The Reality Of Learning Disabilities

        Since the dawn of time, humans have had trouble understanding things, be it how to read the cave writing, or figuring out how to give Og the right change in clams. Learning disabilities have been around as long as humans have, and only recently have we begun to understand what they are and just how much impact the have on our lives.

        The term Learning Disability means "to have difficulty in performing certain tasks, or processing information." What was totally unknown in the 70's, now have names and descriptions, and even documented ways of fixing the problems.

        If you have trouble putting words into written sentences, or you have trouble understanding what you just read, you probably have what they call "Dysgraphia". Dysgraphia is the "label" which is given to the problems which are experienced with the written word. Dysgraphia has many signs. Some of these are:

        • Generally illegible writing (despite appropriate time and attention given the task)

        • Inconsistencies : mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lower case, or irregular sizes, shapes, or slant of letters

        • Unfinished words or letters, omitted words

        • Inconsistent position on page with respect to lines and margins

        • Inconsistent spaces between words and letters

        • Cramped or unusual grip, especially holding the writing instrument very close to the paper, or holding thumb over two fingers and writing from the wrist

        • Strange wrist, body, or paper position

        • Talking to self while writing, or carefully watching the hand that is writing

        • Slow or labored copying or writing - even if it is neat and legible

        • Content which does not reflect the student's other language skills

        Students with Dysgraphia may also have difficulty writing the answers to questions, even though they can verbally answer the question with ease. Although the child knows the answers to questions on tests, he routinely gives incomplete or confusing answers, oftentimes repeating the question or parts of it in his answer, but when he is asked to verbally answer the question, he speaks volumes regarding the topic and their true ability shines through.

        Another learning disability which many people have and may not even know it is called "Dyscalculia". Dyscalculia is in laymans terms, an inability or difficulty in performing mathematical operations or remembering math facts. In other words, for those of us who are in our 30's and 40's and still count on our fingers, have no fear.. you aren't alone. And it isn't because you are dumb. Millions of people have some form of this disability. I for one didn't know this disability even existed until about 6 months ago when i was doing some research on the net because my daughter is having incredible trouble doing the very same things I did when I was in school.
        Dyscalculia is charachterized by the following:

        • Inability to remember multiplication, addition, subtraction or division facts.

        • Small, transposed, or illegible numbers

        • Difficulty remembering or completing all the steps required in an operation

        • Confusion of the mathematical symbols (ie: doing multiplication when the + sign is indicated, performing division when the - sign is present and so on)

        • Losing place on a worksheet

        • Difficulty performing horizontal problems (ie: 2x4=?)

        Students with Dyscalculia can exhibit only some of the above problems, or all of them. And dequate testing for this disability has not yet been created. So while a student may score very high on such tests as the Woodcock Johnson or WISC-III, that does not mean that they do not have problems.
        For instance, while a child with Dyscalculia can reason their way through multiple choice answers, (like many of the standardized testing that many schools perform on a yearly basis) they may consistantly fail drill tests where they must show the answer.
        Students who have dyscalculia may also exhibit problems with like problems which have been reversed. For example: Anika knows that 2 x 4 = 8, but she does not know that 4 x 2 also equals 8. Subsequently, she does not know that 8 divided by 2 equals 4.
        The most unfortunate result of this disability, is that it goes undetected or passed of as "Well, she just isn't good at math" and the child (or adult) ends up believing that they just can't do it, or that they are stupid. There are remediations for this disorder, which have proven to work, but many schools and professionals have yet to grasp that this is a legitimate disability, and therefore the child ends up suffering.

        Dyslexia is another common learning disability which can be extremely frustrating. It can be linked to many other learning disabilities, such as the two listed above. Dyslexia is a disability in which words, numbers and sentences are seen backwards. For example: The dog jumped over the fox. Would be read as .xof eht revo depmuj god ehT
        Or like this: .fox the over jumped dog The
        Hard to read isn't it? Well just imagine trying to do this math problem: 69 + 12 when it looks like this: 21 + 96. Not the same is it?
        While having dyslexia can be a royal pain to live with, millions of people are living with it, and are coming up with ways to compensate for thier problem. Dyslexia is one of the most commonly diagnosed problems because its signs are easily identified.
        Some signs of Dyslexia are:

        • Transposed (backwards) numbers or letters (s, d, b, e, p, q, g, 3, 6, 7, 2, and 9 are the most common)

        • Illegible or sloppy handwriting

        • Very small writing

        • Words or numbers are spoken out of order (ie: the number 69 is read 96, or The brown dog is read as The dog brown)

        Many times dyslexia can be diagnosed as early as first or second grade. And since it can be diagnosed early, children can adapt much easier.

        While this does not cover all the learning disabilities out there, I hope that it has given some insight to a few of them. If you have any questions about learning disabilities or would like to find out more about them, there are some wonderful websites out there which can offer you answers to just about every question you may have, from discovering a learning disability, to how to help your child get the help they need. Please check out the links below for more information on this subject, or feel free to e-mail me at rebel9966@mindspring.com and I will be more than happy to help guide you in the right direction. While I am in no way a professional, I have 3 children who have all sorts of different learning disabilities, and I can point you in the right direction to find the answers you need.

        Learning Disability Links

        LD OnlineThe absolute best site for Learning disabilities on the net.
        Dyslexia Research Institute
        http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/standweb1/default.htm STAND Great source for Advocacy and more information regarding Learning Disabilities
        Dyslexia-ADD Organization
        A users guide to the IDEA Law
        Special Education
        The Puzzle of Learning Disabilities

        Learning Disability Support Groups

        To join one of these groups, click on the link, and in the text portion of the e-mail place the word "subscribe".
        ldpride-subscribe@egroups.comLD Pride. An online support group for people who have learning disabilities or for those who know someone who does.

        Mom Advocates Home Page

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