DOCUMENT RESUME ED 161 182 EC 112 036 AUTHOR Smith, Sally L. TITLE No Easy Answers: The Learning Disabled Child. INSTITUTION Nat/onal Inst.r.ot Mental Health (Mg), Rockville, Md. REPORT NC DREW- ADM -77 -526 PUB DATE 78 NOTE 137p. AVAILABLE FBCM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock No. 017-024-00687-4) EDBS PRICE EF-$0.83 HC-$7.35 Pins. Postage. DESCRIPTCRS *Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Elementary Secondary Education; *Learning Disabilities; Parent Role; *Student Characteristics; Teacher Role; Textbooks 1 ABSTRACT Intended for parents and professicnals, the text considers characteristics and causes of severe learning disability (LD) in children. Separate chapters are addressed todescriptions of LD traits: disordered, immature, inflexible, lcstin time and space, clumsy, free spirit, and defeated at school. Subsequent chapters examine the roles of parents and teachers and discuss special considerations for adolescence. Among six appendixes are lists of typical academic problems of LD children and a guide tchelpful organizations. (CL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the hest that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION &WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ATINC. IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY PEPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION-OP POLICY No Ea SyAnSwer: lectrnin.g Dizoibleci Child by SALLY L. SMITH Associate Professor, American University, in charge of the Learning Disabilities Program Founder and Director, The Lab School of The Kingsbury Center, Washington, D.C. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Public. Health Service Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland20857 Written for the National Institute of Mental Health by Sally L. Smith Contract MD 0659-76 The National Institute of Mental Health has obtained permission from the copyright holders to reproduce the illustrations which appear on pp. 42, 50, 78. Further reproduction of these ilium:rations is prohibited without specific per- niission of the copyright holders. All other material contained in the manual is in the piblic domain and may be used and reprinted without special permission. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. DREW Publication No. (ADM) 77-526 Printed 1978 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents. US. Government Printing Office Washington. D.C. 20402 Stock No. 017-024-00687-i 3 Adsnowfecignients Elisabeth Benson Booz played a vital role in the development of this manuscript and provided creative criticism and substantial help in every facet sof its creation. Dr. Edna Small andDr. Grace Steinberg served as consultants on the psychological and neurological material. Mary "Mitchell, a tutor and an experienced reading specialist, gave expert'advice on the materials in her field. Helen Colson consulted on the level of presentation and assured its wideapplicability. Foreword It is a particular pleasure and honor to write this foreword sinceI know Sally Smith as an extraordinary human being, who writesthis book from both personal and professional experience. She has had to make new ways and find new solutions, and she has succeeded. Although entitled No Easy Aiswers, this descriptive work on the learning disabled child does provide answers to parents and teachers as to why a certain child has difficulty inlearning, why he behaves as he does, and how the parents andteachers can help the child over- come his difficulties or at least acquirethe competence to manage them, so that he can grow up to be a healthy, happy, and productive adult. The author graphically describes the actionsthe behaviorofthe learning disabled child. She points out his needs and shows how an adult can help structure hisyday-to-day activities to help him learnin his childhood world and fit into the adult world. She describesthe development of a child, step-by-step, from infancy through adolescence and how he learns at various stages. And she explainsvividly and clearly why the learning disabled child differs .in developmentand maturational skills. In doing so, she holds out hope to parentsshe provides reassurance that although the child may be out of pace with life around him,and falls many times along the path of progress, most often he getsthere in time. Through her many years of observing and working with learning disabled children, she_has acquired a wealth of knowledgeabout how a parent or teacher can besthandle situations which hinder the child's ability to learn, to behave, to adjust to change. She stresses theneed for planned structure in a child's life and provides guidance inhow to do this, how to foresee obstacles and outcomes, how tohelp the child put on his emotional brakes, and how to organizehis activities and surroundings at home and in school. In her detailed descriptions of the problems faced by thelearning disabled child, parents and teachers will recognize actionsand