Blog 9

Tonight class was extremely interesting.  We spent the majority of the class working in groups discussing chapters from "Misunderstood Minds.  This was a video about Learning Disabilities.  Looking at these chapters and discussing what we have found in our groups made me realize just how broad the term "Learning Disabled" really is.
I made many connections to my classrooms over the years with these children and their parents.

We first looked at Nathan: He was a little boy who was extremely bright, had a lot of life experiences and very strong communication skills.  He reminded me of a little boy in my class.  His parents thought he was an excellent reader because he enjoyed books.  His first grade teacher said he was showing signs of low ability in letter recognition and phonemic awareness.  He couldn't hear sounds which meant that he could not really read but instead was memorizing the pages.  This was one of his strengths.  He was asked to repeat grade one.  His parents got him a tutor to prepare over the summer for grade two.  He seemed to be prepared before school and memorized many site word lists but could not "contain" the new information.  This made me quite upset because it made me think of the children who were kept behind because they were not meeting the grade level requirements like Nathan.  Nathan could of been kept behind every second year and would still not meet the "grade level requirements!"
Nathan went to visit Dr. Mel Levine.  He discussed how just testing for these things is not enough!  We have to do something with the results.

Next we looked at Lauren: She was diagnosed with ADHD but considered a "dawdler" by her parents.  Medication was recommended by her doctor but the parents refused. Instead they decided to give her a fresh start and move her to another school with new friends.  (I have discussed medication with many parents over the years and struggle with my acceptance of it as well.) This seemed to work for a while which was actually a substimulus but soon things went back to the way they were before.  Lauren started to become unfocused and unorganized once again.  She was experiencing academic difficulties and social problems.  Finally, the parents decided to try Lauren on medication.  The doctor described it as a tool to help focus, like turning on a light bulb.  A follow up report discussed how great Lauren is getting along on her medication.  Her grades have improved, her social skills are developing and she is more confident.  Medication is not meant to be the answer but rather a means to getting there.  Lauren still has to do the work but this helps her focus her attention on her goal.  After watching the video I have more acceptance of medication and can see that it does have a place but feel that sometimes it is over prescribed.

Finally we looked at Sarah- Sarah was 11 years old.  Growing up she was considered a natural leader, was highly motivated and had excellent verbal skills.  Things began to change by fourth grade.  She began to withdraw from school and felt tongue tied.  She was tested and was found to be low in basic language skills.  She had good single word labels but association with labels was harder for her.  Storage and retreval was hard for her which caused her mental connections to be interrupted. Sarah's doctor seemed to think that "therapy" would work for her along with using flashcards with new vocabulary rich in text.  A follow up report showed that Sarah was benefiting from her therapy and has gained more confidence in her abilities to speak out more in class and to take risks.  I am glad to see that help was available for Sarah and she wasn't just swept under the rug and forgotten about.