recently added resources

11/17/99
... a while back ...Glenn Young wrote an impassioned response to
a list member's query about whether it does any good, or makes any
difference,
to have a student identified as having a learning disability. I was
replying
to his comments because this issue is addressed in the Bridges to
Practice
materials and I am interested in this wonderful project ... Here in New
York State, we are using Bridges with
adult
educators in an attempt to make them aware of the "difference in the
difference."
Learning differences are, of course, something we are aware of
and
plan for when planning instruction. Good instruction is designed to
meet
the needs of all learners in the classroom, so we try to plan for
variety
in our instruction, and variety in our teaching activities. The
learning
differences, whether we consider these learning styles, personality
styles,
or the numerous "ways of knowing" that have received so much publicity
recently, are still just that - learning differences. What makes the
difference
into a disability is spelled out in the National Joint Committee on
Learning
Disabilities definition of a learning disability which the authors of
the
Bridges material chose to use in Book 1, and that is what Glenn was
referring
to, if I read his remarks correctly. I would like to quote fom the
book:
"Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous
group of disorders manifested by SIGNIFICANT difficulties (my caps) in
the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing,
reasoning,
or mathematical abilities...."
Bridges to Practice is designed to assist adult
educators, who have little or no background in learning disabilities, as they try
to understand the definition of disabilities, the characteristics of
disabilities,
and the identification of disabilities. It also discusses the
importance
of identification of LD for purposes of legal accommodations for the
GED exam, or for employment purposes. The authors recognized that not all
adult
students who may have a disability will seek a legal diagnosis. What is
important is that adult educators be aware of the need to recognize
learning
differences as differences, but disabilities as disabilities, which
interfere
significantly with major life activities. If it appears that an adult
student
may have a learning disability, the educator needs to know what to do,
where the resources are, and how to explain this to the student. If we
only talk about learning differences, we may be guilty of not informing
an adult of the possibility for additional services for which s/he is
eligible.
This distinction can make the difference between whether the adult can
receive funding for training or can use assistive devices for education
or work. While teachers may not think that the label will make a
significant
difference in how they teach an adult, the adult may be relieved to
learn
that the learning problems s/he is experiencing may have an explanation
that can, in the very least, improve the adult's self-image and make
the
lengthy education process more understandable and less frustrating. My
teaching and training efforts are planned to meet the various learning
needs of the students or professionals who are in my classes, but if I
suspect that a learning need appears to be unmet through good teaching
practices, I consider it my professional responsibility to recognize
this.
Once recognized, I need to be able to understand what the next logical
steps should be for the learner and myself, and I need to be able to
explain
these steps to the learner. I also need to understand how a legal
diagnosis
is made and what the implications are for the learner and the
educational
system of which s/he is a part. For these reasons, I need to advocate
for
a clear understanding about the need for clear definitions of
"difference"
and "disability." Once the entire field understands the
difference/disability
vocabulary, we will have made the progress I referred to in my earlier
posting..
Patricia Ewins Learning Disability Specialist Coordinator,
Program
for Adult Achievement University of Hawai'i -- Leeward Community
College
96-045 Ala Ike, Pearl City, HI 96782 Phone: (808) 455-0421 Fax: (808)
455-0471