Almost twelve or eighteen years of teenagers’ lives were consumed sitting all-day at schools, focused on learning things that can brighten up their future usually by aiming for a shining and shimmering 95% grade, yet, not all of the students who passed the Basic Education standards surely understood even three-fourths of the whole lesson. It is probable that one-fourth of the school population sounds like seven-year old pupils while reading, have writings like that of chicken’s scratches, have troubles expressing themselves, have trouble in multiplying seven by eight within a minute or any mathematical concepts, commits grammar errors as frequent as getting zeros in 50-item spelling quizzes, or/and even struggles in interpreting non-verbal cues. They can be bullies’ foremost victims.
Students with those characteristics may have a Learning Disability (LD) which is not a disease nor a brain defect, but a processing disorder. Generally, people with learning disabilities are of average, or above intelligence. They display one or more of the primary characteristics – reading problems, underachievement in math, and difficulty in written language; or of the secondary characteristics – poor social skills and interpretation, inattention or even timidity, hyperactivity, and other behavioral problems that can adversely affect their education.
Learning Disability Association of America (LDA) define learning disabilities as “hidden disabilities” stating that “the person looks perfectly “normal” and seems to be a very bright and intelligent person, yet may be unable to demonstrate the skill level expected from someone of a similar age.”
According to the Department of Education, learning disabilities affect around 40,000 Filipino schoolchildren major to boys and unfortunately, parents and teachers have little knowledge about how these children struggles through school life with the additional burden of being treated and labeled as "bobo" and they can go through life thinking of themselves as stupid.
Auditory processing disorder (APD), dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, language processing disorder, non-verbal learning disabilities, and visual perceptual/visual motor deficit are the different types of LD. Though incurable, substitute treatments such as consulting tutors who specialize in LD can help affected students aim high and have a better and successful future life.
As a matter of a fact, notable personalities standing out nowadays once had learning disabilities like the singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur Justin Timberlake, the CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper, the celebrity chef and one of the The Hunger Games cast Jamie Oliver, and the Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, Steven Spielberg who is better known for Indiana Jones, Walt Disney, Tommy Hilfiger, and even Tom Cruise. Some game changers in history, as well, beat their LD to let success prevail such as the artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Graham Bell who created the first telephone, the Olympic gold medalist at the age of 18 and world’s heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison.
It is significant to remember that having any sort of learning disability does not spell the end of one's growth or potential. People or students with learning disabilities learn differently – does that mean the way they learn is wrong? Are they too hard to understand?
