PODCAST LD

A person shares their experience of struggling with reading and writing skills throughout elementary and middle school. They were eventually diagnosed with dyslexia in 7th grade and received the extra help they needed. The person discusses the stigma and negative bias associated with learning disabilities and how they felt stigmatized in school. They highlight the importance of education, focusing on strengths and challenges, and developing self-advocacy skills to combat stigmas. They emphasize the need for understanding and support for individuals with learning disabilities. I was a little girl who all through elementary and middle school struggled with my reading and writing skills. I was always put in the lowest reading group, and even then, I remember staring at the wall, pretending to read. I dreaded reading time because, for a while, I just simply couldn't do it. I went home, I remember reading this book about a yellow duck. And my parents were so frustrated with me and how I wasn't able to read this book. We sat there and circled through it, for over an hour, just one word at a time. I experienced many, many tears for every book and every week's spelling list I had to read and write. As I got older, I became embarrassed of how bad of a reader and writer I was. When we popcorn read in school, I would sit and pray not to be called on, because when I was, I would stumble through the paragraph, not knowing the big words. I heard a few giggles in the room, and I will never forget that feeling. I started to develop anxiety around this time in my life. I was always worried about what others would think of me, and I also just thought I was incapable of learning these skills that my classmates had. My mom had asked teachers for me to get extra help as she thought there might be something else going on, to why I wasn't picking up so quickly. It wasn't until 7th grade when I finally got diagnosed with dyslexia. This was definitely life changing for me. I was able to get the extra help I needed. I went to extra tutor sessions where I was able to start making the connections of these words. These words now made sense to me when I read them. I could sound out or remember how to spell them too. Along with my diagnosis came schooling accommodations. I was able to be in a separate room for my tests where I was able to take the time needed to finish them. I was able to read out loud if I wanted. This was the turning point for me and my education. I was able to catch up with the rest of my peers. Reading and writing skills are still hard for me, and I have to work extra hard to keep up. Even though I was behind in my English, I was always ahead in mathematics. This is for many people with a learning disability, because how I struggled was one thing, something else came very easy. I love math. I was able to keep advancing while I took higher math classes in high school than most of my peers around me. I have come very far from the start of my struggles. There are so many other people too who share similar stories all around us, and you just don't know it. According to Leslie from the article, Identifying the Negative Stigmas Associated with Having Learning Disabilities, she states, In this study, it was hypothesized that regardless of a participant's gender, when participants were given a hypothetical description of a person that included information indicating that the individual had a learning disability, these participants would rate that individual less favorably. Results were consistent with the hypothesis. Participants perceived the hypothetical learning disability individual as being less attractive, less successful, less emotionally stable, and more open to new experiences when compared to those participants who were given a non-learning disability description. These results show a level of negative bias in our population towards those with learning disabilities. Leslie also says, in the United States Office of Education in 1977, Define learning disability as a permanent information, processing deficit, or disorder. That affects the manner in which individuals with an average to above-average intelligence learn. Learning disabilities affect one or more of the basic physiological processes involved in understanding or using language spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, write, or spell, or to do mathematical calculations. I don't know. I guess with dyslexia, nobody really talks about this, but sometimes your sentences don't come out correctly. So, I don't know. I just get laughed at sometimes. Historically, people with a learning disability were separated and segregated from society. Like any minority group, people with these learning disabilities desired to achieve acceptance into the society. Have you ever felt stigmatized during school? Yes. So, I am 48 years old right now, and I was diagnosed in first grade. And in those first couple elementary years, I definitely felt out of place and was talked down to by not only students, but also teachers. But definitely stigmatized as far as getting put into special classes and pushed aside through the elementary and middle school times, because they didn't know really how to deal with it. Once you're diagnosed, they just think that you don't know much, so that would be the stigmatism. The people in the school system didn't know really how to teach or deal with some of the kids like that, so we would always just get grouped and not put in the classes to learn real work. So, that was too bad. Those with a learning disability are mistaken as intellectually inferior. This is a stigma that strongly exists. Have you ever felt stigmatized during school? I definitely have by others. I would say my peers tend to think that I'm slow or stupid, but in reality, things should take me longer. Teachers are also guilty of these stigmas, as some of them were found feeling sorry for these students and say that they are simply harder to teach and less intelligent. It can be hard for teachers when they are trying to reach the students in combination. This is due to the fact that the learning disability is non-visual. Any resource I had in high school and college was the books on tape and audiobooks that I could listen to versus reading so much, not comprehending, not understanding it, that audiobooks would really help. There are also less favorable attitudes towards teaching students that are often misunderstood or have a lack of knowledge about disabilities. People are often unaware of the effects and characteristics of learning disabilities that differ from person to person. These effects differ most frequently in severity, visibility, and prevalence of characteristics. It is not just possible, but rather common for people to have more than one learning disability. The OT team, from the article, Three Tips to Combat Learning Disabilities, Stigmas, and Discrimination, state that many people stigmatize phrases such as, You are so smart. You can't possibly have a learning disability. You just need to try harder. Stop being lazy. Don't be difficult. Cheating the system. I would have done well if I had extra time on that test, too. It's not fair. The OT team, from the article, Three Tips to Combat Learning Disabilities, Stigmas, and Discrimination, they say, Step number one is to educate yourself and others about a learning disability. Once you can fully understand your learning disability and realize that you are smart and capable of learning, it is so much easier to overcome the stigmas that are placed. As you can prove to all of them that you are wrong and you can flourish in your education. Number two is to place equal focus on your strengths and challenges. Many students focus on fixing the problem, but this implies that there is something broken or wrong with you, which is not true. With a learning disability, you just need to learn a different way to get there. Because this learning doesn't come as easy to these students, they tend to be more creative thinkers and more able to formulate unique solutions to a problem. This can be a great strength to have. If you are able to focus on these strengths as well as the problem areas, you are able to boost your self-confidence that is able to give you the skills to combat these stigmas. And third is to equip students with self-advocacy skills. When students are able to ask for help that they need, they are then able to understand their learning profile and be proud of it. It is okay for everyone to learn differently, but understanding what works for you and knowing how to get there is very important. I mean, it's difficult to comprehend when the teacher is writing down a word and I'm trying to copy it down and it doesn't come the same way. I don't write it down the same way they did. I hear it one way and I try to write it down when I hear it translated differently. So, I just had to adapt on how I learned and what could help. In college, taking notes from someone else was helpful. So, I guess learning my strengths and weaknesses was the best thing. And once I know what my weakness is, like taking notes, reading comprehension, I was able to find resources to help me with those. And my strength was just listening to the lectures. So, then I could pick up on the actual content, the story, or the theory that was being said. My strength always was math and science, so that's why I went into that field in my career and was successful in college because you go towards your strengths in those classes. According to the Learning Disability Resource Foundation, a significant way to improve self-confidence when living with a learning disability or ADHD is to get educated about the disability. Shifting the focus of shame off of one's shoulders and reaching out for the resources is a key in progress towards success. When an individual understands the disability, he or she is able to overcome the stigma by building steps towards confidence. In turn, students identified with learning disabilities in the school setting are entitled to many resources. It is in this instance of an appropriate diagnosis that the label of a learning disability can bring clarity and much-needed resources and support. As self-education occurs, making the leap towards educating others about the myths of learning disabilities is a crucial step in this learning curve. To overcome a possible stigma, create a new reality for oneself and show how living with a learning disability and ADHD is not something to wear in shame. Gaining self-confidence will transform you into a person who is respected and seen as an advocate. The learning now is way much better than it was 30 years ago. So, my advice is anyone that is struggling should look into it because there's help out there and it's a lot better then. 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