If you’ve watched the movie Forrest Gump, and wonder why Forrest couldn’t get into public school because of his low IQ, it's because he went to school before the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted.
A learning disability is a neurological disorder where a person has difficulties with processing knowledge and acquiring skills at the level of those who are the same age, even though not being physically handicapped.
“It’s something that stays with you for a lifetime.” said Vinita Subramani, director for the Disability Access Center at Wright College. “It looks different at different ages. Typically when a child is diagnosed with a learning disability, say in elementary school, it’s going to be the teacher who notices or your parent that sees something is not right with the academic performance of the student. Then they do a series of tests and, if positive, a learning disability is diagnosed.”
Typically, a student with a learning disability can struggle with reading, writing, or math, which can cause the student to have issues with spelling, numbers, and handwriting. “Some children will have trouble pro
cessing a lot of information. Say you present them with a paragraph of reading and then absorbing that information and processing it, it becomes different for some children.”
Social challenges can come with having a disability,due to peers or friends are performing at different level. Some students also face bullying, which seems not to be happening at Wright. “If students are getting bullied because of their disability I don’t get to hear about it. Typically I just hear about the challenges that they have on a test, in an assignment or attendance and performance related issues.” Subramani continued. “I have heard stories about students being bullied when they were in high school, but in college level honestly they haven’t spoken to me about it, and it’s possibly because it might not be the right place to talk about it. Maybe they feel more comfortable talking to their peers, but no one has brought that to my attention.”
During his campaign, President Donald Trump mocked Serge F. Kovaleski, a disabled reporter from The New York Times who wrote an article about the 9/11 attacks and people celebrating them when he was working for the Washington Post. Kovaleski couldn’t remember writing that people were celebrating the 9/11 attacks, and Trump took advantage of that moment and mocked him for it.
Subramani’s reaction was “shock, horror, and a lot of anger. The reactions from everyone on my team has been just the same. It was a reaction of ‘disbelief, horror, and anger’, but at the same time we believe that people have the power to change things, so the important thing is to not lose hope and keep fighting for our rights. There are a lot of good people who are willing to fight for the rights of people with all kinds of abilities.”According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, there is no exact cause for learning disabilities but certain factors that could harm a developing fetus can lead to a learning disability. These factors include poor nutrition, or exposure to toxins like lead. However, a learning disability can develop later on in life which can include cases of dementia or a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
One student who wishes to remain anonymous on customary condition, was born five months premature due to her mother’s planning method failing. Due to that, she developed Hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain,” because of a ventricle in the brain that became obstructed the day she was born. She had around thirty surgeries inside her head, and has a shunt to drain the cerebrospinal fluid and to prevent Hydrocephalus. Whenever she has symptoms of Hydrocephalus (sleepiness, very strong headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting) she has to go to the emergency room.
As a result of this sickness she needs reinforcement in math. When her health fails, she falls behind in school which causes a pileup of work. With the support of her parents, her teachers, and the hospital staff, she has been able to overcome these obstacles and graduate high school with honors in Computer Science and AP Spanish.
Having a learning disability is rough, but with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the support of others diagnosed individuals strive to get better everyday.