*Flashback Friday*

*This post originally appeared on The PediaBlog on October 29, 2020.

 

LDs — Did You Know? (2)

 

 

Yesterday we discovered that learning disabilities are common in American schoolchildren: about 20% (1 in 5) kids have one or more obstacles that interfere with effective and efficient learning in school.

Children with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, and other kinds of learning and attention issues are as smart as their peers. Unfortunately, when kids fail to get needed educational intervention and support, many fall behind academically and struggle socially. Kids with learning disabilities are more likely to have to repeat a grade, get in trouble at school or with the law, drop out, and struggle as adults to find work and stay employed.

The good news is that when students are diagnosed early and receive learning support in school — accompanied by increased awareness among parents, educators, and others in the community — they can succeed academically and thrive socially and emotionally.

Unfortunately, a diagnosis of specific learning disabilities doesn’t come easily. Parents often miss the connection between academic and social difficulties observed at home, and learning and attention problems at school:

Reads at a lower level than his/her peers

Has a hard time “getting” math concepts

Has bad handwriting

Always loses his/her homework

Can’t sit still

Doesn’t want to go to school

Has a hard time making friends

 

There are no blood tests or brain scans that can tell if a learning or attention issue is present. Instead, kids need to undergo a comprehensive learning assessment performed by a multidisciplinary team of educators, school psychologists, and therapists (with the aid of parents, teachers, and coaches) that analyzes their cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and uncovers areas and skills that need attention and learning support.

Even when a diagnosis is made, only a small subset of students receive specialized instruction or accommodations, according to “The State of LD” report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD):

• 1 in 5 children in the U.S. have learning and attention issues, but only a small subset are formally identified with a disability in school.

• 1 in 16 school-age children have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for specific learning disabilities (SLD) such as dyslexia and for other health impairments (OHI), the disability category that covers ADHD and dyspraxia.

• 1 in 50 public school students receive accommodations for disabilities through a civil rights statute called Section 504.

 

Learning disabilities are poorly understood by the general public. NCLD debunks three commonly held myths that stigmatize children with LDs:

1. 48% of parents think that children can outgrow learning disabilities:

Learning and attention issues are lifelong conditions involving differences in brain structure and function. Symptoms may change over time, and the right support helps address weaknesses. But age doesn’t make these issues “go away.”

 

2. 78% of parents believe that any child can do well in school if he or she tries hard enough:

When it comes to learning and attention issues, trying harder is not the answer. Children with these issues need targeted interventions and accommodations to help them work on or work around their weaknesses.

 

3. 18% of parents think that children with learning disabilities are less intelligent than other children:

Children with learning and attention issues are as smart as their typically developing peers, and many have average or above-average intelligence. There are many children who are gifted and have learning disabilities. Many schools refer to these children as “twice-exceptional.”

 

We know what it takes to reduce the stigma associated with learning disabilities, raise expectations, and help kids succeed in school and in life:

• Raise awareness

• Empower parents

• Equip teachers

• Intervene early

• Personalize learning

• Incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL)

• Build self-advocacy skills

• Focus earlier on post-secondary transitions

• Advocate for increased funding

 

Read the details for each intervention above to help children with LDs thrive here.

 

(Google Images)

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2021/10/29/flashback-friday-178/