THE LEARNING DISABLED

Of the remaining 9 women, 2 were learning disabled. One had gone to college for a year but had stopped going because she said it was hard work. She felt "exhausted" and "needed a break." It takes energy to stay in class." This woman castigated the school system. "Teachers are not allowed to teach phonics, it's all visual. A dyslexic can't rely on sight vision." She was angry because “nothing's changed. My daughter's going through the same thing I did and I'm fighting with the teachers. They refuse to acknowledge that she is dyslexic. They say she has a 'learning problem". Dyslexics are not stupid. They need help to learn in other ways. Every Grade 1 teacher should receive training to recognize and cope with the problem.” Although these quotes are attributed to this woman, similar comments were made to this writer by all other dyslexics who had children in the school system. They want a better deal for their children and are frustrated when they see no apparent changes in the system since their own childhood.

The other woman had a different kind of learning disability. She had volunteered for the interview because she felt that by sharing her story it might help others. "You can't imagine the shame and embarrassment I feel. I virtually cheated my way through school and it was not until Grade 12 that one of my subject teachers (i.e. other than English) told me I had a problem." (This woman had had problems with English as a child since Grade 2, but as her family was very mobile, she never stayed in any one school long enough for the problem to be detected.) “I can’t read to my nieces - I stumble over the words, skip them and mispronounce them” She had tried first year college university-transfer courses, but "cheated and covered up" to get through. Her parents evidently did not know she had a problem. Her husband thinks she's “OK”, but she knows she isn't: “I cry with frustration.” She works and has a bright, personable manner and, perhaps because of her travels, has more "savoir-faire" than the "average" ABE person.

On her own initiative, she went to a local educational centre and asked to be put through the assessment tests in order to locate her problem. Her oral comprehension was excellent; she was reading at a Grade 7 - 8 level, but was “severely disabled” in other areas. She has no word attack skills or decoding ability. She went to the local college, was asked to read a passage and asked whether she understood it. She said "yes", but evidently did not. She was told, "OK, you don't have a problem," and was assigned to ABE Intermediate. She does not feel that that is the most appropriate route for her. She would like a regular one-to-one tutor who could give her the specific individual help she needs. She wants to help herself, but can the system help her?