Collection of Experiences (3)

Sarah Barnes

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which my own experience
of having Specific Learning Disabilities has impacted my life and my future as an
educator.
The Michigan MARSE Document defines Specific Learning Disabilities as a
disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in
an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical
calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain
injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia. (Michigan
Department of Education, Office of Special Education, 2013, p.18). Specific Learning
Disabilities does also contain an exclusionary clause which states that The term
does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result
of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, or mental retardation, or of environmental,
cultural or economic disadvantage. The document continues by stating that A
determination of learning disability shall be based upon a full and individual
evaluation by a multidisciplinary evaluation team, which shall include at least both of
the following: (a) The students general education teacher or, if the student does not
have a general education teacher, a general education teacher

qualified to

teach a student of his or her age or, for a child of less than school age,
individual qualified

by the

her age. (b) At

least 1 person

an

state educational agency to teach a child of his or

qualified to conduct individual diagnostic

examinations of children and who can interpret the instructional implications of

evaluation results, such as a school psychologist, an authorized provider of speech
and language under R 340.1745(d), or a teacher consultant. (Michigan Department
of Education, Office of Special Education, 2013, p.19). Psychologists are specialists
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in the area of behavior and mental processes. They can provide detailed information
on the cognitive and social processes and behavior of a student, and can reassess
for changes in behaviors over time which may affect the academic performance of a
student.
Specific Learning Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering a magnitude of
different conditions. Specific Learning Disabilities is different from many other
disabilities as it is an invisible disability and there is nothing physically to distinguish
individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities to individuals without. This is a
disorder that interferes with a persons ability to store, process, or produce
information and creates a gap between ones ability and ones ability to perform.
Every individual in society classified as having Specific Learning Disabilities
faces their own unique challenges in life, as no individual case is universal for all. As
the category Specific Learning Disabilities covers a magnitude of different conditions,
the characteristics of the condition manifest in a myriad of different ways. There is
actually very little reliable evidence that suggests that people labelled as having
Specific Learning Disabilities share significant similarities or brain types to others in
the same categorisation.
Personally having Dyslexia, I can relate to this topic very deeply. My parents
have always brought me up to believe there was nothing that I could not do in life,
even if I did have to do it a little bit differently or it took me a little bit longer than my
peers. My University Lecturer in England once showed me a very powerful quote
which has stuck with me ever since: Let's open doors and minds. Let's throw a
spotlight on the richness that people who are different bring to mainstream society.
Let's talk about assets instead of liabilities. (Henderson, 2006). I personally believe
that we need to adjust society to this way of thinking. We need to think more about
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what an individual brings to society, rather than just think about what difficulties they
might face.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Inclusion is an area which is both
complex and diverse. This world is dominated by professionals, families and
administrators who try to work together to meet individual childrens needs
(Hodkinson & Vickerman, 2009, p.ix). The issue individuals classified as having
Special Educational Needs face is that educational policies and the systems which
governs and regulates Special Educational Needs and Inclusion provision is decided
upon by the government, not by the specialists or the individuals who know the
specific child. This creates the problem that the systems in place are a one model
fits all when in fact every child is unique and requires specific services and
accommodations.
Special Educational Needs lies upon a continuum and often there is no clear
cut distinction between pupils who have Special Educational Needs and those who
have not (Postlethwaite & Hackney, 1988). Conceptualising differences such as
disability and the Special Educational Needs of children upon this continuum is
complicated and often fraught with difficulties. There are many contrasting and often
opposing views as to what counts as a Special Educational Needs, or disability and
how these relate to Specific Learning Disabilities. Perhaps most contentious of all,
though, is how educational provision for these children should be organised (Terzi,
2005).
Rather than telling us anything about the individual themselves, and rather
than being an objective condition, the term [learning disability, learning difficulty]
tells us about society, and the methods by which people who do not fit the
increasingly complex demands of modern industrialisation are perceived,
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Sarah Barnes

