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….
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.
Robert Buck once said, “If children can’t learn the way we teach, then we have to teach the way they learn.” The Wilson Language Program has become disclosed to amplify this mentality. Dyslexia is a common disease among ten to fifteen percent of the United States, where a human being has trouble in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols. Programs are reaching out to try to terminate as much distress of dyslexia as possible. Up and coming programs, The Wilson Language Program for example, are making their best efforts to start working with children from a young age with the slight signs of this common problem. Catching dyslexia earlier in life brings more assurance that the child’s future will have little to no setbacks or disadvantages for success. In order to enhance the regressive literacy of dyslexic individuals, the Wilson Language Program is progressively being implemented into regular schooling to ensure that reading standards are met, through structure, hours of research, copious practice, and strong evidence.
disabilities. Children with learning disabilities learn at a slower pace and do need to be
Registering for classes is just the beginning for learning disabled students. Kyle Turin, a freshman with Dyslexia, at Northeastern University is dismayed at the lack of attention he feels he is getting. Turin was diagnosed at a young age. He was never officially tested for a learning disability, but he was put into a specialized reading class until he went to high school. Kyle learned how to compensate for his difficulties but felt he slipped through the cracks in the system.
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.
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.
Professor Patricia Dunn believes children with Learning Disabilities (LD) are often silenced about their experiences in school and interactions with educators. Students with LD tend to drop out of high school early or never go to college due to a lack of service support from families and teachers. Dunn conducted interviews with three college students with LD about their experiences in the school environment and “how having a learning disability affects their lives” (Dunn, 99). One of the interviewees was Nick, who is a criminal justice major and had worked with Dunn in the Writing Center. Nick discussed with Dunn about his experiences throughout high school and into college and how it had shaped him today.
Graziano’s article over the handling of his son’s disability in the classroom also involves issues that relate to teachers detecting signs of mental illness in the classrooms, how teachers identify a behavioral troubled child, and training school counselors on the Section 504 policy that are all happening in the world today. Realizing these issues can help parents with giving their child the best out of their education and can also help teachers understand the importance of their relationship with students. Everyone should have the opportunity for a brighter future and having a learning disability should not be the end of the road for any student.
This is a subject and disorder near and dear to my heart. My personal experience with dyslexia, with myself and my daughter, has given me great insight into what dyslexia is, what the signs are, and how soon you can detect the potential for problems. It is not always the case that dyslexia is the sole source of reading and reading comprehension difficulties, there are other disorders that can exist at the same time, and this is important to know in order to help students improve their reading abilities. But, dyslexia will not only affect reading abilities and reading comprehension. It can affect writing, spelling, math, memory, listing comprehension, self-esteem, social skills, the ability to understand sarcasm, understanding spatial concepts,
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.
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...
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.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.
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...