How is a learning disability not an excuse for low achievement?

Question

Anybody can get a learning disability. You don't have to have a physical disability to get one.

Answer 1

Because a learning disability is when you have a significant discrepancy between your ABILITY and ACHIEVEMENT.  For example, if my ability in math is average (determined by IQ test), but I am not achieving at that level, I may be identified with a learning disability in math.

With the correct individualized instruction, children with a LD can have high achievement.  Disabilities should NEVER be an excuse for anything.

Answer 2

Because people that don't know or have one, don't understand.  I have a son who was born with a disability

Answer 3

My dear, I am a junior high social studies teacher. I'm going to tell you one of my biggest secrets. I have ADHD and several specific learning disabilities, which affect my spelling ability, general writing ability, reading ability, organisational ability, fine motor skills, mathematic ability and auditory processing. What does this mean for me? It means that I do things very differently from the other teachers and lots of times have to work a lot harder to provide good and entertaining lessons for my students. For example, I never make my students read from the textbook, because I find it difficult to understand. Instead I put up notes that I have taken and typed from our textbook on the projecter and cover the lessons orally. I also give my student copies of these typed notes and let them highlight the very important details as we go along. To teach new concepts, I often create a game out of them. I try to incorporate all learning styles in my teaching. I'll find songs that go with our topics (for example, we were studying the consumers’ role in the economy, and I played my student's Tracey Chapman’s Mountain O' Things) we watch many movies (both documentaries and what my students call 'real' movies) we read books together and have lots of 'hands on' work. I give open projects and let my student present them however their most comfortable. That's how I teach.

I also do a lot of preparation for teaching. I type and spell-check/grammar check all writing things I give to my students. I write very detailed lesson plans and prepare all necessary materials in advance. I also do a lot of out of class work. It takes me about an hour to correct a single test (so, we do about half of them orally) and several hours to correct essays, written work. So why do I do all of this? So that my students can have a better school experience than I did.

When I was in school, I was thrown into special education in very early grades and was told that I would never amount to anything. When I was young learning disabilities were an excuse for not achieving. We were told we could not learn and no one ever tried to each us. When I started junior high, I was mainstreamed. I had one teacher who told me that I could do anything that I put my mind to. She told me that learning disabled doesn't mean "can't learn" but means "learns differently, and has to try harder". And you no what, she's right! She always expected just as much from me as she did everyone else. And from that time on I worked very hard. I would write 8 to 10 copies of everything I handed in. I would create jingles and draw pictures to help me understand. I would spend hours a night working on the basic stuff that it took my friends 20 minutes to do, and I graduates with a bilingual honours diploma. I went to university, and I graduated. I have never once had a complaint on how I teach, or that my students aren't learning.

What I am saying is that a learning disability or several is not an excuse for under achievement. You can do it if you set your mind to it. You just need to find the best way to get your brilliant ides from your head and into your school work. Did you know most people with LD/ADHD have average or above average intelligence? Be thankful that you’re not allowed to under achieve because of your LD. My dear, you can achieve! You will make it through and be able to accomplish all of your dreams. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. You are intelligent!

If you ever need help with anything, just email me

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Answer 4

Well I guess sometimes you get the feeling that people pretend to have a disability, or a bigger one than they actually have, in order to get a free ride or to get excused from trying. Nobody likes to see that.

However, it seems unkind to judge people with disabilities using the same criteria as used for those without them.  It's like someone with a job telling someone without a job to 'get a job'.  Sometimes it just ain't that easy!

Always do the best you are capable of, so that you don't have to make excuses.  And don't judge others too harshly - you don't know their true experiences.

Two rules for life!

Answer 5

A learning disability affects the area's it most relates to. If a person has a disability they may require special needs services to be the best person they can be.

Answer 6

You don't "get a learning disability" like it is a disease.  There are many types of learning disabilities.  I know a person who as a child suffered from dyslexia for instance, and this person went on to become an Olympic contender in the past two Olympics.  That person is no low achiever.