Opening Statement:
A Learning Disability (LD) is one disability I have plenty of knowledge and experience about, because… I have learning disabilities (Dyscalculia and Processing). A learning disability is commonly known as a “Hidden or Invisible” disability. Having a learning disability is extremely frustrating because most children and adults do not understand what they cannot visibly see. The various types of LD’s are not always the same symptoms or challenges, as it can vary from person to person. It also can cause difficulties on how teachers can properly teach a student with LD. In adult life, how employers need to manage an employee to effectively have them succeed with their specific job responsibilities, and hopefully career advancement. Out in the everyday community settings can also cause challenges with having a learning disability, as well as socialization, establishing friendships, dating, building meaningful relationships, and marriage.
What Is a Learning Disability?
· Some individuals, despite having an average or above average level of intelligence, have real difficulty acquiring basic academic skills. These skills include those needed for successful reading, writing, listening, speaking and/or math. These difficulties might be the result of a learning disability.
· The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law, defines a learning disability as a condition when a child’s achievement is substantially below what one might expect for that child. Learning disabilities do not include problems that are primarily the result of intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance, or visual, hearing, emotional or intellectual disabilities.
· Many children with LD struggle with reading. The difficulties often begin with individual sounds, or phonemes. Students may have problems with rhyming, and pulling words apart into their individual sounds (segmenting) and putting individual sounds together to form words (blending). This makes it difficult to decode words accurately, which can lead to trouble with fluency and comprehension. As students move through the grades, more and more of the information they need to learn is presented in written (through textbooks) or oral (through lecture) form. This worsens the difficulties they have succeeding in school.
Facts About Learning Disabilities
Within the United States, approximately one in five children experience various learning and attention challenges. ADHD alone affects nearly 6 million children, while close to 2.5 million children suffer from specific learning disorders.
Common Learning Disabilities Are:
Dyslexia (reading problems)
Dysgraphia (writing problems)
Dyscalculia (math problems)
Executive Function Difficulties (problems with organization and processing)
ADHD (trouble regulating attention)
Dyspraxia (routines and balance)
History of Learning Disability Awareness Month
October was originally designated in the United States as LD Month in 1985 through a proclamation by then, President Ronald Reagan. Organizations in the United States use the month of October to inform the public about learning disabilities through events and announcements.
Closing Statement:
I believe my being open regarding full disclosure of my several disabilities has helped me endure my challenges, personal life, and career. I will always continue to get the word out about having a learning disability or any type of disability is not and should never be a life sentence of failure, disappointment, or the lack of trying to get ahead in today’s unfortunate harsh competitive world. There are many aspects of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and arithmetic overlap that build on the same brain capabilities. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people can be diagnosed with having more than one learning disability. It is important that learning about all disabilities should start in the home, continue during school years, and most importantly being openly discussed in the workplace. There can be reasons why your classmate, co-worker, or anyone for that matter can appear in your eyes as “looking normal” and speak with intelligence. However, these same people can severely suffer to either write, read, have good math skills, attention skills, process tasks in the correct order, being clumsy, appearing awkward, lack of social skills, or the ability to learn properly and quickly. This might be harsh and bold for me to say but, I feel that “well educated” people can sometimes, not always, show compassion and patience to those who have disabilities, especially learning and intellectual disabilities. Again, this might be harsh and bold for me to say but…having a college degree, master’s degree, or a doctorate does not truly measure all intelligence. Sometimes you just need to “peel the onion” to see and appreciate different levels of intelligence…not to mention being “street smart” which is also very important. So next time when you see someone who is struggling at school, at work, or out in the community, please show compassion and extend a helping hand if someone needs it. It can be something simple like paying for items in a store to identify currency and receiving the correct change, understanding a new work process/procedure, learning new company software, or assisting with time management to ensure a department project will be completed on time. Lastly, all should remember when you’re up for an annual work review that your manager will also evaluate you on how you work with other employees, collaborate, and offer to help with various projects to ensure company deadlines. So, you need to think twice before snickering or gossiping behind someone’s back who is struggling. It is not funny, and it is against the law!
Source of Information: Various Google Searches, Personal Experiences, and added comments
Until Next Week, Stay Safe and Well!
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