categorised and administered (Klotz, 2004, p.97). The problem with Specific
Learning Disabilities is that society believes in a cultural norm and if you do not fit
into this culture, there is something wrong with the individual. They are being defined
as having Specific Learning Disabilities simply because in their eyes, they are
different from a culturally defined idea of normal in the way in which they function.
Specifically focusing on the area of Dyslexia, as a result of conducting my
own research after my own diagnosis, I drew upon the same conclusion as HunterCarsch and Herrington (2001, p.109) who stated that: Although there is agreement
in much of the literature about some of the identifying features of dyslexia, there is
no single story about dyslexia which convinces at all levels and in all sectors. It
raises the question, does having a diagnosis of Dyslexia mean I am failing to meet
the cultural literacy norms?
So far, there are many conflicting definitions of Dyslexia, disagreeing on
exactly what dyslexia is and therefore consequently who is dyslexic. I was personally
very late to be diagnosed with Dyslexia, only being diagnosed at the age of 18,
because specialists said I never showed the obvious signs. I did not conform to
what the majority of individuals in society believed Dyslexic norms were as I can
read. I was in the highest set classes in school and showed good scores on literacy
tests because I had been taught to compensate for my challenges. I have always
been Dyslexic, but as I knew anything different, I did not realize that the challenges I
faced were not being faced by my peers. So therefore, what is the norm? What I
perceived to be the norm for so long in my life, was only proved not to be the norm
when highlighted by others.
The label of dyslexia can only exist in cultures which privilege literacy. Due to
this fact, Dyslexia is more of a social problem rather than a medical problem. When
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Sarah Barnes

we give children the label of Dyslexia, we are ultimately encouraging parents to

understand their childs educational difficulties as a medical issue rather than a
social issue.
Individuals with the diagnosis of Dyslexia are often being masked by the label
dyslexic. There is the automatic assumption when I tell people that I am Dyslexic
that I cannot read, when in fact Dyslexia affects more than just literacy. I can read,
just not in the same way as everyone else, and actually for myself, my biggest
personal challenge is my processing speed which is approximately 13 to 14 years
below my actual age. disabling barriers play a prominent role in restricting a
dyslexic persons educational experience. These restrictions are justified under the
pretence that if a disabled person fails in education this is caused by their
impairment, a biological condition, rather than by an unequal education system.
(MacDonald, 2009, p.353). When an individual labelled as Dyslexic is in the
classroom, it can actually be the education system which becomes the institutional
barrier and creates discrimination for individuals with Dyslexia.
It could be argued that dyslexia is an experience that arises out of natural
human diversity on the one hand and a world on the other where the early learning
of literacy, and good personal organisation and working memory is mistakenly used
as a marker of intelligence. (Cooper, 2006) The problem here is seeing difference
incorrectly as deficit. Just because I do not have the ability to read in the same way
as my peers does not mean that I am any less intelligent. We teach our children that
if they cannot solve a problem one way then try another way, except, we expect
everyone to read and makes sense of information in the same way. This poses the
question how can we expect students to all learn the same way?

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Sarah Barnes

As a result of my diagnosis, I have been given multiple assistive technologies

to help me in the areas I find most challenging. However, I find it disabling to hear
teachers state that they want a child in their class to have assistive technology just to
make their lives easier and to normalize the child.
New technology is a prominent component of social, political and cultural
change with the potential to allow fuller inclusion; but there is also a pattern whereby
technologies start off as inclusive but become progressively less so as they advance.
There is therefore the danger that disabled people get left behind as historical
analogue social prejudice is reproduced in the digital world.
Technologies can be powerful instruments of social exclusion as well as
inclusion. The introduction of new technologies sees people with disabilities now
being overlooked, omitted, neglected, or not even considered like they once were.
For example, the internet was once designed to open up the world (Ellis & Goggin,
2014, p.135) to all individuals, including those with disabilities, however it is now
designed to have more customers and create more revenue and profitability. As
technologies and inventions have expanded, this anecdote invokes the paradox of
inclusive technology. If those inventing, designing, commissioning, implementing,
programming, and paying for, information and communication technology, had in
mind the needs, expectations, and desires of people with disabilities, then
accessibility and use would be incorporated in the technologyrather than having to
be an expensive and not particularly compatible add-on, or an after-thought. In
addition, the technology would be accessible, easier to use, and more attractive for
many people without disabilities.
Even though my assistive technologies are very useful for me to use outside
the classroom environment, the education system does not properly facilitate their
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use inside the classroom. Read & Write 11 is a piece of software I use which is
designed to provide help to computer
users with reading and writing difficulties.
It can read text aloud and help construct
words and sentences. It also has many
other features, such as advanced spell
A Screenshot of Read and Write
Software

checking, document scanning and

Internet tools (Read & Write 11, 2015). Read & Write makes websites, documents
and files more accessible for all individuals with disabilities. Using this software
myself, I find it a friendly and intuitive piece of software, which helps me and millions
of others with disabilities complete everyday tasks such as reading text out loud,
proofreading written work and understanding unfamiliar words. The software is
designed to help individuals become more independent, because the software is
designed to read any type of electronic file and it allows individuals to independently
access any piece of text, without the need for assistance or guidance.
Many individuals face daily challenges when they try to communicate,
especially in the form of written
communication. Dragon is a piece of
computer software which aims to help
everyone gain barrier-free access to widelyused information and communication
technologies (Nuance.com, 2016). The

