Learning Differences
Julie Stauffer
This entire LD thing has been rolling around in my head. It tends to be a
sore spot because people keep gasping that my 8yo doesn't read fluently. So
I have some thoughts to throw out.....
I do not dribble a basketball well. I have tried and tried but I don't do
it well. My guess would be that if you did some type of neuro mapping of me
dribbling and Michael Jordan, or even a kid on the local basketball team,
dribbling, our mapping would look considerably different. Does that mean
that there is some neurological cause for my inability to dribble well? Do
I have Dys-bounce-ia? And if there is a core neurological difference, is
that a difference or a disability? Where do we draw the line between normal
variation and anomaly?
Second, most things fall along a bell-shaped, normal distribution curve.
Height does, weight does, intelligence does, dribbling ability does. I
would tend to guess that reading ability, mathematics ability, etc. also
fall along a bell curve. Is it possible that LD people are simply the
bottom end of the bell curve on that particular skill? We don't say that
short people are Growing Disabled, or that poor dribblers are Bouncing
Disabled, why do we say poor readers are Learning Disabled?
Is disability, something being "wrong" with you, determined by how much that
ability is favored or utilized by the society in which you live? Were there
Learning Disabled people 500 years ago or simply people on the low end of
the bell curve, people for whom a skill was more difficult? If the society
in which you live determines whether or not you are "disabled", is the
diagnosis a reflection of you or of your society? If it is a reflection of
your society, can it truly be considered a diagnosis at all?
Julie
sore spot because people keep gasping that my 8yo doesn't read fluently. So
I have some thoughts to throw out.....
I do not dribble a basketball well. I have tried and tried but I don't do
it well. My guess would be that if you did some type of neuro mapping of me
dribbling and Michael Jordan, or even a kid on the local basketball team,
dribbling, our mapping would look considerably different. Does that mean
that there is some neurological cause for my inability to dribble well? Do
I have Dys-bounce-ia? And if there is a core neurological difference, is
that a difference or a disability? Where do we draw the line between normal
variation and anomaly?
Second, most things fall along a bell-shaped, normal distribution curve.
Height does, weight does, intelligence does, dribbling ability does. I
would tend to guess that reading ability, mathematics ability, etc. also
fall along a bell curve. Is it possible that LD people are simply the
bottom end of the bell curve on that particular skill? We don't say that
short people are Growing Disabled, or that poor dribblers are Bouncing
Disabled, why do we say poor readers are Learning Disabled?
Is disability, something being "wrong" with you, determined by how much that
ability is favored or utilized by the society in which you live? Were there
Learning Disabled people 500 years ago or simply people on the low end of
the bell curve, people for whom a skill was more difficult? If the society
in which you live determines whether or not you are "disabled", is the
diagnosis a reflection of you or of your society? If it is a reflection of
your society, can it truly be considered a diagnosis at all?
Julie
Bridget
May I ask you a question???
Why do you seem to believe that diagnosing a problem is bad? You
seem to be saying that we should just accept ourselves and not try to
make improvements. I can't believe that is what you really mean, but
that is how it sounds to me when you say that things like dyslexia
should just be left alone and the person will learn to deal with it
eventually. But at what cost? How much of that person's life will
be spent unhappy trying to learn to cope, when there are people who
can help find and address the problems?
And maybe that is part of the problem, Have you, maybe, lumped the
whole thing together into one issue - schools? Just because the
schools misdiagnose, misuse valid diagnoses. over react to diagnoses,
etc. should not mean that we have to completely abandon everything
that is available in the world of educational psychology.
Bridget
Why do you seem to believe that diagnosing a problem is bad? You
seem to be saying that we should just accept ourselves and not try to
make improvements. I can't believe that is what you really mean, but
that is how it sounds to me when you say that things like dyslexia
should just be left alone and the person will learn to deal with it
eventually. But at what cost? How much of that person's life will
be spent unhappy trying to learn to cope, when there are people who
can help find and address the problems?
And maybe that is part of the problem, Have you, maybe, lumped the
whole thing together into one issue - schools? Just because the
schools misdiagnose, misuse valid diagnoses. over react to diagnoses,
etc. should not mean that we have to completely abandon everything
that is available in the world of educational psychology.
Bridget
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Julie Stauffer" <jnjstau@g...> wrote:
> This entire LD thing has been rolling around in my head.
> Julie
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/1/2001 12:25:31 AM Eastern Standard Time,
jnjstau@... writes:
You have a very clear and level headed way of looking at this issue. You have
definitely given me food for thought and things to ponder on. I really like
when that happens. It is really easy to give into other people's diagnosis's
and perceptions of who they think we are and how to fix that. There are lots
of those types of things that are fairly new and I suspect some day will be
looked back on as voodoo medicine maybe. It has happened all throughout our
history really. Anyway, just a thank you for giving me something to think on.
lovemary
Remember that every act is an act of self-definition. Every thought
carries the energy of creation. Every word is a declaration of what is true
for you. Look to see what you are doing today. Is this how you choose to
define yourself? Look to see what you are thinking today. Is this what you
wish to create? Look to see what you are saying today. Is this what you
desire to be so? Each moment of your life is a holy moment, a moment of
creation
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
jnjstau@... writes:
> Is disability, something being "wrong" with you, determined by how much thatJulie,
> ability is favored or utilized by the society in which you live? Were there
> Learning Disabled people 500 years ago or simply people on the low end of
> the bell curve, people for whom a skill was more difficult? If the society
> in which you live determines whether or not you are "disabled", is the
> diagnosis a reflection of you or of your society? If it is a reflection of
> your society, can it truly be considered a diagnosis at all?
