Dyscalculia: Misunderstanding Numbers

Everyone is going through a battle that we may not be able to see; however, “American society [is often] unaware or indifferent to the plight of people with disabilities” (Davis, 2013, p. 486). Ableism is one of the most ignored areas of social justice in America. Through my own experiences, I learned that the educational system in particular is not a very knowledgeable, or flexible environment in giving accommodations for students with disabilities. Those who are able-bodied, and do not have invisible disabilities, easily fit the paradigm of an able student in society, i.e., being able to walk to every building, climb stairs to get to class, complete assignments in the allotted time, etc. Our society has socially constructed disability

Within the past year, teachers at my little sister’s school have started suspecting that she may have dyslexia. She has yet to be tested, but it will be happening soon. She has always had issues with reading, but never thought this would be why. However, if the tests come back, and they do say that she has dyslexia, that is not going to hold her down. She will still be able to conquer anything that she sets her mind to. Having a disability does not hold any person back from being able to succeed anything they want to. With the proper help, instruction and motivation, any student with a disability can be successful. Being different does not make you incapable. That is also something that I got from the PowerPoints.

One in five American students has a learning disability this is according to the documentary “Misunderstood Minds’’ produced by WGBH. Children with learning disabilities are more likely to become outcasts in school and in society. The documentary follows five families dealing with a differently abled child; Nathan V, Lauren, Sarah Lee, Adam, and Nathan S. The film focuses on difficulties the families go through, professionalism or lack of it by school officials and demystification.

There is often a child in a class that cannot read, spell, speak, or do math as well as they should for their age level. He or she grows up thinking they are stupid, or are going to be unsuccessful in life because they are not “smart” like their classmates. He or she is not stupid, they are usually incredibly smart, and are possibly just dealing with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a type of learning difference that can affect a person’s ability to read, write, speak, and do math. Dyslexia is very common, with one out of every five U.S. school children suffering from dyslexia. Dyslexic children often discover that their parents or a close relative also have some form of learning disability, supporting the idea that dyslexia is hereditary. Dyslexia is

If parents, teachers, and other professionals discover a child's learning disability early and provide the right kind of help, it can give the child a chance to develop skills needed to lead a successful and productive life. The LD online website provides a long list of characteristics that might indicate a learning disability between the ages of Kindergarten and high school. Some common signs of a learning disability that as a teacher we can look for in the classroom would be, a student speaks later than most children, pronunciation problems, slow vocabulary growth, student is often unable to find the right word, difficulty rhyming words, trouble learning numbers, alphabet, colors, and shapes, extremely restless and easily distracted, trouble interacting with peers, difficulty following directions or routines, and lastly the fine motor skills are slow to develop. Once the teacher or parents can understand what type of learning disability a child has they can help them succeed academically by providing instruction better and understanding the person

     When a child doesn’t seem to be learning, some teachers and parents in his/her life might criticize the child and think of them as stupid, or maybe just too lazy to want to learn. What they don’t realize is that the child might have a learning disability. But how are these children being helped? There are many programs, special schools and facilities, home teaching methods and many other ways in which children with Learning Disabilities are being helped.

I never put too much thought into the reaction I give if someone tells me their child has a disability therefore, never noticed if they showed distaste to any apology or sympathy I offered. I’m sure that I am not the only one who has not meant any harm by these things, but the article helps see the situation from the opposing parent’s point of view which offers enlightenment on how to handle future encounters to ensure everyone is comfortable and the language isn’t ignominious. I intend to utilize the wisdom I’ve learned from Ms. Snow’s article in my own classroom one day. Along with her words I now feel inclined to do further research on how to better create lessons, organize my classroom, and provide the proper tools as well as become a support system for any student with any kind of disability both learning and

These students have normal and sometimes above normal intelligence but they struggling with problems that hinder them from learning and progressing like other students. More recently it is thought that a student with learning disability could show one of more than 500,000 combinations of cognitive or socioemotional problems (Heward, 2010). Learning disabilities cause students to struggle with so many things in school such as academics, emotions, and socializing and learning disabilities also cause students to have problems away from school. Students with learning disabilities may experience problems with learning to read or comprehend what they read, learning to do math or develop mathematical reasoning, learning vocabulary, spelling or the written language, and learning to get along with others and exhibit appropriate social skills. They may also have problems with paying attention, hyperactivity, and sometimes behavior,

