Re: [Futurework] working with learning disabilities

[Ed Weick]

KWC in blue, Ed in black:   Ed, thank you for sharing this.  The article did not mention it, but can you tell me if there has been an increase or decrease in the number of children with dyslexia over the past twenty-five years the article addresses culturally?  Would an increase be attributed to better means of discernment and acknowledgment?   I would suspect that part of the school age population has always been learning disabled, including dyslexia.  However, two things have happened.  One is a huge improvement in teaching methods.  From our experience with the schools that our daughter attended, teachers focus on the children and how they learn as much as on the subject matter.  Teachers now require a university degree.  Some of the teachers I had when I was a child had no more than nine or ten years of education, barely more than the kids they were teaching.  The other major change is the much greater recognition of, and attention to, learning disabilities and a much greater emphasis on doing something positive and constructive to address them.    In my daughter's case, that she did not quite think via the same processes as her classmates was first recognized when she was in the third grade.  We had several initial sessions with her Principal, her teachers and specialists from the school board to determine what to do about it.  Though less frequently, that process continued all the way through grade school and high school.  It was as though there was a collective recognition that this child, and others like her, should not be discarded by the system because of some relatively fixable problem.  The child was seen as more important than the system, which was modified to suit her purposes.  How was it modified?  Relatively minor things like more one to one instruction in things she was not good at, such as math, a little more time on exams to compensate for her inability to focus on some things for more than a split second, and, in high school, after she had learned to type at demonic speeds, letting her write her exams on a keyboard.  All of that really helped.  She never failed anything, though she came close in the sciences and math.  To compensate for that, she got some truly outstanding marks in the arts and humanities.  She is now at university in a program that recognizes that she is much brighter than some of her marks might suggest.   There has been a noticeable increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism, most of which are boys, which has scientists scrambling for DNA answers.   My wife and I have a nephew who was diagnosed with a form of autism.  He is now seven, and you can carry on a conversation with him provided that you want to talk about the things he thinks about, mainly very mechanical and technical things.   He'll be an interesting kid to watch.   Ed   ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen Watters Cole To: futurework Cc: Ed Weick Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2003 12:24 PM Subject: RE: [Futurework] working with learning disabilities Ed, thank you for sharing this.  The article did not mention it, but can you tell me if there has been an increase or decrease in the number of children with dyslexia over the past twenty-five years the article addresses culturally?  Would an increase be attributed to better means of discernment and acknowledgment?   There has been a noticeable increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism, most of which are boys, which has scientists scrambling for DNA answers.   I’m guessing that Brian has some current and relevant information/experience on the subject. Anyone?   -KWC Ed wrote: The career section of today's Globe and Mail contains an article on people in the workforce who have to cope with learning disabilities.  This topic is of particular interest to me because two of my four kids, the eldest and the youngest were diagnosed with such disabilities.  When tested by educational psychologists, both proved to be very bright, but in the classroom, both had a terrible time demonstrating that brightness.  My eldest child did not finish highschool, but nevertheless decided to try university as a mature matriculant at age 22.  Something had happened to him in the intervening years.  He proved to be not only a good student, but a very good student, leaving university with an M.Sc. in geology.  My youngest daughter, now 18, had a very different highschool experience.  Because she was recognized as bright, her teachers had a lot of persistent patience with her.  It paid off.  She is now in her first year of university.  Unlike her older brother, she will never be good at science and math, but she will do very well in the arts and humanities. The article is rather long.  I've printed the first few paragraphs below.  The rest can be found at: http://globeandmail.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/fasttrack/20031001/CADISABLE01?section=HomePage What we all need to learn Until recently, most workers with learning disabilities have tried to cope on their own. But young people entering the work force are expecting the same help that they had in school. It's time companies recognize IAN SUTTON Special to The Globe and Mail Wednesday, October 1, 2003