Understanding Learning Disabilities: How Difficult Can This Be?
I invite discussion of the video and the issues around learning disabilities.
4 Responses to “Understanding Learning Disabilities: How Difficult Can This Be?”
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November 14th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
I was really amazed by the video. The “teacher” made several very good points about things that parents/teachers say and do that really hurt kids. I liked how he illustrated what was done wrong and then tried to give a way to correct it. I had never thought about how a person with a learning disability hears things. The video really helped me realize what its like to have a learning disability and how they struggle in school.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:55 am
This video was very revealing. I have had more interactions with people with learning disabilities than any other disability we have discussed so far. I was intrigued by how people with LD have to struggle with learning and just everyday activities. It emotionally affected me about how much psycological damage they encounter daily due to their disability. I think it is wonderful that teachers and other students are being trained to understand LD kids and how to interact with them. I think it is very important to help LD kids with learning because they are very intelligent but just need more assitance. I was really shocked at how they were unaware of doing wrong actions. I thought the picture was an amazing way to show how LD kids see things differently and then are punished by thinking their way. It amazes me that people that are “normal” focus so much on what people with disabilities, like ones with LD, can not do rather than what they can. Alot of kids with dyslexia are amazing at math and 3D imaging even though they struggle with reading, but they are suffering due to this one set back. I would like to see how technology could help these students keep up in a regular integrated school environment. I think if these students were able to keep pace with the class they could be very successful and possibly bring a new light to each discussion. It seems time is a major issue for students with LD, so if teachers could prepare with these students in mind by asking them to answer the question first as in the video this may help. Also, when students mix up the letters d,p,b,q I would find this very frustrating and would like to see a program that could asses which letters they mix up and acomidate for this confusion. This way students would not spend all their energy on reading and more time on comprehension. I think there are many great things out there for people with LD and I think this video only showed how much we need to help these students rather than leaving them behind.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Wow! To think that is what it is like for a learning-disabled student every day! Amazing…The “Teacher” did a great job detailing and demonstrating the problems learning disabled children had. I was ignorant to all of the problems and frustration, to be completely honest, I always though kids could just focus more. But, I am many other people are wrong there. I never new the complexities and difficulties a simple classroom setting could create. This video opened my eyes to understanding how and why learning disabled children need to be assisted, not put off in “time out” somewhere.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
In the movie, they said that about 6-10% of children in the US have learning disabilities. This is such a huge number!!! I don’t know any family member or friend with a learning disability, which I found very strange. Maybe, people just don’t bring it out as such a big problem. But I wonder if people with learning disabilities really suffer a lot without the help. Maybe it would be better off to have some type of testing in schools to see who really has LD.
I’ve also been wondering what causes LD. Here is what I found online:
* Genetic influences. Experts have noticed that learning disabilities tend to run in families and they think that heredity may play a role. However, researchers are still debating whether learning disabilities are, in fact, genetic, or if they show up in families because kids learn and model what their parents do.
* Brain development. Some experts think that learning disabilities can be traced to brain development, both before and after birth. For this reason, problems such as low birth weight, lack of oxygen, or premature birth may have something to do with learning disabilities. Young children who receive head injuries may also be at risk of developing learning disabilities.
* Environmental impacts. Infants and young children are susceptible to environmental toxins (poisons). For example, you may have heard how lead (which may be found in some old homes in the form of lead paint or lead water pipes) is sometimes thought to contribute to learning disabilities. Poor nutrition early in life may also lead to learning disabilities later in life.