be- haviors with-which they must contend and thus will notfeel alone in their guilt, anxiety, and frustration. In the examples givenof ways that many of these problems can be successfully handled,they will find answers, though they may not be easy, as the author tates.But the examples can help provide excellent guidance as to what to say, what to do, and what not to do in assisting these children indevelop- ing their learning and organizational skills She closes her book with a useful appendix containingvaluable information to parents and teachers, such as lists of voluntaryorgani- nations; a bibliography of books, journals, and azticles on 'teaching strategies; lists of typical problems in learning read and write; and informative material on the constructive use of television, the role of the arts, and the use of stock phrases in conversation and instruction which will help parents and teachers deal with these \\ problems. As she states in her book, "The needs of learning-disabled youngsters . are at last beginning to be recognized. The child who was previously incorrectly labeled as retarded or emotionally disturbed can now re- ceive the help he needs in many localities in America, thanks to the militancy of parents who demanded this help." And I wish to add, thanks to the research which has escalated in the 1960's and 1970's and produced such useful fmdings, which can be applied nationwide in programs designed to help the learning dis- abled. Promoting the mental health and improving the developmental skills of children and youth are some of the primary objectives of the National Institute of Mental Health. The Center for Studies of Child and Family Mental Health plans and administers research and demon- stration programs in special problems areas, such as learning disabil- ities, and initiates collaborative efforts with other programs. Pro- duction of this publication is but one of the projects undertaken by the Center to disseminate information useful to parents andteachers and other professionals in its program to promote the well-being of the child and his family. Bertram S. Brown, M.D. Director National Institute of Mental Health 1970-1978 vi preface This book is an introduction ,to the world of thelearning disabled child. It is about the intelligent youngster whohas trouble learningit is not about the retarded or the emotionally disturbedchild. It is about the child whose nervous system is delayed inmaturing. He looks typical for his age, but he does not learn as other children his age do. Hehas a hidden handicap. He can perform effectively in some areas, and in othershe lags far behind, making him a very uneven, inconsistent, unpredictablechild who puzzles the adults around him DiSORDER prevails in a child who is delayed; in development.He is scattered in his attention as well as in his growth. Helacks the tools to organize what he sees, hears, touches, feels, smells, and tastes inorder to make sense of his environment. Normally, a child develops a sense of orderby school age. This order is the solid base on which future learningis built. The child with DIS- ORDER does not have an organized base. Hehas a learning disorder. He is learning disabled. This book is concerned with the immaturitythat causes disorder. It de- scribes the ramifications of disorderthe learningdisabled child who is ham- pered by inflexibility, who cannot orienthimself in time and space, who is physically and, socially clumsy, who may also bedelightfully nonconformist. It explains how the learning disabled youngsterbecomes defeated at school, how his movement, his language, reading,writing, spelling, and arithmetic are affected by hisdisorder. It deals primarily with the childwho has a severe learning disability, butit is equally applicable to the great numberof very mildly handicappedchildren who slide through school gettingC's and D's when their potential is for solid A's.This book probes the multiple causes of learning disabilities. It taps the feelingsof the adults closest to the learning disabled childthe many stages and dimensionsof their reactions to him. It follows the learning disabled child intohis adolescence -and preparation for an independent life. Addressed to parents, professionals in theeducation field, in health care, day care, recreational and youth organizations,the text outlines the problems and offers some suggestions. More than anythingelse, it deals with feelings. It explores in depth the strong feelings that alearning disabled child has and evokes in the people around him which, whenunderstood, can lead to more successful ways of helping him. vii Contents FOREWORD PREFACE vii Chapter One: DISORDERED 1. Chapter Two: IMMATURE 5 Chapter Three:INFLEXIBLE 11 Chapter Four: LOST IN TIME AND SPACE 19 Chapter Five: CLUMSY 29 Chapter Six: FREE SPIRIT 35 Chapter Seven:DEFEATED AT SCHOOL 39 Chapter Eight:WHY9 53 Chapter Nine: PARENTS 61 Chapter Ten: TEACHERS 77 Chapter Eleven:ADOLESCENCE Chapter Twelve:ORDER 105 APPENDIXES 109 A.