The Needs and Rights of Children With Learning Disabilities
The Needs and Rights of Children With Learning Disabilities
Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.
March, 2006
Copyright © 2006
The new millennium ushers the potential of an unlimited technological, scientific and cultural future for mankind. However, it is also apparent that the world faces increasing problems preparing youth for this future. Violence, vandalism, increased school dropout rates and mental health problems among students stand in stark reality to this promising future. The burden of preparing children academically for the future has and will increasingly be borne on the shoulders of our educational systems. Schools must find a way to educate all students efficiently and effectively. They must provide students with knowledge, critical thinking skills and resilience qualities. Competency in basic academic skills, including reading, writing, spelling and mathematics are essential skills. Basic academic competency in the world we have created for our children today and for their future is a necessity not a luxury. In this month's article I outline the six basic rights of children with learning disabilities, educationally fragile children. It is my intent in collaboration with Ms. Sophie Dow of the children's charity, Mindroom, to seek international support for this statement from professionals in all walks of education, medicine and mental health.
The bell curve model of education has created a system that teaches to the average or majority. Those who fall short or for that matter are advanced, struggle to have their needs met in such a system. There is an emerging body of scientific research demonstrating that learning disabilities are not discrete, bi-modal phenomena, but that the underlying skill weaknesses and ultimate achievement problems experienced by the one out of five children with learning disabilities worldwide, fall along a continuum. To serve youth with learning disabilities, our educational system must shift from a categorical, bi-modal model of differences to a model that acknowledges that the majority of children's school problems result from variations in abilities and environmental influences. There are significant differences between children struggling as the result of lack of educational opportunity or, for that matter, slow learners and children with learning disability. The latter group demonstrates clearly defined neuropsychological weaknesses, impeding their ability to benefit from general education processes and progress at a rate consistent with other students.
Children with learning disabilities struggle as the result of neurologically based impairments in language, motor or perceptual processes leading to impaired achievement. It is the consensus of the international scientific community that learning disabilities refer to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. These disorders are due to central nervous system dysfunction and though they may co-occur with other behavioral, emotional and environmental issues, are not the direct result of those conditions or influences. These impairments slow the rate of achievement for learning disabled children leading to an increasing discrepancy between their level of academic achievement and those of same age and grade peers. This increasing gap as children progress through school makes it extremely difficult for those with learning disabilities with otherwise normal intellectual capabilities to function successfully within typical educational settings. Late identification, inadequate efforts at remediation and compensation, lack of awareness about the pervasiveness of these problems, as well as the impact these impairments have upon healthy emotional development cause serious and significant problems in all walks of life for children with learning disabilities.
With appropriate identification and education, children with learning disabilities can close the gap and develop effective compensatory skills, yet a significant percentage progress into adulthood, poorly prepared to transition successfully into the world of work and independent living. They struggle to access post high school education at a level consistent with their potential. They struggle to develop the vocational skills necessary to compete effectively in the work force and typically experience high rates of unemployment and related life problems. The very same impairments in phonetic development, processing speed and orthographic skills that cause learning disabilities also lead to impairments in all walks of adult life.
Despite an increasing body of scientific research demonstrating the nature, causes and impact of learning disabilities, multiple obstacles continue to impede the development of appropriate programs and the opportunity for children with learning disabilities to receive an appropriate education. These obstacles include general ignorance about the nature and causes of learning disabilities among the lay public and many professionals; biases about the existence of the condition that reflect faulty or inaccurate beliefs rather than available science; general and even teachers specially trained for learning disabilities continue to be poorly prepared to understand effective processes of assessment and intervention for these children. Finally, and perhaps most critically, there continues to be a lack of sufficient funding available to provide for the early identification and lifetime educational and transition needs of children with learning disabilities.
The Rights of Children with Learning Disabilities
Children with learning disabilities are entitled to and must be provided with the following rights.
Education. All children have the right to access an educational system that allows them to develop basic literacy and critical thinking skills, acquire a diversity of knowledge and develop independent living and vocational skills.
Identification. All children have the right to participate in an educational system capable of identifying through scientific, sound educational practices those students at risk to fail before failure causes significant impairment and adversity in school and general life.
Remediation. Children identified with learning disabilities have the right to access established and effective programs within their educational systems capable of directly addressing and ameliorating specific learning disabilities.
Compensation. Children with learning disabilities have the right to be provided with compensatory strategies allowing them to function effectively in the broader educational and community contexts while receiving remediation, when remediation is ineffective or falls short of establishing basic literacy and functionality.
Emotion. Children with learning disabilities have the right to be psychologically healthy and educated in nurturing environments. They should not suffer emotionally or psychologically because of their disabilities nor the ignorance of others.
Transition. Children with learning disabilities are entitled to appropriate and supportive transition services for as long as required to assist them in transitioning into competitive vocation and independent living.
Our Mandate
To meet the needs of children with learning disabilities worldwide, we seek a mandate and consensus recognizing the importance of preparing every child for adult life. Colleges and teacher training institutes must begin providing all educators with appropriate information about learning disabilities, opportunities to develop skills to identify children in need before they fail, opportunities to develop effective remedial as well as compensatory strategies and skills for the classroom. World wide, educators must acknowledge the most common impairments presenting in schools are learning disabilities. Funding must be provided to identify students at risk early in life and serve their needs as long as required. Finally, employers must be educated about learning disabilities and the critical role of vocational opportunity in helping all children transition successfully into adult life.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has accepted that as we are an international community, it is the duty of each citizen of every nation to ensure that children's rights to survival, protection, development and education are fulfilled. I welcome your comments and ideas. In the coming year we hope to use this statement to seek a worldwide mandate assuring the educational rights of all students with learning disabilities.
