C308

The Key is Confidence

Throughout my childhood, I would sit at my desk with eyes forward at the teacher but

my mind somewhere else. Reading their lips with ears wide open, but could not comprehend

what they were trying to demonstrate. I could read a sentence over and over again a million

times and not have a single idea about what I had just read. I’m sure I’m not the only student

who feels this way in a classroom either. Imagine sitting in a classroom of 30 other kids; legs

shaking, foot tapping, mind spinning and the teacher calls on you. Panic is the first reaction and

then comes the anxiety of feeling like every person in the room has their eyes on you.

You start to feel like an idiot because this entire time a conversation was running through your

head about almost anything other than what you were learning in class. Why would any

student feeling like this ever want to come to school? How can we prevent students from

feeling like this? What can teachers and parents do to help accommodate for students with

ADD and ADHD?

Being surrounded by a class full of kids who know exactly what is going on and actually

enjoy learning is frustrating, to say the least for the ones who don’t. As students, we all get

stressed out more often than not when it comes to school and specifically challenges like

staying organized and even just focusing in class, but kids with intellectual or developmental

disabilities have to deal with this frustration every day. I have been certain since the first day

of middle school I wasn’t processing information like all the other kids, but it was not until my

Junior year that I started receiving the help I needed, which was at that point far too late.

Every student with a learning disability should be tested as early as they can, such as

elementary school to receive the help they need so they do not have to go through school

1
 C308

struggling in class as well as outside of class. At what point are we certain that students are

receiving the help and attention they need? How can we prevent students from feeling

completely lost in a classroom? I started to wonder this when I got a better understanding of

what a resource program is. If I had been apart of this program my whole life, I would not have

to dread walking into a classroom every day clueless, I would have known I had a support

system with me, and the struggle to get by would not be as overwhelming. This led me to ask

the question: (Q) How do resource programs in elementary schools help students with various

learning disabilities become more confident and comfortable in an academic environment?

Almost every school offers a program where students can get the extra help they

need, modifications, and even one on one assistance. Some schools have a class called Special

Day Class which is a self contained special education class which provides services to students

with intensive needs that cannot be met by the general education program, such as extended

time on tests, an excluded area for when taking tests, extended due dates for assignments, and

many other modifications to make the student more comfortable () Other schools provide

what is called a pull-out program generally in elementary schools. A pull-out program is for

students who have struggle with a specific subject in school more than others and can receive

extra help during a different learning time. For example, if a student is struggling with reading

and they are working on math in their classroom right now, the student would get taken out of

their homeroom class to practice reading in a different classroom to be at the average pace

with the other kids. 2.4 million students are diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (SLD)

and receive services under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Candice

Cortiella, a disability rights advocate of 20 years says that the average age that students are

2
 C308

tested is generally between grades 4th and 6th, ages 10-12 (Cortiella). I was fortunate enough

to be able to observe a few students at Walnut Acres Elementary with ADD/ADHD. One student

is seven years old and she is already prescribed medication for ADHD. Another student is also

seven and he started out by wearing a weighted sensory pressure vest to calm him down but

unfortunately that wasn’t enough and he also ended up taking medication.

Once a student has gone through testing, they can qualify for a few options. The

special education program evaluation determines if a student is eligible for services and if so,

what programs are appropriate. Candice Cortiella explains an Individualized Education

Program,​ or an IEP, as an agreement between school and parent that outlines the special

education and related services to be delivered to a child who has been found eligible for

services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Cortiella). An IEP makes

modifications for students and in most cases provides a class to take tests, catch up with your

work and communicate better with your teachers. This makes students feel much more

comfortable inside and out of the classroom. Another option of services is a 504 plan. ​504

plans are formal plans that schools develop for kids with disabilities to give them the support

they need. I read in an article written by Thomas E. Brown, ​Clinical Associate Professor of

Psychiatry and Behavioral Science​s​ ​that the proper definition of a​ ​504 plan​ is a blueprint for

how the school will provide supports and remove barriers for a student with a disability, so

the student has equal access to the general education curriculum​ (Brown)​. Both 504 and IEP

plans help students overcome their fears of being in a classroom and feeling so lost all the

3
 C308

time. It’s important for students to be tested as early as possible so they can get these

modifications they need.

