When I was in the first grade, every week the students did reading board where they sat in the hall outside the class and the teacher told us to read as many words as possible. This reading board created great anxiety and resentment toward my classmates proper spelling and word usage. When I misspoke, or used a word incorrectly, the teacher placed me in a lower reading level than my peers. I was upset because, my friend kept moving up and I was still stuck in first grade reading level. I learned that I had a learning disability, which would be the greatest challenge in my life. The stigma behind having a learning disability in writing and reading terrified me. Trying to pronounce words was not my cup of tea. Many times I remember sitting with the …show more content…
“What this word?” “Go-” Then I just stop, beat down by my disability. The fear of messing up again and forcing my teacher to repeat herself. After, What was like forever in my mind. “It’s ok, let's start again” “Goes” Living with a learning disability I have overcome many challenges in the classroom. Living in a society that views standardized tests like a preacher studies the bible, has made me feel badly about myself. However, I have gained wisdom with age. After many failed attempts and days of coming back in the hall trying to say “goes,” I slowly learned how to say it. From this moment forward, I learned that I can overcome this learning disability . In
It was believed by members of society; people with learning difficulties should not be a part of the wider community or have the same rights. This opinion was reinforced when the government began to have large institutions built to house all the people described as ‘mental deficiency’: ‘idiots’, ‘imbeciles’, ‘feeble-minded persons’ and ‘moral imbeciles’. (The Open University (2011) DVD Unit 7, Lennox Castle timeline).
During my junior year of high school, I was transferred from the Boces Program to East Meadow High School. This was an exciting time in my life! I was finally going to attend classes with "hearing" students. So many emotions filled my head. I was happy but, on the other hand, I was scared. I thought these kids would tease me and not accept me for who I am. When I went into the classroom, every student looked at me as if I were different, but they liked me anyway. Much to my surprise, within a couple of days I had made friends. I quickly realized that they didn't think of or treat me as I were different. They saw me for who I am on the inside, not a person with hearing aids on the outside.
I went to the ice cream social and invited my cousin who's deaf, she lives in Turlock and her name is Nery. Her boyfriend, Robby, wanted to come along but he got busy cutting hair, he's a barber. I mention him because he is also deaf. He's been using a hearing aid since he was small and took therapy sessions as well which makes it seem like he's hearing. He does say his words a bit cut off but we still are able to understand him. He's always laughing and being very sarcastic. My cousin Mary on the other hand is not able to speak. A little background about her: she was born in Mexico and when they moved to California that's when my aunt, Amalia, and uncle, Jose, put her in a school for deaf people. She was later transferred to high school where she
“The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal” by Jonathan Mooney is the story of his journey around the U.S. in short bus nonetheless to meet with different children and their families who have faced challenges in school due to ADD, ADHD, Autism, and other learning disabilities. Jonathan Mooney himself faced the disability of Dyslexia and often had to deal with many challenges in school himself, but he appears to be one of the more fortunate ones, who was able to grow from his disability and ultimately get a degree in English. Needless to say, his book and journey lead the reader to question what really is “normal”, and how the views of this have caused the odds to be stacked against those who don’t fit the mold. Throughout, this story, for me personally however, this story gave several events that I found moving, and had the potential to influence my further work in education.
When you walk into a room of people look around you at everybody. Can you pick out one or two people who suffer from a learning disability? Simply by looking at me Could you tell I do. Even educators did not realize that I had dyslexia. Unfortunately, they did not see the signs. I would like to share with you, how I have endeavored obstacles throughout life and still do, to this day.
In the video presentation of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, Richard Lavoie is able to simulate several of the difficulties that a student with a learning disability has to face at school. Some of the difficulties experienced by the students are intrinsic to the disability itself, but many other difficulties are directly related with the emotions that the student experiences when attending a class, and as a result of his or her interactions with teachers and classmates. Both the United States law and the education system, have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the learning experience of every student with disability. Students with disabilities need to be guided to a path to education that is both feasible and accessible for them; with achievable goals, and by being provided what they need in order to succeed, and to be able to overcome any obstacles.