IEP’s and 504 plans require school districts to evaluate and identify students with disabilities, at the college level students must be self-advocates and are responsible for disclosing their disability (Oertle’ & Bragg, 2014, p. 61). When a student neglects

People with learning disabilities are often thought to have lower intelligence. In first through fourth grade I was thought to be one of the unintelligent kids in my class. I attended Saint Catherine’s of Sienna, a scary cold catholic school with some of the harshest nuns I have ever met. They would scowl at me every time I looked their way. During my time at Saint Catherine’s I was not yet diagnosed with my learning disability, as a result many of my teachers didn’t understand why I was not comprehending the information given to me like my classmates were. They often assumed my poor grades were a result of a

Of the fifty students, 15 students in the grades of 9th through 12th have a noted mathematical disability. This percentage is comparable to other states and territories, according to Louden et al., 2000) Special Learning Needs Programs varies between states and territories but average 10% to 20% of the general population. Math difficulties range from mild to severe. Research attempting to classify these has yet to be validated or widely accepted, so caution is required when considering descriptions of differing degrees of math disability. (Garnett, 2015) One of the major mathematical disabilities in the local high school is dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is a brain-based math disability that can affect different areas of math learning and performance. (Morin, 2014). Morin (2014) further states that scientist do not know for sure how many people are afflicted with dyscalculia because there is not one set of criteria to classify severe math difficulties and their is not a database containing this information. Other mathematics related disabilities are dyslexia (56% also have problems in math), ADHD, math anxiety, and genetic disorders such as fragile x. The United States is not the only county that seems to have a notable problem, Australia also set-up plans to report and monitor their students with disabilities. Australia reports their disabilities between 3 and 5% of the total school population (van Kraayenoord, Elkins, Palmer, & Rickards, 2000). Like the United States, Australian schools are “under a positive obligation to make changes to reasonably accommodate

While perceptions of learning disabilities (LD) may vary according to country, culture, and teachers, it is often necessary to diagnose students in order to receive funding for services. It can be helpful to recognize those learning disabilities that students may have in order to provide extra assistance when necessary. It would be advantageous, too, if wide recognition of LD could take away the stigma that is often present. However, since LD is a multi-faceted topic, labeling often carries a negative connotation and can lead to ostracizing of students. It is beneficial for a student if the classification of a student with LD results in an enhanced educational experience.

This afternoon I went to observe in Mrs. Barger’s kindergarten class. There are four students in her class that keep her on her toes at all times. One of them told her to pick on someone her own size the other day. Two of these students are diagnosed with ADHD, one is in the process of getting test, and the other Mrs. Barger believes in on the Autism Spectrum. Mrs. Barger told me this is the first time in her 26 years of teaching that four out of the fifteen students have the pervious needs. A few of the students read to me what they just finished writing. They were so proud of their accomplishments. Some of the spelling was correct others not so much, but Mrs. Barger asked what is supposed to be at the end of a sentence and student told her

Inferiority stage which also contributes to learning disabilities. I learned that a teacher can not automatically jump to conclusions whenever a student has trouble learning, thus labeling that child with a disease such as ADHD, dyslexic, etc. The best option to do in this situation is to address what are the causes and what can be done to help this child succeed, because every student regardless of disability has the right to be successful in life. There has to be other reasons that cause a student not being able to learn such as laziness, depression, family troubles etc. A teacher does not have the right to point the finger at the child for learning problems. If one does, it shows that the teacher is lazy and unwilling to help students when they need it the most. Teachers have to do whatever is necessary to make that students feel they can succeed whatever situations are in the way. Learning about Industry vs. Inferiority prepared me to be a better future educator, thus doing whatever I can to make that student successful. It also made me realize that labeling students with defective disorders is not the right way to handle problems. People might say that words are meaningless, but if students are labeled with these names it will cause severe psychological problems later on in life.

Hidden curriculum” refers to unwritten or unspoken rules, expectations, idioms, and metaphors that everyone knows, but are not directly taught. Often, students that lack understanding or knowledge of the unwritten social rules are prone to be bullied, ignored, or misunderstood. Students with learning disabilities struggle with observational skills necessary to understand and interpret these unwritten and unspoken rules. Some of these struggles can be seen in tardiness, use of the cafeteria, location of classes, use of lockers, and much more. Students with learning disabilities can be seen as unmotivated, uninterested, or lazy due to misunderstanding of the unspoken and unwritten rules. Often, students with learning disabilities may misinterpret