Bringing learning disabilities into the classroom

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

For the few minutes it took them to do the activities, the Grade 5 students at Carleton Consolidated School in Yarmouth County admitted they were frustrated, confused and felt like giving up.

So than imagine, they were told, what it feels like to struggle with a learning disability everyday of your school life.

Last Friday a group of junior and senior high students visited the elementary school with Ginny Boudreau, a learning disabilities specialist with the Tri-County Regional School Board, to talk about learning disabilities. All of the older students deal with a learning disability on a daily basis – some have trouble reading or recognizing letters, for some keeping their attention focused on the task at hand is difficult.

The Grade 5 students were given activities to work through that simulated a learning disability. One included using a mirror to trace a path through a maze – the reflection simulated what it feels like to have dyslexia. Another activity involved reading a story where the letters were jumbled, simulating how people often get letters like B, D and P mixed up. “How difficulty do you think it would be to read like that everyday?” asked Boudreau afterwards, to which the students responded very difficulty. Yet they learned that learning disabilities are not uncommon. Usually six in every 100 students experience one.

And unlike some physical disabilities, Boudreau said, the learning disability can’t usually be “seen.” “That’s why it is so important to ask for help,” she said. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for help.”

Student Lawrence Dalton also offered this advice to the younger students: “Don’t let yourself get behind, because the further you fall behind, the harder it is to catch up.”

Boudreau and the students have done presentations like this one with parents, but this was the first one they did with other students. Boudreau hopes it will be the first of many.

And while all of the students standing before the classroom had areas they were weak in, they still have strengths whether it be in sports, arts, dance or something else. “The most important thing is we’re all okay,” said Boudreau. “It’s just that we may have to do things differently.”