Learning Disability Within Mathematics, Science, and Other Subjects, Essay Example

Learning Disability (LD) is a disability significant in children of normal intelligence who experience difficulties in learning specific skills. Such difficulties arise when children fail to adopt certain learning methods such as visual, auditory, and touch. Notably, children with LD can learn effectively in certain ways. Specific Learning Disabilities can therefore be seen as disorders in one or more of the essential psychological processes involved in using language (spoken or written), or in understanding. Such disorders manifest themselves in an imperfect ability to think, listen, read, write, speak, spell, or carry out mathematical calculations. It is possible for a child to be both gifted and learning disabled but some people including teachers still doubt this possibility. This paper reviews the topic of Learning Disability in students with special emphasis on this controversial issue of gifts and learning disabilities coexisting together. It is presumed that like other disabilities Learning disability is not inability to learn.

Some common forms of Learning Disabilities are Autism, Cognitive Disability, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disability, Hearing Impairments, Multiple disabilities, and Orthopedic Impairments (Adams, 1986). All these disabilities can adversely affect the performance of the child in one way or another. However, proper identification of these disabilities in children can enable teachers to accommodate such children in general classrooms. This is because the disabilities only affect one style of learning and other suitable styles can always be adopted. Moreover, some learning disabilities can be mitigated through specialized equipments. For instance hearing aids can be used in cases of Hearing Impairments.

It is unfortunate that even teachers, who should be giving proper guidelines, are still mixed up in this issue. This notion of rejecting possibilities of gifts in children with learning disabilities can be attributed to several factors. First, tests used to identify either gifted or learning disabled children cannot capture the condition of duo gift and learning disability (Conover, 1996). This is because conditions of simultaneous high intellectual functioning and specific processing deficits which exists in such students offset each other depressing test scores. Second, educational programming has continued to focus on remediating weaknesses in basic skills for those with learning disabilities (Van TasselBaska, 1991; Howard, 1994). This has denied those with high abilities a chance to develop or demonstrate their abilities and potential.

Children who are both gifted and learning disabled generally have high intellectual levels, specific academic deficits, and some processing deficit (Ferri et al, 1997). Often such specific deficits involve perception and memory resulting in weaknesses in mathematics, reading, or writing (Baum, 1994). To identify such characteristics in children various tools and methods can be used which include but not limited to use of multi-dimensional approach in assessing strengths and weaknesses; use of the WISC-R; conducting academic testing; analyzing data obtained from teachers and parents; and by interviewing students (Suter & Wolf, 1987).

A vigorous campaign should be conducted to enlighten people especially teachers and convince them that it is possible for children to be gifted and learning disabled at the same time. Teachers need to be prepared on how to meet the needs of such children in general classrooms. To accomplish this, teachers should be enlightened on several existing Learning Disabilities and taught how to check them in children. They should further be taught how to deal with each case specifically when teaching. Students on the other hand should be encouraged to develop self-understanding of talents and learning disabilities and appreciate them as they occur (Conover, 1996).

Learning Disabilities should not doom the education of any child. People are created differently and no one can claim to be perfect. On the other hand no one can be poor in all fields. Children with learning disabilities have strengths also and teachers should capitalize on these strengths to pass knowledge to them. Such children with strengths (gifts) and having learning disabilities should be allowed to work and interact with others having similar giftedness and difficulties. Isolating them may not work well but placing them in regular classes with additional pullout classes to meet their specific needs can give positive results. At long run these children should be able to demonstrate proudly how well students can learn and achieve when gifted and learning disabled.             

References

Adams, R. R. (1986). Case study: The gifted child with learning problems. Gifted Education International, 4, 21-23

Baum, S.M. (1994). Meeting the needs of gifted / learning disabled students. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 5 (3), 6-16

Conover, L. (1996). Gifted and learning disabled? It is possible!  [Online Article] retrieved September 8, 2009 from http://www.ldonline.org/article/Gifted_and_Learning_Disabled%3F_It_Is_Possible!/6068

Ferri, B. A., Gregg, N. & Heggoy, S. J. (1997). Profiles of college students demonstrating learning disabilities with and without giftedness. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30 (5), 552-559

Howard, J. B. (1994). Addressing needs through strengths. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 5 (3), 23-34

Suter, D.P., & Wolf, J.S. (1987). Issues in the identification and programming of the gifted/learning disabled child. Journal for the Education of the the Gifted, 10 (3), 227-237

Van Tassel-Baska, J. (1991). Gifted education in the balance: Building relationships with general education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 35 (1), 20-25