Learning Disability UK Problems!

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IS ADULT IGNORANCE DAMAGING KIDS EDUCATION IN 2012?

Too many parents believe too many teachers when they say their children are lazy at school and need to try harder. If you have found yourself in this situation where you keep yelling at the kid(s) to concentrate more and work harder, ask yourself this: Does my child ever skip school? If the answer to this is no, then don't you think that he or she really wants to learn? If they really couldn’t give a toss about an education they why wouldn't they simply play truant with those who already skip classes?

It's actually hard work, not lazy, being in a class and not being able to understand and comprehend what's being taught no matter how hard you try. Kids that attend school, do not disrupt class, or skip lessons, are not lazy, they have learning disabilities, and the sooner parents and teachers understand this the better chance they have of addressing the child's needs. It's just too easy to fob these kids off as indolent, or bone idle. They need helping, not hurting, as they trudge through the school years. Please, if this is you, then think on…

What is Literacy exactly?

Literacy is best described as the ability to acquire knowledge and understanding by reading. It also refers to the ability to write coherently, and to think and discuss that which has been read from the written word. In the UK there is a worrying trend of illiteracy currently affecting one in five adults nationwide. In the USA the illiteracy rate is reportedly worse. Experts in most western countries fear the trend is set to worsen in the coming years.

What is Ritalin?

Ritalin, also known as methylphenidate, is a stimulant drug that works on the central nervous system. It helps children and adults alike that have a learning disability, caused by the inability to concentrate, gain more focus and attention. At times it has been marred in controversy, but on the whole it has helped a lot of people with ADD and ADHD to manage their condition.

ADD and ADHD are perhaps the most researched health conditions of all times. There are many sceptics complaining about the use of stimulant drugs on children. But failure to do so could actually fall into the category of unintentional cruelty. Why? Because those kids that go untreated will most likely grow up with an inferiority complex, mass underachievement in all areas of life, and likely become dependent on drugs or alcohol to numb their pain and frustration of their complicated lives.

As in all matters of health, only the professional opinion of a trained medical professional should be heeded, and not that of some blogger in his pyjamas writing gibberish based on personal opinions

A Reader Writes

When a child with a learning disability such as ADD or ADHD goes undiagnosed, that youngster is dealt with a double whammy.

Firstly, the child is ridiculed by some teachers as being lazy or disruptive, scorned by parents for poor reports from teachers, and laughed at by peers as the class' dimwit. Secondly, they suffer, and it is suffering, from an untreated condition, and that means they will go through their entire school years branded as a dunce, carrying with them a feeling of being less than.

Needless to say, by the time the child reaches adulthood, what we have is an underachiever with low self-esteem, someone who is frustrated more often than not and so prone to depression, likely to have a string of failed relationships, and absolutely no explanation given by anyone at anytime as to why they are like they are.

Believe it or not, but there are still kids in twenty-first society who slip through the net and endure all the above issues. This is nothing short of a tragedy!

Jonathan Hembrow, Ipswich UK

Learning Disability! UK Changes Attitude!

Page updated May 15, 2012

It's important to begin this piece by saying this; 'just because someone does a stupid thing does mean they are stupid, it simply means they did a stupid thing.

The same can be said for those with learning disability. Education should never be only for those of average intelligence and above, and just because some people have problems grasping and developing what's being taught does not mean they're thick, incompetent, or unable to learn!

Thankfully, the days have long gone when helping those with a learning disability was virtually unheard of. There was also a lot of misunderstanding amonst those teaching.

Those poor students that had problems keeping up with their peers were often made to stand in the corner of the classroom and humiliated further by having to wear a DUNCE hat. This certainly used to be the treatment for those with a learning disability in UK, Europe, and the USA. Thank god this method of degradation is no longer used in classrooms, or at least let us hope it's not.