>
> Julie
>
You have a very clear and level headed way of looking at this issue. You have
definitely given me food for thought and things to ponder on. I really like
when that happens. It is really easy to give into other people's diagnosis's
and perceptions of who they think we are and how to fix that. There are lots
of those types of things that are fairly new and I suspect some day will be
looked back on as voodoo medicine maybe. It has happened all throughout our
history really. Anyway, just a thank you for giving me something to think on.
lovemary
Remember that every act is an act of self-definition. Every thought
carries the energy of creation. Every word is a declaration of what is true
for you. Look to see what you are doing today. Is this how you choose to
define yourself? Look to see what you are thinking today. Is this what you
wish to create? Look to see what you are saying today. Is this what you
desire to be so? Each moment of your life is a holy moment, a moment of
creation
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Elsa Haas
Julie,
Well put!
In an earlier post, I described how I didnt learn to tell time until I was
12, even though I was a straight-A student almost all the way through
school.
I neglected to mention that I cant yo-yo; can only whistle in (not by
blowing out); learned to ride a bike at about the same age I learned to tell
time (even though my balance was great when I practiced judo); and (a great
failing in certain circles) never did learn to burp at will. And Ill be
darned if I ever did actually understand any of the Chemistry I aced in high
school.
Hmmmm. Wonder what label that constellation of symptoms would get me these
days?
Elsa Haas
-----Original Message-----
From: Julie Stauffer [mailto:jnjstau@...]
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2001 12:22 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Learning Differences
This entire LD thing has been rolling around in my head. It tends to be a
sore spot because people keep gasping that my 8yo doesn't read fluently. So
I have some thoughts to throw out.....
I do not dribble a basketball well. I have tried and tried but I don't do
it well. My guess would be that if you did some type of neuro mapping of me
dribbling and Michael Jordan, or even a kid on the local basketball team,
dribbling, our mapping would look considerably different. Does that mean
that there is some neurological cause for my inability to dribble well? Do
I have Dys-bounce-ia? And if there is a core neurological difference, is
that a difference or a disability? Where do we draw the line between normal
variation and anomaly?
Second, most things fall along a bell-shaped, normal distribution curve.
Height does, weight does, intelligence does, dribbling ability does. I
would tend to guess that reading ability, mathematics ability, etc. also
fall along a bell curve. Is it possible that LD people are simply the
bottom end of the bell curve on that particular skill? We don't say that
short people are Growing Disabled, or that poor dribblers are Bouncing
Disabled, why do we say poor readers are Learning Disabled?
Is disability, something being "wrong" with you, determined by how much that
ability is favored or utilized by the society in which you live? Were there
Learning Disabled people 500 years ago or simply people on the low end of
the bell curve, people for whom a skill was more difficult? If the society
in which you live determines whether or not you are "disabled", is the
diagnosis a reflection of you or of your society? If it is a reflection of
your society, can it truly be considered a diagnosis at all?
Julie
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Well put!
In an earlier post, I described how I didnt learn to tell time until I was
12, even though I was a straight-A student almost all the way through
school.
I neglected to mention that I cant yo-yo; can only whistle in (not by
blowing out); learned to ride a bike at about the same age I learned to tell
time (even though my balance was great when I practiced judo); and (a great
failing in certain circles) never did learn to burp at will. And Ill be
darned if I ever did actually understand any of the Chemistry I aced in high
school.
Hmmmm. Wonder what label that constellation of symptoms would get me these
days?
Elsa Haas
-----Original Message-----
From: Julie Stauffer [mailto:jnjstau@...]
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2001 12:22 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Learning Differences
This entire LD thing has been rolling around in my head. It tends to be a
sore spot because people keep gasping that my 8yo doesn't read fluently. So
I have some thoughts to throw out.....
I do not dribble a basketball well. I have tried and tried but I don't do
it well. My guess would be that if you did some type of neuro mapping of me
dribbling and Michael Jordan, or even a kid on the local basketball team,
dribbling, our mapping would look considerably different. Does that mean
that there is some neurological cause for my inability to dribble well? Do
I have Dys-bounce-ia? And if there is a core neurological difference, is
that a difference or a disability? Where do we draw the line between normal
variation and anomaly?
Second, most things fall along a bell-shaped, normal distribution curve.
Height does, weight does, intelligence does, dribbling ability does. I
would tend to guess that reading ability, mathematics ability, etc. also
fall along a bell curve. Is it possible that LD people are simply the
bottom end of the bell curve on that particular skill? We don't say that
short people are Growing Disabled, or that poor dribblers are Bouncing
Disabled, why do we say poor readers are Learning Disabled?
Is disability, something being "wrong" with you, determined by how much that
ability is favored or utilized by the society in which you live? Were there
Learning Disabled people 500 years ago or simply people on the low end of
the bell curve, people for whom a skill was more difficult? If the society
in which you live determines whether or not you are "disabled", is the
diagnosis a reflection of you or of your society? If it is a reflection of
your society, can it truly be considered a diagnosis at all?
Julie
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=178320.1681224.3270152.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=17050819
72:HM/A=879172/R=0/*http://www.fastweb.com/ib/yahoo-75f>
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> .
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]