Dragon Software writing this

Collection of Experiences

software allows individuals to express

themselves using text to speech technology rather than operating a keyboard. As the
software is uniquely trained to the voice of the user, it allows them to accurately
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Sarah Barnes

communicate and portray their ideas in an accessible format whilst bypassing the
demands of typing or handwriting. In the classroom, this technology could be used to
help students compose stories that are longer, more complex, and contain fewer
errors (Graham, 1999, p.75) than if they had to physically write an assignment.
Even though I love using both of these pieces of software, I find that because
they require me to either listen to the text being read out loud or to speak my
thoughts into my computer, if I used these technologies in the classroom, it would be
a distraction and impact the learning of other individuals in the classroom.
Inspiration 9 (2013) however is an assistive technology that can not only
make a massive difference for individuals with Dyslexia but can be used by all
individuals in the classroom. I struggle to
organise my thoughts and this mind-mapping
software allows me to quickly and efficiently
write down and organise my thoughts in a way
other people can also understand. However,

Inspiration Software creating my

Mind Map of Specific Learning
Disabilities for Test 2

this software is not exclusive for individuals

with Dyslexia. This software can be used in daily classroom life to allow all students
to better organise their thoughts or as a way to express ideas on topics. The
Exceptional Child class at Hope College in Michigan showed how this piece of
technology can be used by all students when they incorporated this software into
their class. The students had to create Mind Maps using this software on different
Disabilities and also on different Disability Legislation, showing how it can also
showcase a variety of different topics.
Overall, Specific Learning Disabilities is a very controversial topic. The
problem I believe lies more in what society perceives as the norm and the
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Sarah Barnes

unrealistic expectations that we place on students rather than the individual

themselves. If we are ever to fully include students in the classroom, we need to
remove these barriers that we as members of society have put in place and accept
that everybody is unique and will not learn the same way. If we do not, we run the
risk of labelling everybody with some disability in the near future.

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References
Cooper, R. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.outsidersoftware.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2012/11/DefinitionOfDyslexia.pdf
Department for Education: Office of Special Education,. (2013). Michigan
Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) (pp. 18-19). Michigan:
Michigan Department of Education: Office of Special Education.
Ellis, K., & Goggin, G. (2014). Disability and Social Media. In J. Hunsinger & T.
Senft, The Social Media Handbook (1st ed., p. 135). New York: Routledge.
Graham, S. (1999). The Role of Text Production Skills in Writing Development: A
Special Issue: I.Learning Disability Quarterly, 22(2), 75.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1511267
Henderson, H. (2006). Inclusion can Transform the Workplace Dynamic. Toronto
Star.
Hodkinson, A., & Vickerman, P. (2009). Key issues in special educational needs and
inclusion (p. ix). London: SAGE.
Hunter-Carsch, M., & Herrington, M. (2001). Dyslexia and effective learning in
secondary and tertiary education. London: Whurr Publishers.
Inspiration 9 (Version 9.2). (2013). Portland.
Klotz, J. (2004). Sociocultural study of intellectual disability: moving beyond labelling
and social constructionist perspectives. British Journal Of Learning Disabilities,
32(2), 93-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3156.2004.00285.x
Macdonald, S. (2009). Windows of reflection: conceptualizing dyslexia using the
social model of disability. Dyslexia, 15(4), 347-362.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dys.391

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Sarah Barnes

Nuance.com,. (2016). Accessibility | Dragon helps people with physical disabilities

do things they never thought possible. | Nuance. Retrieved 20 January 2016,
from http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-solution/accessibility/index.htm
Postlethwaite, K., & Hackney, A. (1988). Organising A School's Response. Hoboken:
Routledge.
Read & Write 11 (Version 11.5). (2015). United States.
Terzi, L. (2005). Beyond the Dilemma of Difference: The Capability Approach to
Disability and Special Educational Needs. Journal Of Philosophy Of Education,
39(3), 443-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.2005.00447.x

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