The State of Learning Disabilities Report

Check out this report from NCLD on LDs! Some good news (less students being diagnosed with LD due to more emphasis on early intervention) and bad news (70% of people falsely link LD with mental retardation). This is a must read for anyone who loves someone with LD. Here’s link: http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/what-is-ld/state-of-learning-disabilities?utm_source=ReadingRockets.org&utm_medium=Twitter

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Is Special Education Right for my Child?

Deciding whether or not to place your child in special education is a tough decisions for some parents. As a parent of a special education child, I know the emotions that parents have when their child is struggling. It is hard to admit that your child has a disability and is different from the other children. The fear and anxiety is huge. As a teacher, I continue to see the agony of students that are not getting the help they need because their parents will not give permission for their child to be tested or to be placed in a special education program. I have heard many parents say that their child doesn’t need special education, they just need a little extra-help to get it. These parents refuse testing or services and ask the general education teacher to provide the extra-help.  Unfortunately, these children with disabilities most likely will not get the help they deserve.  It is not that the general education teacher does not want to help your child, it’s that (most of the time) they can’t give them what they need. General education teachers do not have the time, expertise, and (sometimes) the authority to give a learning disabled student the help they will need to progress in school.

Many school districts across the country have faced huge cuts to their budgets due to the downturn in the economy. One of the more common ways to make up for the lost revenue is too make class sizes bigger. When a school system does this they need less teachers and/or fewer facilities, and so they save money. Class sizes now, in may schools, over 25 students per class. This is a lot of students for one teacher to get to in a day. With numbers that high, they will not have the extra time that is needed to help a learning disabled student that is not getting special education services. Services for students with learning disabilities cannot be cut by school districts. They are obligated by federal law to keep up these programs. Special education teachers usually see students in smaller groups (6 to 10) than in a general education classroom. A special education teacher that sees students right in the classroom may be servicing less than 25% of the class. These students are getting much more face time with a teacher than the other students in the class. General education teachers just do not have the time to give the intensive interventions that students with disabilities need.

General education teachers and special education teachers are not one in the same.  They do not receive the same training and do not have the same state certifications.  Special education teachers are trained in assessing and diagnosing learning disabilities.  They have been trained in special ways to educate students with disabilities.  There are many special programs and methods that special education teachers use, that general education teachers have no access to or training in. Some of the methods that have been researched and proven to work with students with disabilities need a small group setting, special materials, or equipment.  General education teachers cannot provide the specialized instruction methods that special education teachers can.

Some of the accommodations that special education students receive cannot be provided to students that are in general education because of the laws or rules of the institution, school or district.  For example, some special education students received untimed tests (even for the SATs).  Another example is that some special education students receive a waiver for required classes (such as foreign languages) because their disability makes it almost impossible for them to pass such a course. These accommodations will not be given to students that do not have a documented disability.  A child with an undocumented disability will not  benefit from accommodations that are there for their benefit and a general education teacher cannot authorize the use of such accommodations.

If the school has asked to test your child to see if they qualify for special education, most likely it is because they need more help than the classroom teacher can provide. Most likely, your child is struggling and feeling the pain of low self-esteem and embarrassment of failure. It’s heart breaking for you, the parent, and them.  Since your child only has one chance at getting the proper education for them, the decision that you make is extremely important and will have a lasting impact. Resist the urge to let fear and anxiety cloud your decision.

My Child is Struggling in School….Do They have a Learning Disability?

Almost every child will struggle in school at some point.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  It is sometimes hard to know if your child’s struggling is within the “normal” range or if they have a learning disability (LD) and need special education.  In this post, I will attempt to clarify the difference between a child who is struggling, but does not have a learning disability, and a child who is struggling because they have a learning disability.  (Please note that all children are entitled to be evaluated to decide if they have a special educational need.  If you feel that your child may have special needs, you should trust your parent’s intuition and ask for an evaluation regardless of what any one person tells you.)

