way is to use the other abilities and talents to reinforce the area of deficit.

    There are approximately 45 million Americans living with a learning disability and the vast majority of these persons has above average intelligence and possesses specific cognitive gifts. However, most school systems are not equipped to capitalize on the strengths of these students and consequently these students fail. Criticism for the public school system in the United States is nothing new and while the government scrambles to change the system to prevent these student’s failures, students of all skill levels are slipping through the cracks. What America needs is a new paradigm in education where “all” means “all.” What we need is to nourish the belief that all persons have value and that all person (children) can learn.

    In 1992 with Christ help, I returned to school by enrolling in college. Through trial and error and long perseverance, I found that he could function in an academic setting. I am presently married to my high school sweetheart, I am in my late-forties, and I have two grown and married sons. Since 1996, I have been employed as a special education and regular education teacher. I hold a Bachelor of Science and a Master's Degree in Education from Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas and have recently completed a PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A & M University. Currently I am the Undergraduate Coordinator of Exceptional Education in the College of Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia where my understanding of learning and reading difficulties allows me to better prepare future teachers to teach special needs students. My certification and licensures include elementary education, special education, science, and mathematics and an administrator certification. My personal goal is to share with others that there is hope.
                              “I am not an exception to the rule; but rather, I am the rule--All Students Can Learn” (RA Evans).
 

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