disorder of written expression, disorder of mathematics, and so forth.
Omg. Disorder of mathematics???
It's mindless hysteria to say that a school that says a kid is dyslexic, or similar, is classifying a "normal" kid as "mentally ill."
Julie
I think it's mindless hysteria to diagnose all these kids with any one or more of these "disorders". IMO, most of them are crap, catch-all phrases for normal kids who aren't behaving as desired.
These learning disability labels aren't about kids' behavior.
Kids with learning disabilities process information differently from "normal" kids. Kids with different learning disabilities process information differently from each other. Kids with the same learning disability process information in similar ways.
When a specialist identifies a label for these kids and gives a whole profile of in-depth test results, the special ed teachers and the classroom teacher then have some idea of which ways information has to be presented differently for this kid for the kid to learn.
If you don't have the formal labels, the teachers and other classmates still label the LD kid. They label him lazy and dumb.
When you have a formal label, there are all kinds of specialized curricula that have been designed to help students that have that particular label learn---usually learning at the same rate as their peers, now that their needs are being met.
Sure, they're not caught up immediately in the area where they have an LD. But there are specialized curricula for each LD, and within that, there are specialized strategies for whichever quirks each child has about how he learns.
LD labels aren't about modifying a kid's behavior.
LD labels are about getting each child what he needs so he can learn and not feel lazy, stupid, and worthless.
Children and parents frequently welcome these labels because it means the teacher quits thinking the kid is lazy and stupid, and the kid starts getting kinds of help that, amazingly, start him learning and making progress again.
My Katie has a disorder of written expression. A lot of kids with pediatric bipolar also have a learning disability.
What the label meant was instead of being thought a lazy kid, instead of having to put up with the other children teasing her for being a slowpoke and calling her stupid, they got her a special ed teacher who did a pull-out class for handwriting.
In the pull-out class, they used a specialized curriculum that taught in ways that worked for Katie. Her handwriting went from completely illegible, even to her, to legible, with identifiable capitals and small letters, used appropriately, that uses the lines on the paper appropriately.
Her math improved tremendously because she started being able to keep track of what numbers were in what columns, so she could keep track of what step she was doing and get the right answers.
She got special pencil grips that helped her control her pencil better.
The teacher got more patient about her homework. She still had to do it, but she got more time to get it turned in.
The teacher got on top of other kids teasing her and nipped it in the bud whenever it started to come up. The teacher handling it properly made it almost completely stop---and what didn't stop, Katie can cope with, now that it's not overwhelming. There's also less to trigger it, now that she's catching up.
The teacher quit blaming her spelling on lack of study or lack of effort and started writing tips on her papers to help her learn the spelling words. Consequently, her spelling started improving where before it had seemed hopeless.
Getting the label was a godsend for Katie, because once the teachers knew what was wrong, they quit jumping to conclusions about her motivation and the specific label told them how to help her, specifically, learn.
LD kids process information in different ways, because some pathways other kids use to learn don't work correctly.
LD kids can still learn, teachers just have to use different learning pathways and different techniques to get the information into their little heads.
LD kids usually desperately want to learn and are incredibly frustrated that they can't "get it" like the other kids.
The specific LD label lets special ed and classroom teachers know what learning pathways don't work correctly for that kid, and what package of techniques to use to get around the block for that individual kid.
Kids with a particular label aren't cookie cutouts, of course. But a particular label narrows down the pack of specialized techniques and strategies to try with that kid and helps the teachers find a way to reach that kid faster.
Katie, we parents, her teachers, and her school are grateful for that label because she's learning again and it's like a light turned on in a dark room.
You don't see websites with huge numbers of LD labeled kids screaming about how they were traumatized for life by getting specialized curricula and extra help with the areas that were kicking their butts in school.
These kids aren't coming out of being labeled with PTSD and permanent scars, they're coming out of school with an education.
Given that, maybe you should reserve your uninformed opinion and learn something before expounding your anti-wisdom on the subject.
It's people like you who, by denying the reality of these kids' learning differences, perpetuate the myth that the kids are just lazy and stupid and either won't or can't learn.
Julie
