MORE FUN THAN A BARREL OF MONKEYS
Subtitled: Don't You Wish You Lived At Our House?
Just came across this excellent list of common learning "differences" (we don't say disabilities, they are differences). Check, check, check! We have them all going on here! I take FULL credit for being the one with Dyscalculia! If you've ever enjoyed a drive with me or had the thrill of travelling with me, you know what I'm talking about. Don't even get me going on my math phobia/anxiety/panic/shame!
DYSLEXIA is primarily used to describe difficulty with language proeessing and its impact on reading, writing, and spelling.
DYSGRAPHIA is the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing.
DYSCALCULIA involves difficulty with math, the abstract concepts of time and direction and sometimes the location of the numbers on the face of a clock and/or the geographical locations of states, countries, oceans, streets, etc.
AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION is necessary to "break the code" for reading. It involves being able to perceive the differences between speech sounds, and to sequence these sounds into meaningful words.
VISUAL PERCEPTION addresses the ability to notice important details and assign meaning to what is seen.
NONVERBAL LEARNING DISORDERS (NLD) is primarily used to describe an inability to comprehend nonverbal communications, difficulties adjusting to transitions and novel situations, and deficits in social judgment and social interaction.
ATTENTION DEFICIT (HYPERACTIVITY) DISORDER (ADD/ADHD) may co-occur with learning disabilities. Features can include: marked over-activity, distractibility, and/or impulsivity and inattention.
Thinking this all through, I can identify just about everyone I know with one or another of these, which begs the question, "What is 'normal'?"
9 comments:
Not me.
won't you be, won't you be, please won't you be my neighbor.
my questions:
if i'm only 3.5 for seven on this list - does that mean i'm flunking learning differences?
and:
5. Visual Perception - "notice important details" - important to who? I think it's the "normal" people who fail to notice ...
The whole Special Education Process/getting services process is confusing and overwhelming. When I have to sit with parents to get consent for an evaluation, I have to explain how we have to get a label before we can give services, and the labels and based on tests that are based on numbers and norms and terms that few people understand. I once sat with our school psychologist who was explaining the testing results to a parent, who had no idea what she was saying, only his son was not doing well. I said, "kathy, can you tell Mr. S. some of his sons strenths." She said, "Well, he has below average intelligence." Here is a dad, almost is tears, totally overwhelmed, test results might as well have been presented in Greek and that is the positive? But, I digress, Learning Disabled, Other Health Impaired, Emotionally Disturbed..etc the list goes on, as do the sub categories and despite being a Federal Legislation, each state, each school district gives and takes services differently. I feel bad for the parents because the bottom line, it is an overwhelming and confusing process. I have been told my by supervisors that I "over-identify" with parents, but I truly believe they need to know as much as they can in normal language, they need to advocate and that THEY KNOW THEIR CHILD BEST!!
You can definitely count me in on that list.
love,
your sister in Discalculia
Ok, we are friends for LIFE. The math thing...oh my god. And the direction thing. But, save the day, a lot of us are way blessed with right brain functioning off the chart. Like, turn right by that red house, with the indigo trim, and such and such texture of grass out front, and the guy in the window who is feeling.....etc. And, sidebar, what's the standard of 'normal' that these measures are based on? Just sayin.
Who wants to be normal, anyway? Normal people rarely make others laugh with their rampant conformism, do they? Normal people can't write what they see with aching clarity and detail. In our house, abnormal is the new black!
After finishing a teacher/tutor meeting today, I think we hit most of these .... !
Normal is love, which you do such an amazing job of teaching and sharing. In my new definition, the more we can love and receive love, the more normal we are. I like it!
Normal is terribly over-rated!
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