My family and I discovered I had dyslexia when I was in the second grade. Honestly, it was quite a traumatic event. What was an eight year old little girl to think about a doctor telling her “she was retarded” (that she had dyslexia.) I pondered long and hard about the diagnosis, but soon learned to accept it. I made it my goal to overcome my dyslexia. That’s the amazing thing about me and actually one of the few factors that drives me to work harder and not be a dyslexic statistics. I knew was an anomaly. I was called out to be different and took pride in the fact that I blossom with every challenge I encounter. My goal now was to always be different: someone who proved the expected failures of dyslexic wrong. I wasn’t “retarded” and I
Learning about learning disabilities has been an eye opening experience. I have worked with children who had home life issues that they struggled with at school. But to see and realize that these children cannot change how their brain operates is difficult to watch. My case study is a typical young boy who really doesn’t want to be in school. He would rather be with his dad hunting with guns in the woods. I know now that he probably dislikes school because he struggles with completing the tasks and assignments given to him. Hopefully, this study will provide me with more insight into ways that I could help him and others like him once I become a certified teacher.
Have you ever experienced a moment of clarity that changed your perspectives and life goals all in a single flash? My sudden insight came during the summer of 2011 when I volunteered at Schramm Educational Center, an alternative school for children with severe to profound disabilities. Normally, I assisted a preschool classroom with activities and field trips, however, on this particular day, an incredible speech therapy session inspired me to pursue my studies in Speech and Hearing Science. I watched in awe as a nonverbal, wheelchair-bound child with significant cognitive and motor impairments used her eyes to express yes and no. Most people would have difficulty recognizing ability in this child, unable to see past her physical limitations.
I faced many difficulties after my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. It was painful losing her to the disease and trying to take care of her with limited knowledge and support. My grandmother fought for everything she had in life and still lost so much. In her last years, her fighting spirit never left, but it became twisted into something spiteful. My grandmother had a particularly difficult case of behavioral changes. It started with a loss of inhibition, then turned into hurtful words, and it even escalated sometimes to her attempting to physically harm her nurses. We tried our best to help with her confusion and frustration, but she refused to accept any treatment for her anxiety and depression. I visited my hometown often to help
The most common learning disability in children does not affect only one aspect of their lives, but alters nearly every measure. Dyslexia inhibits one 's ability to read, write, and spell. About 5 to 20 percent of children attending school have some sort of a disability involved with reading. When thinking of a condition that contains no cure, such as dyslexia, you may imagine a lifetime of complications and difficulties; although, dyslexia does not damage a person’s ability to learn, it merely forces them to grasp ideas and think in their own original way. Multiple obstacles can potentially arise, but successfulness and intelligence tends to prevail, and has in multiple situations. Numerous well known people have personally suffered through
In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take
During my 17 years, I have met many who are unfamiliar with hearing disabilities and deal with their ignorance by stereotyping me. In elementary school my principal told my parents I belonged in a school for the deaf. My classmates told me ...
My experience with school was very challenging and overcoming my personal struggles was not an easy feat. I started Kindergarten with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and I’m thankful that my preschool teacher recognized my learning challenges and encouraged my parents to have me evaluated. We found out that I had ADHD and learning disabilities that would make academic achievement a challenge for me. More specifically, I had difficulty decoding words and pronouncing some letter sounds such as “R’s” and “W’s”. As a result, excelling in school was a challenge due to my disability and the reaction of other students to my disability only made it more difficult.
It was not until I saw the movie (before our class) “I Am Sam”, my thoughts about people with learning disabilities started to change. The movie changed my perception that mentally challenged individuals are strange by nature because they do not seem to understand when people talk to them and is different from myself. The movie showed me that they do comprehend information, have feelings as I do, and most importantly, that I have wrongly stereotyped their differences.