Learning Disabilities

"Okay," I said to my student, "you're working really hard on that 'K.' Let's have a few more goes to see if we can get it down pat."

I watched in dismay as time after time, the 'K' came out of the pencil lopsided, like an 'R' with all the lines  going in the wrong direction. No matter how much I coached the student through the process, it was always the same. I could talk him through every detail of pencil movement, or none at all. It didn't seem to make a difference. At one point, I even considered the idea that my student might have hearing issues, but I remembered that he responded promptly to his own name. 

"Gee," I thought to myself as I wrote up my experience in my teaching journal, "he just didn't get me."

After my class on learning disabilities, this student's issue finally made sense. I suspect that the student had a learning disability which prevented him from understanding or retaining my instructions. I spent a lot of time with him, often reviewing information we had covered before (especially that infamous 'K'), which seemed to have vanish from his memory. 

Moreover, the student was very quiet and often struggled to form complex sentences, another sign. Many students with learning disabilities simply have trouble understanding language.

My time with this student happened when I was in eleventh grade, volunteering in a kindergarten classroom. I realized then that the student's difficulty with learning was not anyone's fault-not mine, for not teaching well enough; not his for not trying hard enough. We were both trying our best. 

I did a little research on learning disabilities, starting with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqDq0fimXk 

This six-minute video is narrated by a boy with a learning disability. He is also dealing with ADD (his term) and, I suspect, depression. Although Andrew (the narrator of the video) is in high school, I think he expresses valid points which are also applicable to elementary school.

I would like to draw out a few important things that were mentioned in the video:

1. Things come too fast. Andrew says he needs more time to do things. A strategy for dealing with a student with a learning disability should be giving them more time to complete a task. Time pressures will just increase stress.

2. Andrew has a hard time understanding how other people can organize themselves quickly and effectively. Andrew has a lot of trouble getting himself organized at the end of class; he cannot fathom why his things are always so messy.

3. Andrew has worked hard to get into a leadership position which is a source of confidence and pride.

This is important because a student with a learning disability often struggles especially with low self-esteem and loneliness which can be symptomatic of the learning disability. Having a leadership position helps him to connect with others and to gain respect from peers who he might normally consider superior to him, for instance because of their ability to be organized. (see number 2)

4. Andrew has found someone else who also has a learning disability. He has someone with whom he can commiserate, who really understands what he is going through. Andrew complains of feeling lonely, so making a new friend could be really helpful.

Points 3 and 4 demonstrate an important point not just in learning disabilities, but in special education: educators need to target two main issues with the student. First of all, teachers need to modify their instruction, assessment, and classroom environment for the student, making sure that the student can do as well as possible in school (IEPs in particular can be helpful). Second of all, teachers need to be vigilant for signs that a learning disability is taking an emotional toll on the student. Feelings of isolation, frustration, and inferiority to other students can be cripplingly depressing. Giving students opportunities to shine can be a great validation technique. Furthermore, facilitating a friendship with another student can be extremely helpful for feelings of acceptance. 

We focus a lot on learning about how to change our methods of teaching (like IEPs) to help students with special needs to learn best. We need to remember to focus on the student as a person, too, with feelings and a personality who may be struggling to cope with  special needs. What that student needs more than any learning is to feel safe and accepted.