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LEARNING DISABILITIES BOOK INTRODUCTION
While students and professionals may find this information controversial, they too may gain some insights into learning that may serve them well during the assessment process. Part I is an introduction to the environmental influences since World War II that are believed to be contributing to the incidence of learning disabilities that is increasing at a rate of 20% every 10 years. At school enrollment the child should show evidence of the development of the skill of speech, hearing, and eye-hand coordination. If the child has not achieved this level of maturation, he is not ready for school as it is presently constituted and he will not reach an expected level. At kindergarten registration many children fall into this category. This suggests that something is amiss in the early pre-school home environment that is having a negative impact upon child growth and development. It is hoped that the information in this work will motivate parents to evaluate their home environment and intervene to prevent further damage to the developing learning mechanisms of the their child's brain and to possibly correct some of the damage that may already have been done. It is strongly emphasized that maturation is an ongoing process and it is never too late to influence the development of a child. Some of the social practices having the most negative influence upon child development are identified. Incidence in the population and impact upon learning are reported as each chapter seeks to answer the likely questions: Why Is This Happening? What Does This Mean for My Child? Activities, interventions, accommodations and modifications to facilitate learning, both at home and at school, are offered at the end of each chapter in a section entitled What to Do. Part II includes a definition and history of special education and its intended role and function in the effort to educate all children. The reader is introduced to the process of determining eligibility for special education and federal and state legislation are explored in terms of the parent’s rights in the process. The responsibility of the school district and some explanation of the discrepancy between what the law says and what the schools are doing is examined. Further, it explains why the schools are not always able to abide by the spirit and letter of the law. Because of the complicated nature of schools and the legislation regulating them, parents are encouraged to take an active role in the education of their children by preparing them to learn and by advocating for an appropriate educational program. It is strongly emphasized that it is the responsibility of the parent to prepare the child for learning, while it is the responsibility of the schools to educate the child who comes to them. When students arrive at school unprepared to learn, it may be incumbent upon schools to expand their role and function to include some efforts at helping to prepare the children to learn. This new effort implies a partnership with service providers in the community to bring those services into the schools. Part III is an exploration of processing disorders, as required for a designation of learning disability. Behaviors exhibited in the classroom and a rationale for the behavior, along with modifications and accommodations for the general education classroom, are offered. These interventions are applied to the elementary, middle and high school environments as an aid to developing the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Finally, some liberty has been taken to be candid about child-rearing practices in modern America, the attitudes of teachers and schools toward children needing special education and to share with parents the many things about children, education and the law about which it is not in the school’s best interest for them to know. Overall, this work is a road map of how-to activities, which will be of assistance from the beginning to the end of the special education process. The information contained herein is intended to assist parents in making a decision about whether to place their child in special education, as well as show them some ways to assist the learning process at home and in the general education classroom as the least restrictive environment. Also, it may be of some help to parents who already have made the decision and have placed, or refused to place, their child in special education. The objective of this work is to assist parents and professionals in assuring that each child receives a “free, appropriate, public education” by building an educational program around identified learning strengths and weaknesses while seeking an answer to the question: “is special education appropriate, even if the child is eligible?”
More information is available in our book entitled Learning Disabilities.
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