Five Myths About Learning Disabilities
November 20th, 2008

There are a great many myths associated with learning disorders. They range from the absurd, all the way to the absolutely rude and hurtful. Learning disabilities impede the way people process information, whether it is in reading, writing, or in communication skills. Many times the association of ADD or ADHD has come up, as if every case of a learning disorder is directly related. There are many myths however, that are so far fetched or just not even in relation to learning disorders, that it is easy to see exactly why people with this affliction are very much reclusive.

Start with the most absurd of the myths, laziness. The notion that someone that is affected with a form of learning disorder is just lazy cannot get any further from the truth. There is no medical association pertaining learning disorders with a lack of energy or drive. The fact that the individual seems to have no desire to complete their work is just that, they don't. It is not for a lack of energy or drive, it is out of fear that they will mess up, and it will get noticed and in turn centers them out amongst their peers.

The same can be said for the thought of sheer rebellion. These kids do indeed stand out from the rather rebellious crowd. A child that is rebellious will fight and give trouble, where a person with a learning disorder generally does not want to draw too much attention on themselves, at least not in the school anyways. Behavioral issues are another common belief in the mind of the unknowing. To assume that one has a said condition such as ADD or ADHD solely because they try to pass off their work or are having trouble in the classroom is to say the least ignorant. The behavioral issues are in fact the result of the lack of processing that the brain does, when it comes to the scholastic work. This is an easy way to get a person with a learning disability to become very restless.

Low IQ is a common assumption as well when it comes to the person that has a learning disability. In fact, the truth is that the majority of students that have learning disabilities, score higher in actual IQ tests than most of their peers that are not afflicted with the same conditions. It is fact; IQ has absolutely nothing to do with a learning disorder. The idea that learning disabilities are a direct result of mental retardation is completely false. There is no direct correlation between MR patients and the conditions that are prevalent in a learning disability. Learning disabilities are not in any way a form of mental retardation. The process of receiving information to the brain is the problem with learning disorders. There is a sort of break in the connection, which inhibits all the appropriate information from coming in and being processed.

The idea of a learning disorders being related, to many of the issues that have been mentioned is simply not the case. There are already many problems associated with learning disabilities as it is, people with this sort of affliction do not need speculation as to what their problem is or where it comes from, what they need is method to fix it. They need support to overcome this problem, for if they have none, the future of the said individual would surely be troublesome. Learning disabilities have a tight hold on students whom have not had any prior help, like from their parents in the way of home lessons that strengthen their skills in reading, writing, and comprehension. Communication is always a large issue as the process of taking in what is being said can become quite scrambled. Helping the individuals with said disorders cope with the stress of not being the same as everyone else is a very good first step, in their way to a productive life. A really nice gesture would to be a book buddy for someone you know that is afflicted with a learning disorder, give him or her a chance to show some amazing improvements before your very own eyes. Now that is a sight to see

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