The Child Who Struggles (but does not have a LD) May:  

• Progress at a slow, but steady pace.
• Have a subject area that is weaker than others (example:  reads great/struggles with math).
• Struggle with all subjects due to an organization problem or slight maturity gap.
• Be working through a temporary social issue (example: argument with friends) or emotional difficulty (example: loss of a pet).
• Get C’s on their report card. (I say C’s because it has been my experience that this is the grade that parent’s hate the most.  C’s are average and some of us just hate average.)
• Avoid homework, resist help, and deny there is a problem.
• Wish they got better grades or less homework or had more friends.
• May get frustrated or disappointed and give up.
• Respond well to some extra help, tutoring, or talking to a guidance counselor or social worker.

When given an academic achievement test, this child may fall in the low-average range in some or all academic areas.  It is my experience that students that score low-average usually do not qualify for special education.  However, there should be a way for this child to receive some extra help or tutoring at school.  Many schools have Title I (a free, federally funded program) or other academic help for students that need it.  You may have to ask for it, it’s sometimes not offered at will.  You and your child need to be willing to accept the extra help (even if it is before or after school).

The Child Who Struggles because they have an LD May:

• Do all the things listed above (this is why it is so hard to guess if a child has a special need and evaluations are necessary). But also look for these signs:
• Make no or little progress in all or certain academic areas.
• Have organizational issues that stop progress from happening.
• Have a large gap in maturity when compared to their peers.
• Have persistent social and/or emotional difficulties.
• Need more than just some extra help, tutoring, or a talk with a counselor.

When given an academic achievement test, this child may fall in the low range (sometimes called below average) in some or all academic areas. It is my experience that students that score low usually do qualify for special education.  I think a thorough evaluation will further test areas that a student scored low on to get a “second opinion.”  For example, if your child scores low in reading on an academic achievement test, another type of reading test may be done to confirm the first result.  Further testing may also provide the special education team with more information about the student.

Learning Disabilities and Social/Emotional Difficulties

Student’s with specific learning disabilities (such as dyslexia) often struggle with social and/or emotional difficulties, but these difficulties do not cause learning disabilities. Learning disabilities (LDs) are believed to be largely genetic based, and are not caused by anxiety, depression, or poor parenting.  Social and/or emotional difficulties could be a result of the discouragement that children with LDs experience.  These children are intelligent. Their teachers and parents can sense this, but they wonder why they are not able to meet expectations.  Many of us think that if these children would just try a little harder they would do better.  What we don’t know is that the learning disabled child is probably trying harder than any other child to do well, but they are consistently not able to meet their teachers’ and parents’ expectations.  This is frustrating and discouraging for both the child and the adults, and many children with LDs end up feeling stupid.  Learning disabled children do not get to experience the fruits of their labor the way other children do.  This is why evaluations and diagnosis is so important.

As a parent, I loved being able to explain to my child that you are not stupid, in fact you are very bright, however your brain works differently than other people’s.  I saw a weight lifted off my son’s shoulders when I was able to explain to him why he was having so much trouble learning to read and write.  Many of his anxieties over school and school-work have lessened since his diagnosis with dyslexia, but as a teacher I know that children with LDs are vulnerable to social and/or emotional problems relating to their disability.    This list may seem daunting, but I believe that knowledge is power and that by acknowledging these vulnerabilities I can help my child try to avoid them.

Here is a list of problems associated with LDs in children:

• Anger:  Children with LDs may be angry about the frustration that they feel.  They may have outbursts at school and during homework.
  
• Anxiety:  Children with LDs may be fearful of school, school work, or other social situations because they fear they will experience failure.
• Depression:  Children with LDs may experience depression related to sadness they may feel about their inability to achieve at the same pace as others can.  They may have a low self-esteem if they turn their anger about their LD in at themselves.
• Self Image:  Children with LDs may feel inferior to others, powerless and incompetent because of the failures they have experienced.
• Social Skill Difficulties:  Children with LDs may be immature compared to their peers and they may seem awkward in a social situation.  They may also have trouble reading social cues (or body language) or  have trouble with oral language (stammering, pauses while speaking, etc.)

While there are many negatives associated with having a learning disability, I believe that children with LDs can experience some extreme positives when they are able to overcome their challenges and experience success despite their LDs.  My next post will be ideas of how you can help your child avoid these problems and come out on top!