by Kim Richards

Created on: July 31, 2009   Last Updated: August 01, 2009

False beliefs about learning disabilities

Not so many years ago, children that exhibited differences from cohorts were usually relegated to classrooms where there was a common misconception that these students would never become contributing members of society. The vision of academic excellence was too high a goal for these students to even consider. Housed in small classrooms with little or no resources, teachers did what they could to teach without proper training. It was not the teacher's fault, society, as a whole, did not accept the notion that someone could learn differently from the norm and thus had no inclination to change education standards for children with disabilities. Sound familiar? Has the education of children with disabilities changed for the better? There have been great advances made in all aspects of identification of students with learning disabilities, perceptions have changed at least in respect to the how and why a child might have an exceptionality. Laws have been written to protect the student from inadequate educational practices. Still there are many false beliefs about disabilities that occur daily within the educational community. One common myth is that these students are impaired as such that new skill levels are impossible to meet especially within the middle school age range. A student's ability to continue and complete a higher education is considered a rarity. The respect of teachers and other students becomes an obstacle to someone with any disability.

Consider the new laws that have been written to protect students from an inadequate education. With IDEA regulations state that a child with a disability has the right to a free and appropriate education. That has led to more inclusive classrooms and greater opportunities for the exceptional student. It has not, though, necessarily changed the teacher's personal opinion of what it means to have a learning disability or how to engage such a student in the academic process. Old habits die hard and just because there are regulations in place it does not always improve teaching on the teacher's part. No Child Left Behind determines that students with disabilities will have standardized testing the same as their regular education classmates. An excellent example of misunderstanding the differences of aptitude and achievement. A student should of course be assessed on his or her progress, but when a child has a learning disability of any kind more options should

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