In the early years of my life, I had never once thought that an individual would have an impending circumstance that would lead them to be unable normally process life’s simple problems. This idea changed from early on in my third-grade year to where I would bring home a constant string of Ds and Fs in my occasional assessments which would eventually turn into my grades. Little did I know, this complication would land myself into multiple summers where I spent most of my time in classrooms rather than the pool. It was not long after that where I finally discovered I have a math learning disability. From what I have learned through my own impacting endeavors, I fully understood that amid any and all disabilities a person may carry, they have …show more content…
When I thought about needing a tutor beforehand, I always associated it with being a failure and that my problems would never change; which lead me to be apprehensive at this new change in my life. However, at the beginning of many tutoring sessions lead by a very close family friend, I began to see a gradual increase in myself becoming more and more comfortable with the varying degrees of math equations. Most notably, greater increase of homework completions and fewer punishments. Before this, I never knew how easy math can truly be to learn. As a result, I acquired a great abundance of confidence in myself that I an able to carry for the …show more content…
I had the capacity to struggle with a learning disability from such a very young period of my life and still power through high school, leaving with Honors. With inspiring individuals such as Stephen Hawking, it has been proven to show even the most debilitating circumstances a person may carry, although may seem hopeless at first glance, can overcome any obstacle placed in their path and can perhaps become one of the world’s next leading psychologists or doctors. This can happen to any individual even if they feel they would have no impact on the world; they most definitely
“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.
Contrarily, I was born with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy with Merosin Deficiency. I never had the ability to walk, stand or take care of myself. I have been using an electric wheelchair since I was eighteen months old. I attended public school for my entire career and achieved high honor roll every semester of high school. I currently attend the small, Liberal Arts University of Wells College. While Beisser had to deal with great loss, I have only known my life the way it is currently. However, I have often questioned my abilities and my future, similarly to Beisser. Throughout the book, Beiss...
My experiences with tutoring others has taught me that it satisfies me to help others understand and learn. As you teach others you learn about the different ways you handle situations and solve issues as well. I’ve always been the person that my classmates come up to for help, but it wasn’t till grade 10 until I officially started tutoring math, mainly Pre-Calculus 12. In grade 11, I continued tutoring, but this time I focused on a single individual, and that brought up challenges of creating a suitable relationship, that becomes the foundation for effective learning. This year, I took on a challenge, my teacher asked me to be a mentor towards a student with learning disabilities who was struggling with school. I
Alison’s story is the perfect example of what many families must go through when faced with the possibility of having a child diagnosed with a learning disability. Alison was not diagnosed with visual and auditory dyslexia until the summer before entering college. However, while still a toddler, her symptoms had been brought to her mother’s attention by her sister’s teacher. Alison’s mother then noticed her habits in repeating words incorrectly and how Alison would need tactile clues to follow directions. At the recommendation of her kindergarten teacher, Alison was tested for learning disabilities and the results from the school psychologists were that she was acting stubborn or disobedient. Her family did not stop with the school’s diagnosis. They had private testing completed that confirmed Alison did not have a specific learning disability. The final word came from a relative that happened to be a psychologist. He insisted Alison would grow out of her difficulties. So Alison continued on with her entire elementary, middle and high school journey as a student and daughter with an undiagnosed learning disability.
Will, M. (1986, November). Educating students with learning problems-a shared responsibility. Washington, DC: Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
I’ve pushed myself to pursue rigorous classes throughout high school. Though I didn’t make the grade I always wanted, I never lost hope and ensured that I gave my best effort and tried my hardest at all times. This hard work has paid off tremendously. I was able to complete my dyslexia curriculum by 8th grade. I was accepted into a magnet center for high school, which is one of the best in the state and is ranked well in the nation among high schools. I believe that my life, my education, my learning disability, and etc are all subject to my belief that my mindset is greater than my circumstances, and working hard paid off greatly. My situation as a dyslexic has taught me to pride myself in my ability to overcome any
PBS’s Misunderstood minds was an eye opening experience. It gives great insight into learning processes, difficulties and strategies to overcome the challenges faced by the children who have learning disability. The simulations were very frustrating, confusing and irritating for me but they helped understand what it is like to have a lot of hard time on learning things in class. All four were tasks attention, reading, writing and math were challenging for me and I wasn’t’ able to answer correct answers. But out of all four tasks, I found difficulties with attention and reading the most difficult. The whole process of attention and reading problems is so complex that it’s hard to figure out where the signs of struggle appear in children. Parents
...y, put together teams, problem solve, and communicate orally. I could go on and on. Those will turn out to be advantages that came from disadvantage.” This just goes to say that many children or adults that suffer from the likes of dyslexia, autism, and ADD/ADHD may have certain skills and or methods of getting work done that may put them ahead of someone who not.
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
If you had asked me when I was in first grade: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I would have answered: “Smart like everyone else.” I have always been a hopeful scholar, despite a language based learning disability that affects both reading and writing. Dyslexia scrambles the channels of learning for me, which makes it difficult to process information properly at first. Through years of intense tutoring sessions and reading workshops, I learned to use technology to improve my reading performance. I eventually mastered the coping techniques which enabled me to become an honor roll student and maintain a decent GPA. I still struggle with the reality of my learning differences and get frustrated
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
Kids with learning disabilities may not be the best in the class room, but they are smarter than what most people think. A lot of people think that kids with L.D think that they are “dumb” or “lazy,” when really, they just have troubles understanding. One third of kids in Special Ed. have a learning disability. (Nichcy) One million kids between the ages of six and twenty -one, have a L.D. (Nichcy) Five to six percent have a learning disability between six and seven years old. (Daniel P. Hallaham, 2008) Boys outnumber the girls by three to one. (Daniel P. Hallaham, 2008) Since 1976, Learning Disabilities have more than doubled. (Daniel P. Hallaham, 2008)
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
Developmental Disabilities are beginning to become more evident in society and are no longer only a negative concept. For example, the 2016 movie The Accountant is one that is extremely self- determined to become more than his disability (Howell, Williams, & O’Conner). He overcomes his disability by exposing himself to the elements that make his symptoms become evident. By overexposing himself he becomes accustomed to society and reaches the goals he sets for himself.
Jesse Jackson once said, “If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.” When I was younger I was diagnosed with a learning disability. Which affected my ability to keep up with my peers and academics. It made school more difficult, but I managed to overcome the challenge. Children with learning disabilities are just as smart or even smarter than most other children. The learning disability that I have is called a Neurological Disorder. In simple terms, it means that my brain takes longer to process new information than others. Throughout the years, I proved everyone that I could take on a lot of new information and process it all in my brain. Most importantly though I proved to myself that I