Mary Tsuboi is our school psychologist here at Northgate High school. Mary has

been at Northgate for the past 15 years and has been responsible for testing special education

students. She is primarily looking for students’ deficits in cognitive abilities. Tsuboi also

does counseling for students who are stressed about other personal concerns such as life at

home, frustrations in a classroom like not being able to focus or not fully comprehending

what the teacher is saying, or even just basic high school responsibilities. While talking with

Mary during an interview, she explained how learning disabilities are never fully apparent

until the testing begins. Parents often become aware of their child’s disability once they have

been tested and it has been clearly shown. “Students with learning disabilities have learning

differences as opposed to learning weaknesses-every student needs to learn how he or she

learns best, so if an individual has difficulty with auditory recall, they need to see

information and have information repeated as often as possible” (Tsuboi). Mary told me how

the key to academic success is building one’s self-esteem which is where teachers and

parents come into play to make that possible. “Students who can be very successful but is

aware of their learning disability can sometimes lose confidence in themselves and make

things more difficult than they should be just because they have it in their head that they

physically can’t do anything because of their learning disability,” she stated. “An individual

who has good behavior and is very compliant often gets lost in the cracks in terms of

4
 C308

noticing his or her disabilities” (Tsuboi). Students should be most definitely be tested by age

12, Tsuboi says. Mary said the one thing she has learned most about working with students is

that her job makes her understand students more as her own kids, but also the perspective

about what the parents think such as how their student is processing information or not, but

also what kind of support they are receiving on a daily basis while at school.

The problem with learning disabilities is that not only does it affect students in the

classroom, but just as much outside as well. Learning disabilities can have a major impact on

social skills and make students feel uncomfortable socially. ​Research and observation clearly

demonstrates that individuals with learning disabilities such as non-verbal learning disabilities

orm tend to be less accepted by peers, interact awkwardly and inappropriately in social

situations and are socially imperceptive. Kids with learning disabilities are often looked at

differently by other students, and sometimes their peers do not even get them a chance to

express their true self before judging them right off the bat. Although students are not actually

tested on their social skills, their peers are constantly giving them “grades” on their social skills

every day. In an article from The Center for Development and Learning’s blog, Candy Lawson, a

Clinical Psychologist at the Center for Development and Learning explains how​ if a child fails

these tests, he or she is apt to feel disconnected and left out. ​For kids with severe learning

disabilities they don’t “get” what would come naturally to other kids in social situations

(Lawson). Because they are looked at differently by other kids, they begin to look at

themselves how they assume others see them. Rick Lavoie ​served as an administrator of

residential programs for children with special needs for 30 years​ ​and wrote in an article how

5
 C308

school-age students with disabilities often have negative school experiences related to their

having a disability, and school counselors, administrators, and teachers can help to create

more positive school experiences that promote their academic, career, and personal/social

growth (Lavoie). Kids who have difficulties learning tend to not want to try in school or even

to show up because they feel as if it’s pointless. Resource programs are the solution to a more

confident, healthy lifestyle. It can almost assure that all students will not feel alone in any

circumstances revolving around school.

On a gloomy Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to go visit classroom P-5, a special

education classroom at Amador Valley High School. I spent the day hanging out with my new

awesome friends that quickly made my mood do a 180 from being glum to cheery . P-5 ranged

from kids with various learning disabilities. It was interesting to see the different ways each

student interacted with each other but mostly just within themselves. I walked into the

classroom and immediately felt a warm welcome by all the heads that quickly turned to see

who had entered the room. I got to observe each student in the room throughout the day. My

favorite part of the day was when my buddy, Hank asked me to play Guess Who with him.