Just because someone missed out on school due to bad teaching and lack of care for those who had some form of learning difficulty, that doesn’t mean to say all is lost. In many respects, today's society is genuinely more caring and supportive of adults in society who are illiterate, or partially illiterate. Education is not just about getting a good job with a decent salary, although that certainly helps, but more too to with broadening ones horizons and lifestyle.

In other words, a good education enhances a person existence and choices in life within so many areas. When children with learning problems are denied an decent education because it's easier to just to let them be than it is to work at pulling them up, it is nothing more than tragic.

Without looking for blame, I do think now that in my days at school, there was a definite failure in the mainstream educational system. Not so much through lack of care but through lack of understanding.

I never missed a single day of my schooling nor was I a disruptive pupil, yet when I left I could barely read or write, let alone do simple arithmetic. Such a failure wouldn’t be allowed to happen today. Playing musical instruments by ear, art and craft work, and physical education were my strengths, but oh how I wanted to be able to learn like the other kids but just couldn't seem to grasp things, yet I never knew why.

Identifying Learning Disability in Children

Any child learning disability that isn't addressed at a young age will undoubtedly become an adult learning disability, and we all know the kinds of menial employment jobs that such people end up taking as a consequence of an ill education and lack of qualification. It's such a waste and so unnecessary in many cases. The problem is that children with learning disabilities are all too often looked upon as lazy, or stupid individuals and no further time or effort is spent on helping them overcome their seeming inability to study and perform some or all of the common tasks required for educational and daily life.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which was previously known as just Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and is perhaps one of the most common causes of learning disability there is with around 5% of the population suffering from it as a result. So many kids in the past have slogged their way thorough the education system not knowing why they were always underachieving in just about every subject going. Many have gone on through life believing that they are dimwits, dunces, and the inadequates of society.

Sadly, adults with ADD and ADHD tend to accept their lot and are resigned to thinking they are useful for nothing more than road sweeping, office cleaning, and other such unskilled, tedious employment options. It's nothing less than a tragedy for those who have lost out.

Moreover, such is the frustration of unknowingly having these conditions that many sufferers (and it is suffering), go on to develop drink and drug problems. Relationships are also strained and divorce is far higher amongst adults with ADD and ADHD than it is among those more balanced members of society.

If you have a child, or if you are a child or an adult reading this article and believe you have some general learning disorder or specific learning problems, then please read and reread these following paragraphs if necessary, because there is a solution. ADHD is characterized by a persistent lack of concentration and/or hyperactivity, with other characteristics perhaps including forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and maybe distractibility too. Does this sound like you if you really think about it?

Thankfully, more and more care and thought is being given these days to kids who have some or all of the above characteristics, but there's still a tendency to brand young struggling learners as idle and unintelligent by some, when in fact they could be as good as, if not better than, many of their class mates with a little help and support in finding the root cause of their learning disabilities. A little psychological evaluation from a trained professional should soon give answers and then be able to offer effective treatments to those who have a genuine problem with ADHD.

A psychological assessment may warrant some modern treatments for students with learning disabilities such as stimulant medication. Stimulant medications, along with some recommendations for behavior modification, changes in lifestyle, and, in some cases, counseling too, could really help to boost the academic ability of those kids with a learning disability, and when children do better at school, their self esteem grows, which has a major impact on their attitude and outlook upon life in general. Never give up on the kids folks and don't always put disruptive behavior and low grades down to a personality trait.

There are many different learning disabilities but the reason we mention ADD and ADHD so much is because this is the most researched areas in mental health for children, and adults. At the time of writing, it's also one of the most understood too.

For you adults who have suffered a learning disability all of your lives, there is help for you too. If you want to get an education or have a thirst for knowledge but seem unable to learn, then why not go and get an evaluation and see what can be done to help you get our of this rut. For me, after I was diagnosed with adult attention deficit disorder I was given some options and treatments which helped me to understand and deal positively with my condition.

Working with computer training programs at my own pace has done absolute wonders for me, and next year I shall be starting on a bachelors degree online program, which is a far cry from someone who thought they were destined to be a low paid, unhappy general labourer until the day they retired.

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