Learning Disabled or Just Wired Differently

The parents of children with Learning Disabilities all have a story to tell. If given a chance, they will spew forth information – And even worse, these kids are wounded – spiritually, psychologically, behaviorally, and of course, academically. The wounds cut deep to their very souls, and over what? Poor school performance. That’s it. Millions of our children are being made to feel less than adequate because they aren’t able to read, write, spell, or do math as well as the schools dictate.

Yet, these kids are bright, thoughtful, and capable. How can they just not seem to learn? I’ve spent over twenty years closely observing these kids, and I know this may sound crazy, but I feel these are our gifted children, the children who will take us into the next generations. These are our right brain dominant children who have gifts that are not measurable – gifts like creativity, imagination, intuition, and high verbal skills.

If you think about it, you can see that these kids are wired differently. There’s no doubt about it. They are born internet and cable ready. They make jumps and leaps that astound us, yet when asked to read or write, they act as if it is a foreign language - clunky, outmoded. They view pencils as if they came from another planet, yet can sit down at a computer and upload pictures swiftly and easily. They are verbal, astute, imaginative, and creative, but ask them to read and it becomes a guess at the words marathon. We have created these children through our changed society, yet we refuse to give them the tools to succeed in our outmoded educational system.

Every day children go to school and live a seven hour nightmare. They feel left out and stupid. They see other children working easily, but for them, it is torture because they simply cannot work in the medium that is asked of them. They are labeled, sent to different classes, and made to feel inferior. They are teased on the playground and suffer the rejection of their peers. All because they learn in a different manner than the other kids.

Most of these kids are right brain dominant. And most are tactile learners. They learn by doing. But in America’s current school system, there is very little learning that goes on where kids can learn by doing. Most is a lecture model, even for younger children. Sometimes kids get visuals, but they are becoming rare because teachers have too many standards they have to meet to take the time to even think about how kids learn or how the brain works. And every day these beautiful, bright children become more and more wounded.

Parents lose their minds trying to help these kids. They call them lazy, unmotivated, spoiled, waiting for a handout. But I disagree. Kids all want to do well.

Just go to a school awards assembly and watch the kids not getting awards. They are hurt. They hang their heads. Believe me, if they could, they would be getting an award as well. And just by the fact that schools are still having awards assemblies where children sit in shame lets you know that these very school systems have failed these children over and over again.

Part Three - Is Special Education the Right Choice?