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For centuries, the education of children with learning disabilities has been a problem and a challenge. Many methods of teaching have been proposed, yet every day there are new techniques and strategies on how to achieve the maximum success of these children. The problem of educating a child cannot be solved quickly and easily, rather it requires much careful analysis and research. Workers in this field are developing new theories on a day to day basis. All the methods proposed seem to be the answer, yet the problem is not yet solved. Meanwhile, we must determine the best strategies for the most effective method of teaching a child with learning disabilities. The term "learning disability" can be defined in several ways. Public Law 91-230 (dated April 13, 1970) states, "The term 'children with specific learning disabilities' means those children who have disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Such disorders include such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dy
sfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Such a term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental disadvantage" (Weiss 249). A simple definition of the broad term is "a condition or a series of specific conditions that interfere with the normal learning process in a child who is of average or above average intelligence" (Lamm 1). The children whom we are discussing are those who are sometimes thought to be unprogressive or otherwise not achieving as well as they should at their age level in school. They are usually average children who experience extreme difficulty in learning how to read or to do mathematical problems, or who have difficulty in handling a pencil, buttoning buttons, or tying shoelaces. They can be harshly teased by their classmates for clumsiness or "stupidity," and are frequently labeled as "disciplinary" problems by their teachers because they may act up in class in an attempt to blend in their lack of preparation. Their disabilities are often not recognized and many times these children grow up and go through life, still impaired, still making adjustments, never having been helped because the nature of their disability had not been recognized (Lamm 1-2). Children with learning and behavioral difficulties have a lot in common with all children. They rarely exhibit any kinds of learning and behavior characteristics that are not also seen in the typical child. For example, many times they cannot tell the difference between similar letters or numbers. Many children also exhibit visual perceptual problems during their early exposure of reading instruction, but most children soon learn the appropriate visual discrimination and the associated letter sound, etc. However, it is the children that continue to experience these problems that are diagnosed as having learning difficulties (Gardner 43). The proper identification of a learning problem is only the first step in the redemption process. Before the data obtained from testing and from subjective observations can have prescriptive value, it must be properly interpreted and analyzed correctly. There are so many cases where children are labeled as immature or unenthusiastic and they are given no special attention or care. When the term "immaturity" is used by educators to describe a child, the description does not in any way offer insight into the source of the child's disability or problem. Today, there are so many terms that are used to refer to children who have difficulties comprehending materials and who have atypical behavioral skills. These include terms such as handicapped, disabled, exceptional, impaired, disordered, special, and developmentally delayed. These are general terms, however, it is those terms that actually specify the problem that often get confused. Placing a label on this child is telling those around the child to treat him in a different way than other children. There is substantial research that teachers act differently toward children for whom they have low expectations. Over time, the child's behavior and achievement conforms to the teacher's expectations. By labeling a child, not only will the educator deal with the child differ
Some common words found in the essay are:
Chinese Proverb, Public Law, Dr Lamm, Learning Diabilities, learning disabled, children learning, learning disabled child, learning disabilities, teach children, method teaching, disabled child, children disabilities, difficulty learning, education children, educational system, learning disabled children, achieve maximum success,
Approximate Word count = 2221
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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