Over 3.1 million people in Canada have a learning disability. Eventually 35 percent of our kids who do no receive help with their disability will drop out of high school; 2 percent will complete a year college program. What does the government do to help these kids with their learning problems? Nothing; and this need to change.
Picture yourself sitting in a classroom. The teacher calls on you to read the first paragraph of chapter one. You look at the text and suddenly start seeing the words floating around and you’re stuttering on each word not knowing what you are reading, while on looking peers laugh and giggle at your every mistake. You feel embarrassed, ashamed and angry that you cannot read like everyone else in your class. You are someone with dyslexia. About 10 percent of BC students in special education have a learning disability (that’s 17,603 kids), which include disabilities like Dysnomia , ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder), Auditory processing disorder, and the most common, Dyslexia. What most of us do not know is that the government does not fund the schools that these kids are in, so they are stuck coping and trying to figure out how to learn with their learning disability without the help of others.
Early identification and early intervention – helping these kids before their problems become more complicated and costly to treat - is essential. Schools, with children or even teens that have learning problems need resources to help them achieve these basic skills most students have, but the government does not fund for these resources and that makes it even more difficult for them and the teachers who try and help. The BC Ministry of Education data for Special Education students’ province wide, shows that the percentage of students classified as ‘Learning Disabled’ has increased over the last five years both provincially and in the Vancouver School District and the highest among the different special needs classification such as Autism with 4,626. This clearly states that many kids need help.
The Learning Disabilities Association in Vancouver helps these kids by providing them with strategies and methods for their specific learning disorder. In reality most families cannot afford to sent kids to programs, so they depend solely on the schools, but that leads to nowhere for these kids. BC Human Rights Tribunal Chair, Heather McNaughton, December 21, 2005, states in her ruling against the BC Minister of Education: “ …education is a fundamental importance to our society….
disabilities. Children with learning disabilities learn at a slower pace and do need to be
Dyslexia has been a commonly known problem in the Unites States. Even though, dyslexia is a mental problem that causes disabilities in reading, most people do not know the truth about it. There have been movies where a person with dyslexia sees letters moving around, yet people with dyslexia do not have disabilities like moving letters around. The truth is that there are plenty of misconceptions. The myths going around of what dyslexia supposedly is, is not the truth. These myths are just misconceptions and the truths about dyslexia are more complex than what it seems like. Dyslexics have different learning processes and different ways of handling the problems at hand.
Tom Smith, Edward Polloway, James Patton, and Carol Dowdy state, a 2008 report shows that 8.96% of the school-age population… have disabilities and of that number, 3.89% or almost half, were identified as learning disabled (2012, p. 160). Learning disabilities has always been a tough diagnosis due to accounting for a lot of factors like behavior, no proper teaching, culture and language, health issues, and other disability affecting learning. Not only that but there are different subject areas of learning disability in math, reading, and writing.
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
A. Employment discrimination is prohibited against "qualified individuals with disabilities." This includes applicants for employment and employees. An individual is considered to have a "disability" if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Persons discriminated against because they have a known association or relationship with an individual with a disability also are protected.
Dyslexia is the most prominent learning disability here in the United State but, it is also the most misunderstood. For centuries, those with dyslexia have been labeled as stupid and incompetent, when in fact they extremely intelligent, excelling in areas such as art, science and music. Due to our lack of knowledge and understanding, we as a nation are ignorant, deeming truth to the stereotypes that have long been associated with this so called “disease.” In order to reverse the damage that has already been done, we must differentiate fact from fiction. In order to fully understand dyslexia, individuals need to be provided with resources that address every aspect of the disability, including what it is, the possible causes, signs, symptoms and treatments available. Awareness is key to change.
Students with learning disabilities have to search for a school that has the usual opportunities and amenities that fit their personality while also providing the services required by their learning disability and style. The student also needs to find a school where the people providing these services will be dedicated to helping them and fighting for the student’s rights under the American Disabilities Act.
Learning about learning disabilities has been an eye opening experience. I have worked with children who had home life issues that they struggled with at school. But to see and realize that these children cannot change how their brain operates is difficult to watch. My case study is a typical young boy who really doesn’t want to be in school. He would rather be with his dad hunting with guns in the woods. I know now that he probably dislikes school because he struggles with completing the tasks and assignments given to him. Hopefully, this study will provide me with more insight into ways that I could help him and others like him once I become a certified teacher.
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
The most common learning disability in children does not affect only one aspect of their lives, but alters nearly every measure. Dyslexia inhibits one 's ability to read, write, and spell. About 5 to 20 percent of children attending school have some sort of a disability involved with reading. When thinking of a condition that contains no cure, such as dyslexia, you may imagine a lifetime of complications and difficulties; although, dyslexia does not damage a person’s ability to learn, it merely forces them to grasp ideas and think in their own original way. Multiple obstacles can potentially arise, but successfulness and intelligence tends to prevail, and has in multiple situations. Numerous well known people have personally suffered through
To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face. Students with disabilities are far too frequently isolated and separated in the education system (Johnson). They are often provided a diluted, inferior education and denied meaningful opportunities to learn. There are many education rights for children with disabilities to p...
“in order for your child to qualify for the services the student must be found to have one of the 13 categories of special education and it must adversely affect their educational performance” (Hancock, 2016). So to get a better understanding of the special education process we have to view it from both sides of the situation, that is, a parent whose child was diagnosed with a disability, and a professional who works with special education for a living. Knowing both sides and their views we can get a better grasp of the whole system and the flaws and strengths that come with the whole process and
Reading is an essential skill that needs to be addressed when dealing with students with disabilities. Reading is a skill that will be used for a student’s entire life. Therefore, it needs to be an important skill that is learned and used proficiently in order for a student to succeed in the real world. There are many techniques that educators can use to help improve a student’s reading comprehension. One of these skills that needs to be directly and explicitly taught is learning how to read fluently for comprehension. “To comprehend texts, the reader must be a fluent decoder and not a laborious, word-by-word reader” (Kameenui, 252). Comprehension can be difficult for students with learning disabilities because they tend to be the students that are reading below grade level. One strategy is to incorporate the student’s background knowledge into a lesson. This may require a bit of work, but it will help the students relate with the information being pres...
In society today, there are many children and parents who face the diagnosis of having a developmental disability that would qualify them for special education and needs. This time can come with many questions for the parents when they realize the specialized care and education their child will need. Most often, questions arise about their schooling and how they will be included with other children, as well as what services are available to their child. How their disability impacts their life is a very valid concern because their education will be impacted. When a disability is discovered, it effects trickle down from the child to the parents, to the teachers and finally the medical and educational specialists.