Hank was a Junior at Amador and had severe autism. We sat down together and he taught me

how to play the game and practiced waiting patiently for each of our turns to go back and forth

as part of working on his every day learning skills. While we were playing the game, we got to

know each other a little better. He proceeded to passionately tell me about his grandfather

who had unfortunately passed away, but was in the Air Force. Hank showed a lot of emotion

while telling the stories of his grandfather, so I knew they had a super close bond. Once we

finished the game, we just sat and chat across from each other until the end of the period.

6
 C308

Another student I was amazed by was John who had this insane love for animals. He was so

passionate about animals and learning all about them that he carried the bin around with him

throughout the whole day. What always amazes me about special education students is the

passion each one of them have for a specific thing. You would think that by walking into a

classroom full of special ed students, it would be a no-brainer to pick out which student should

be in that class or not, but there was one student who fooled me. Jeremy sat at a table and

played uno with a group of the other kids in the class, but at first I thought he was a TA. Jeremy

had fantastic social skills, but really struggled academically. Jessica, the P-5 teacher went

around the classroom while each student had to read a page from the lesson she had planned.

Even though Jeremy was one of the most talkative kids in the room, when it came down to

reading he had a fear of opening his mouth because he was unsure of how to respond. If I

learned a thing or two from observing this classroom, it was that each student with a learning

disability is intelligent in their own way and each student has something very special about

them. Being able to spend the day with such happy teenagers made me realize I should live

every day with a smile on my face, just like they did.

As students get older, the social aspect of having a learning disability becomes

more apparent. The struggle with learning disabilities is that they will stick with you for the

rest of your life through high school, college, and even your career. Children with learning

disabilities grow up to be adults with learning disabilities and are expected to life a lifestyle

like any other adult, which is why resource programs are an important part of growing up to

prepare them for the real world. In a book I read by Francis Mark Mondimore, ​Adolescent

7
 C308

Depression: A Guide for Parents, ​he said, “The symptoms of ADHD and bipolar disorder

can be differentiated in many youths, but some youngsters seem to have both disorders

simultaneously. In one study of children already diagnosed with ADHD, 21 percent were

also found to meet the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder by age 15” (Mondimore 168).

Mondimore explains how difficult learning disabilities can be on their own, but to add

another disorder along with it makes for more mental strain.​ ​Nevertheless, some individuals

with learning disabilities follow a life path that leads them to success, becoming productive

members of society and living satisfying and rewarding lives. Others find little more than

continued "failure," and are barely able to "keep their heads above water" emotionally,

socially, or financially (Milsom).

Some adults never accept the fact that they are struggling with a learning disability and

let it get in the way of their career and affect their life negatively. Successful adults with

learning disabilities are generally actively engaged in the world around them -- politically,

economically, and socially (Milsom). It is important for people with learning disabilities to

practice their social skills while they are younger to help build a more comfortable relationship

with themself. Desiree W. Murray, PhD, is a prevention scientist and licensed clinical

psychologist whose research focuses on understanding the development of self-regulation

from multidisciplinary perspectives explains in an article from the US National Library of

Medicine that one of the many perks of being a part of resource when a student is still a young

student is that they eventually become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses which

becomes a major factor when they become an adult. Successful individuals set goals that are

8
 C308

specific, yet flexible so that they can be changed to adjust to specific circumstances and

situations (Murray). Another benefit of being in a resource program that will help them in the

long run is that they take each student by a step-by-step process for obtaining goals such as life

lessons and making sure that each student is ready to be okay on their own once they are no

longer apart of the program anymore.

