Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j28NB8C28827; Tue, 8 Mar 2005 18:11:08 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 18:11:08 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <20050308230920.AC85B57034F@frontend2.messagingengine.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "VB" <veb8899@fastmail.fm> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-LD:4605] Re: Dyslexia Research X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook, Build 11.0.5510 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 7829 Lines: 202 Hi June, Yesterday, I had written a response on this issue but decide not to send it for various reasons. I am glad I didn't because your post gets my point across a lot better. As a person who has NLD, Dyslexia, ADHD, and god knows what else, I can personally attest to the fact that doing away with the diagnosis of a learning disability will not make my difficulties go away. Also, the labels will not disappear. Unfortunately, a person with LD/ADHD will get some that are a lot worse than the LD/ADHD one such as emotionally disturbed. Since I am going to get a label no matter what, I want the right one. Vivian -----Original Message----- From: nifl-ld@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-ld@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Crawford, June Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 1:30 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-LD:4598] Re: Dyslexia Research Many of you know about the mug I sometimes have with me when I talk about learning disabilities in training sessions: a short, fat pig in a pink tutu is looking at a group of long-legged ostriches in pink tutus who have their legs on a ballet barre that is at least 5 times as high as the pig's head. The caption says: "Of course you can." While I certainly agree that teachers need to understand learning differences and teach accordingly, there is a danger in thinking we can do away with the reality of a learning disability by doing away with the diagnosis. For students at any level of education, college included, when accommodations are needed to level the playing field, a legal diagnosis is required before the educational institution will/can make the accommodations available. Just try to get a student into college without the diagnosis: it is needed for any accommodations on the SAT or ACT. And, following college, it is needed for accommodations on the GRE, MCAT, etc. Even a very good teacher can't change the fact that some students will process information more slowly than others and will need more time to complete the learning of new material. Identifying a student with a learning disability doesn't mean the teacher shouldn't be teaching; it simply means the teacher needs to teach the student in an appropriate manner, with the appropriate accommodations. Not all students with learning disabilities require assistance in all areas. The best school programs are those that find out what the student can do, where the student needs assistance, and what the accommodations are that are necessary for success, and then that teach the student accordingly so there are measurable outcomes and student successes that are apparent. This will require different things for different students. In the long run, life isn't about school. The diagnosis of a learning disability is not supposed to mean the student isn't taught well; it is supposed to provide the equal playing field that is required if the student is to learn and then move into the world of work and adult responsibilities. This requires a balance between good teaching and good learning with student acceptance of responsibilities. It also requires a good diagnosis that can provide the information needed to achieve this balance. Life isn't always fair and not everyone can do everything. Our job, as I see it, is to make the choices as broad as possible and to produce learning outcomes that are the best possible for each student. Sometimes that means a diagnosis of a disability so the appropriate accommodations can be utilized. June Crawford -----Original Message----- From: nifl-ld@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-ld@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Lucille Cuttler Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:17 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-LD:4596] Re: Dyslexia Research Thank you for bringing this into the open. It's time for colleges responsible for training teachers to understand learning differences, and to teach as Anita and myself have put forth. Get rid of labels. Know that when the student is not learning, the onus is on the teacher to teach so the student WILL LEARN. Lucille Cuttler, Educational Remediator -----Original Message----- From: nifl-ld@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-ld@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Anita Landoll Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 4:52 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-LD:4595] Re: Dyslexia Research I agree. Many students simply learn differently. The system turns the learning difference into disorder. When the students are taught concretely and multi-sensorily, then they learn. Many of these learners are visual-spatial learners. Many, many teachers are audio-verbal-sequential learners, and need to learn how to teach visual-spatial learners. Anita learntoreadnow.com --- Varshna Narumanchi-Jackson <varshna@grandecom.net> wrote: > I can't tell you how many parents I have encountered > in the first four years > of my oldest child's education who have been told > their child has ADD, ADHD, > dyslexia, emotional disturbance, etc because they > don't fit the model > student stereotype. It's heart-wrenching to see > these young children cope > with the depression and angst the educational system > creates in them. It's > even harder to tell their parents to fight the good > fight and challenge > educators to do better than throw out labels for > behaviors that are poorly > understood and thus lack credibility. > > I hope that current research allows us all a moment > of epiphany that > 'normal' human behavior is much more broadly defined > than we currently > allow. In evolutionary time, written language and > 'classroom' behavior are > new pressures on the brain to adapt or create > responses that allow the > individual to succeed in a competitive environment. > What I think we are > witnessing is not science's newfound ability to > locate 'disorders' through > gene mapping, but a shift in the kinds of factors > that influence evolution > that are no longer directly tied to survival. Our > institutions of > education, however, are slow to recognize that human > behavior (and the > underlying genes that catalogue those behaviors) is > as diverse as the human > experience on this planet. Why else, for example, do > we need 6000 languages > in order to talk to each other? > > Finally, academic potential and achievement are so > narrowly defined, it is > no surprise that our institutions are failing to > 'educate' the majority of > learners who fall outside of those norms. Many > peoples have based their > transmission of history and culture on oral language > (e.g., through epic > poetry, song, story-telling). I wonder, are we just > assigning a diagnosis > of dyslexia to learners (among other dis-abilities) > that are well-adapted to > oral language as the medium for learning, but not to > written language, in > order to further a societal preference? > > Varshna Narumanchi-Jackson > Austin, TX > > on 3/6/05 11:05 PM, Woods at woods@ncia.net wrote: > > > I can see where one day we might know more about > how the genes express > > themselves. Knowing that would be infinitely more > useful than just knowing > > the name of a gene involved in dyslexia or some > other condition. Such > > knowledge might give us insight on targeting > specific kinds of remediation > > and not waste time on ineffective approaches. For > instance, if Mary has the > > 'sees things upside down' gene, we might then know > to not to give her books > > right side up, and we wouldn't make her spend her > life working on word > > attack and using color overlays. > > > > Tom Woods > > > >> The writer asks an interesting question. What > implications could this > >> have > >> for our work with adults that have dyslexia? > > > > > > > __________________________________ Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday! Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web http://birthday.yahoo.com/netrospective/
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