Category Archives: Learning Disabilities

Celebrating Educational Acheivements

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On The Great Shalom I have always proclaimed that God wants total well-being for all children. Especially I have encouraged academic achievement, something which, for all the hype and words, is less and less valued in American education. I daily see the ravages of evil in this regard. It is most serious when news of a correctable evil is blotted out with charges of “negativism.” What is really negative is to refuse to address a problem, and to lie that evil is good. I see this so much, so pervasively that even I am tempted to get down.

Last night, however, I went to Commencement. Aside from the top administrator saying a few things that could seldom ever be true, given current policies, it was a great event all ’round. We cheered and celebrated so many student. Many of these students, where I have been teaching, work to complete their program of study under great hardship: poverty, under-0preparedness, lack of resources, lack of community and moral support and faculty who themselves must struggle with these things. Yet these few students made it. They were every size and shape. Some walked timidly and others with “excessive celebration” as they say in the sports world.

I could not help ginning ear to ear the entire time. I have seen standards so obliterated that bright students no longer try and learning disabled students not get identified. I have seen so many negative, hurtful things. But last night, I saw some achievement. I wish that I could help more students across such a finish line — whichever is their particular line.

Being a gracious and helpful teacher will not in today’s world be sufficient. Being a broadcaster encouraging the parents of children, probably all of whom have special needs, has even proven insufficient. I would like to train teachers, even to build a teachers’ college. Everywhere we train pastors, we should train teachers. The State of Texas certainly disallows this here, but it is not impossible. Please help me, help more students, over their goal time — with or without excessive celebration!

Happy Graduation! Blessings on all graduates.

No need to suffer so much

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I am so grieved when I see children suffering the problems of not learning. I am grieved when I see adults suffering mental decline — and just being resigned — when there is something they can do. Look, it is an input/output thing! Put garbage in and get garbage out. However, there is a way to correct the system. Your body is more intelligent than the GIGO computer system. Vitamins and supplements work better than medicine. Please Please please check out the list of supplements I have for improving mental capacity. Just go to “store” and scroll down and select “supplements.” I’ve made a list, but you can just click through to the vendors also. I’ve kept his up for years, although I have not made any profit. I just think it is so important. It’s gone so long, that the companies may boot me out, but as long as I can serve you, I would like to do that. Please, I am begging you, don’t resign yourself to mental deficiency — and shortened mission. No! get your medicine/food and be what God wants you to be! That is happy, healthy, holy, and prosperous — accomplishing your mission in the earth.

Don’t Delay Evaluation

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Whether or not to have a child evaluated for special needs is a difficult decision for many parents. Fears about labeling are well founded. However, fears about missing developmental milestones are also well founded.

Someone weighs in here.

Schools Warned About Delaying Special Education Assessments

My thought is not whether one should have a child evaluated but how, by whom, with what aim? An evaluation that makes for a label without real help is detrimental. And evaluation that instead of affixing a label, offers guidance to parent and educators, ensuring the child gets what they need to come up to optimal level (far above norm) would of course be desirable. So, the question is not so much whether to get a child evaluated, but what system that evaluation is used in.

Public schools talk about accommodation, meaning making allowances for a child who is not able to cope with the existing system. Notice whether or not your people are talking about remediation. Are they aiming at fixing the problem? If so, how often are they successful? Do identified children, given remediation, come up to norm? Above? That is a reasonable question! Why enter a program that is unlikely to have a successful outcome. (BTW, the definition of a Learning Disability is a significant discrepancy between IQ and measured performance, so children who get an LD diagnosis have to, by implemented definition, be brighter than average.)

If a psychologist performs the evaluation, you can probably trust that the evaluation will be a scientifically valid one. The difficulty with private testing of this nature is the breakdown of communication between the private office and the educator. Therefore, be sure you understand the doctor’s report. Make sure it is explained to you in everyday English and you are clear on what measures the doctor recommends. Do not assume that the school will be able to decipher the findings or will know what measures to take based on a given report. Parents have to manage the situation.

Each case is different. Parents must weigh the need to know what is wrong and what kind of help is needed with the likelihood of being about to obtain those ends. Pick who does the evaluation, pick the educational help you get, and ensure your child gets the help he or she needs.