Last spring 17-year-old Ladd Olson, of Vinalhaven, was given an essay assignment by one of his teachers. The topic was up to him. Having been designated a “special education” student, he decided to research his learning disability (or learning difference), dyslexia.
“This topic stuck out to me,” he said. “I got sick of hearing other kids making assumptions about special ed. There was a lack of information, and I didn’t know an awful lot myself. Ladd is one of 45 special education students at Vinalhaven School. Those 45 students account for 18 percent of the school population, close to the state and national averages.
However, being a special education student in a small school has its advantages. “Thankfully, being a small school with a strong special education staff, we have become increasingly able to accommodate students and work with different learning styles,” said Vinalhaven School Leader Mike Felton. “Students like Ladd, along with the special education staff, have really pushed us to see special education as an area not of learning-disabled students, but of students who learn differently.”
The essay assignment proved powerful for Ladd as well as for many others in the school. “I have more knowledge about disabilities now, and that they don’t limit you in any way,” he said.
The following is the product of his assignment. It is a lesson he wanted to share with others.
— Kris Osgood
Being a special education student is hard. There are a variety of tests and programs designed to help students overcome their learning disabilities. These programs don’t always work even though science has learned a great deal; the brain and how it works is not completely figured out.
I know most of this by first-hand experience. In the fifth grade I was diagnosed with dyslexia. Homework that takes a strong reader a half an hour to an hour to read, would take me 2-3 hours or not get done at all because I get so frustrated. It wouldn’t be worth it. That’s why accommodations are made, so smart kids with learning disabilities do not get left out from a good education and a successful life.
An article titled “Special Education and the Concept of Neurodiversity” by Thomas Armstrong asked if disorders like dyslexia are actually a difference rather than a disability. Armstrong previously used words such as `disability,’ `disorder’ and `dysfunction’ to describe the lives of children with special learning needs. He later wrote “In many previous writings I have criticized special education for identifying certain children based on what they can’t do rather than on what they can do.” Society tends to look at disorders as black and white and overlooks the big picture of disabilities and differences. Society does not understand the wide range of disabilities that exist and only tends to look at what is considered normal.
Is there such a thing as normal? Who defines normal? Does “normal” vary depending on the environment and situation? According to one definition found on the Internet, normal is “being approximately average or within certain limits in intelligence and development;” “a perfectly normal child;” “of normal intelligence;” “the most normal person I’ve ever met.” In a survey done in 1998 by the National Assessment of Education Progress, 69 percent of fourth graders and 67 percent of eighth graders were reading below proficiency levels. It was also found that as much as 38 percent of fourth graders had not achieved basic reading skills. Most often normal is based on the factors that occur most frequently. If it is said that a child should be reading at a certain grade level how can it be determined with these contradictory statistics? Students with reading deficiencies seem to be occurring more regularly than students without deficiencies. Maybe what has been used to determine what is normal and proficient in reading isn’t accurate.
With an over-loaded schedule and often a lack of training in special education, are regular education teachers qualified to meet the broad needs of all their students? In the state of Maine, regular education teachers only need to take one special education class as part of their certification requirements unless they are in the special education field. With all of the federal laws such as No Child Left Behind and the non-flexibility of public school curriculums, regular education teachers are left with no choice but to do their best to follow the guidelines set out for them. In the end, it’s the students who suffer. Students with learning disabilities now more than ever need to be provided with special services in order to ensure their success.
Often the kids try to hide their disabilities so they don’t stick out. Their intelligence is hidden by their poor reading ability. They have strong verbal, visual, auditory, motor, and comprehension skills but lack phonological skills, which inhibits their ability to read. When a child with dyslexia reads, 10 times more brain activity goes on in the child’s head than in the head of an average reader; however, the activity does not enable the child to read proficiently. This brain activity is not obvious to the outside observer but the student’s inability to read is. Intelligence is frequently judged by reading ability, but history has shown that many successful people have learning disabilities. Albert Einstein, a famous mathematician and physicist, had a learning disability and did not speak until age three. He had a very difficult time doing math in school, and it was hard for him to express himself through writing. He is not the only one. There are many others including, Winston Churchill, Nelson Rockefeller, President Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington and many successful people that are out of the spotlight as well.
Sally Shaywitz, a neuroscientist and author of “Overcoming Dyslexia,” was at a dinner party. A professor at her table was speaking about dyslexia, “Now dyslexics want to go to law school,” he said. “Can you imagine: a person like that as your lawyer?” She replied, “I would consider it fortunate to have David Boies as my lawyer. Yes, a person like that.” Little did he know that Boies, a high profile lawyer, is dyslexic and did not read until the third grade. He now has his own law firm and represented New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in a suit against Major League Baseball. He also defended Napster when the company was sued by the RIAA for facilitating copyright infringement. In November 2003, he represented Andrew Fastow, deposed Chief Financial Officer of Enron.
Equal doesn’t exist in education. As much as we try to make it equal, equal doesn’t solve anything. “It” is education, it is society, it is life. It isn’t equal. Through trial and error we can change the education system to benefit kids of all differences. With the help of the state legislature, school boards, administrations and teachers it can all come together to create not good education but great education. Once I was asked a question, `If I could, would I take a pill to make my learning disabilities go away?’ After researching and writing this paper I have come to realize that dyslexia gives me the opportunity to look at things differently and make different choices. I feel safe to say that I would not take “the pill” if there was one.