Using Graphic Organizers in Basic and Special Education

Learning disabilities are a life long struggle but if caught at a young age and early intervention takes place. The stress on the child and family is greatly reduced. Learning disabilities spread to every part of a child’s life affecting them socially. Teachers must remain professional and refrain from calling students lazy as in Adams case. A good teacher or specialist can demystify a learning disability and help a child’s

According to “Learning Disabilities Fast Facts” by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, “Close to half of secondary students with learning disabilities perform more than three grade levels below their enrolled grade in essential academic skills (45% in reading, 44% in math).” This fact proves that when disabled students are in a classroom that contains both disabled students as well as nondisabled students, disabled students are not learning to their full potential or may not be learning at all (Learning Disability Fast

Cheryl Jorgensen, the work of a scientist-philosopher named Thomas Kuhn in 1962 is referenced regarding disability and competence where Kuhn stated that, “intelligence … can be reliably measured… mental retardation is defined as low levels of intelligence… [these students] … can’t learn much general education content… we aren’t sure that students know, understand, can learn, or have something to say, we presume that they don’t, can’t, and probably never will” (2005, p. 5). Dr. Jorgensen refutes this theory and goes on to support it by citing other works on research suggesting that students with disabilities have shown greater progress when they are challenged with high expectations and good, supportive, nurturing instruction. “Children learn best when they feel valued, when people hold high expectations for them, and when they are taught and supported well” (2005, p.

Second, the notion that children with disabilities are incapable of learning things other than practical life skills is dehumanizing. Children with

If a student has a learning disability that should be immediately addressed by perhaps sending those students for one hour to a special need class at the school or getting permission from the parent to provide him or her with tutorial on certain days, if it is necessary this show that the

The main problem that I perceive from the Case of Leigh Scott is that both Dale and Aaron are doing the same work, with the same grades yet one has an explicit learning disability who receives lots of support and the other is not receiving enough support. Dale has a clear learning disability and thus receives not only support from Meg, the resource room teacher, who “helped Dale prepare for Leigh’s class” (Leigh Scott: Case Study, p. 29), he also receives support and encouragement from Leigh even though he does not do much work. Aaron on the other hand receives little to no support from Leigh even though he has constantly not come to class prepared, puts his head down during discussions and has done poorly on his assignments.

Children with a learning or physical disability may be subjected to prejudice or discrimination at school because they could be treated differently

When some people think of someone with a learning disability they often think of someone who is not able to contribute to society. It is often assumed people with learning disabilities are people who have low intelligence, work the school systems, and are socially awkward. As someone who has a learning disability these misconceptions have made it difficult for me to be open about it and prove these stereotypes wrong. Most of these misconceptions stem from people not understanding what alearning disabilities are, a learning disability “results from a difference in the way a person's brain is wired. Children with learning disabilities are as smart or smarter than their peers. But they have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways” (idonline.org).

In order for students to find success in the future and be able to describe needs and accommodations to employers, students with learning disabilities must acquire the appropriate skills (Weimer, 1994). This ‘invisible issue’ has led to an analysis of what skills are implemented in younger grades to help students with learning disabilities navigate the world. In a Californian middle school, students in grades sixth through eighth were assessed in their abilities to self-advocate (Weimer, 1994). Although the school administrators and some educators were certain that the students had the skills, they were actually unskilled at asking for accommodations without being prompted to do so when they were in alternate settings such as the general education class (Weimer, 1994). At birth, parents become a child’s advocate and when they go to school, that role shifts to the teacher, although at what point are children given the opportunity to advocate for themselves? This is exactly what Weimer and And wanted to

in their ability to learn because of their disability. Prior to reentering the classroom, the teacher

After completing all the assessments and the parent interview, reading and writing activities were differentiated and conducted during whole group and small group instruction. Bear (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009c) discusses using the RRWWT Framework for guiding instruction for students. During the Read To activity, the Emperor’s Egg (Jenkins,) is read whole group to the students. This is an information text which uses labeled diagrams and captioned pictures throughout to provide additional information about the topic. During the Read To, students are following along in their basal as I read, and I have students discuss the diagrams of the Emperor Penguin. Drawing attention to the diagrams and teaching the students how illustrations and diagrams within text can aid in their understanding of what is being read seems to help the struggling reader. Using the visuals such as the diagrams helps this

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.

Growing, developing and learning are the facts of life for all children. Each day children are faced with many new concepts and various challenges. Can you imagine how it feels for a child to face not only new challenges life has, but to face these challenges while living with a learning disability? These challenges are met not just when they begin school either. Students suffer from learning disabilities from the moment they begin learning, not when they start school. Learning disabilities are real and they affect millions of people. “One such disability that affects over approximately 15 percent of the total American population is dyslexia” ( Nosek 5).

In today’s educational environment, all students expect to receive the same level of instruction from schools and all students must meet the same set of standards. Expectations for students with learning disabilities are the same as students without any learning difficulties. It is now unacceptable for schools or teachers to expect less from one segment of students because they have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, discipline problems, or come from poor backgrounds. Standardize testing has resulted in making every student count as much as their peers and the most positive impact has been seen with the lowest ability students. Schools have developed new approaches to reach these previously underserved students while

If the teacher knew much about the development of the students they would know the differences between a child with learning disabilities and a child that has not been in the environment in which they could properly develop.