Aside from medications, there are many remedies that help with learning

disabilities. Jean Cheng Gorman, licensed psychologist wrote in an article that the principal

forms of treatment for learning disabilities are remedial education and psychotherapy. With or

without a learning disability, life can be stressful enough so regardless of programs in school

that benefit a child with learning disabilities, counseling or therapy is just as important to them

to feel comfortable and confident. The sensitivity developed over the past two to three decades

to the needs of students with learning disabilities has extended to college campuses, virtually

all of which have special resource and advocacy centers for students with disabilities,

including learning disabilities (Gorman). Learning disabilities are becoming more apparent in

students so colleges and other schooling programs are looking into accommodating more for

them. It is estimated that anywhere from 5 to 20% of school-age children in the United States,

mostly boys, suffer from ​learning disabilities​ (currently, most sources place this figure at

around 20%) (Gorman). I got the opportunity to observe a few kids at Walnut Acres Daycare

who had ADD or ADHD while they play after school. Two of the kids were seven years old with

severe ADHD and both on medication already. One of the kids wore a weighted sensory vest

that is worn to even deep pressure to children. Pressure vests can be used for calming to help

9
 C308

the over-sensitive child decrease hyper-responsiveness. Unfortunately, the vest was not

enough so they had to resort to medication.

13 years ago Sam Kasdin started to embark on his new journey in the Special Education

department. For the first eight years, he was a resource specialist and for the last four and a

half he has been teaching a Special Day Class. After three short years of substitute teaching in

the Oakland public schools Kasdin decided that he enjoyed working with smaller classes and

helping students that needed extra support. Kasdin told me he has seen kids try to escape a

subject if it’s too difficult of if they are not interested in. He goes on to explain how a lot of

students feel self-conscious once they know they have a learning disability and says parents

often have the feeling, “How can i fix this?” The truth is, it’s all just a work in progress that

involves all hands in. Kasdin continued to explain how important it is for students to get tested

when they are young, because they might not have the opportunity to catch up with their peers

when they are older.

From the start of this project, my topic was strictly centered around students with

learning disabilities, such as ADD, ADHD, Audio Processing Disorder, Visual Motor Deficit, etc.

Once I began my research, I found myself a lot more interested into all kinds of Special Ed

children and other disabilities that affect learning development. I found a greater interest in

Special Education in general and was introduced to a new passion of working with students

with learning disorders. At first, I thought I would struggle with finding enough information on

this topic to talk about, but there was more than I could have imagined. From my own

experience, I know how important it is to get the help you need as early as possible before it’s

too late. Resource programs can benefit students from inside the classroom to outside and

10
 C308

from childhood to adulthood. Everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their goals as

equally as anyone else.

11
 C308

Works Cited

Books:

Mondimore, Francis Mark, and Patrick Kelly. ​Adolescent Depression: a Guide for Parents​.

Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015.

Electronic Sources:

Brown, Thomas E. “Understanding 504 Plans.” ​Understood.org​,

www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/understanding-504-plan
s.

Cortiella, Candice. “IEPs.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 20 July 2012,

www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/special-education-and-ieps/ieps/

Gorman, Jean Cheng. “Understanding Children's Hearts and Minds: Emotional

Functioning and Learning Disabilities.” ​Understanding Children's Hearts and Minds: Emotional
Functioning and Learning Disabilities | LD Topics | LD OnLine​, www.ldonline.org/article/6292/.

Lawson. “Social Skills And School.” ​Center for Development and Learning​,
www.cdl.org/articles/social-skills-and-school/.

Lavoie . “Social Competence and the Child with Learning Disabilities.” ​Social Competence
and the Child with Learning Disabilities | LD Topics | LD OnLine​,
www.ldonline.org/article/6169/.

Milsom. “Creating Positive School Experiences for Students with Disabilities.” ​Reading
Rockets​, 23 Aug. 2017,
www.readingrockets.org/article/creating-positive-school-experiences-students-disabilities​.

Murray, Desiree W., et al. “Prevalence and Characteristics of School Services for High
School Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” ​School Mental Health​, U.S.
National Library of Medicine, 1 Dec. 2014,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261048/.

12
 C308

Primary Sources:

Kasdin, Sam. SDC Teacher, Northgate High School. Walnut Creek, CA. Personal Interview
12, March 2018.
Tsuboi, Mary. School Psychologist, Northgate High School. Walnut Creek, CA. Electronic
Interview 14, March 2018.

13