There is no such thing as a Learning Disability?

Question

Before you jump the gun at this one.I am 47 and had LD.
In the 1960s when I was having trouble in school,we talked
to a child psychiatrist and he said that very statement,he
just said I was not right.In sixth grade when I was doing poorly this unreasonable teacher said I was not applying myself and baloney and said that above statement.
What is my question?
Has anyone ever got told that? got told having a learning
disabilty is cop out for not trying? educators use to say
things like that long ago.Would they get away with saying
these kind of things today?

Answer 1

That had to do with the ignorance of the times, and the evolution of education. Just as people grow and mature at different rates, people also learn at different rates. What they said to you was an opinion and not fact AND no, they would not have gotten away with that today, due to advances in testing the levels of understanding. There are people who are under achievers, and there are people, who by the hand of their care givers (parents/guardians) are led to believe that they are stupid and will never amount to anything, but individually, you have to try to overcome these prejudice opinions that others have of you and move on. Who better then you knows what you are capable of?

Answer 2

Don't let ignorant comments people made in the past upset you now. Certainly there are learning disabilities and certainly there are those who think it is a cop out for not trying. I have never had a teacher or principal say the words "there is no such thing as a learning disability" or "your son is too smart to have a learning disability" but I have definitely heard it in their voice. Today they are probably afraid they would get sued if they literally said something like that. My son has ADHD/PDD (pervasive developmental disability) which causes him to have severe sensory issues which result in behavior issues at times. He has an extremely high IQ but his disability gets in the way of his scholastic ability at times. He has a nonverbal learning disability and has an extremely hard time expressing himself in writing. What they say about him is "he is smart enough to know better". With ADHD and PDD, knowing better and being able to comply are two different things. When he is stressed sometimes he just can't. Good luck to you, I hope this helps a little. :)

Answer 3

I was labeled Learning Disabled all through my school years. Now I am 32 and am a dance teacher. I think people need to realize what a Learning Disability is. It is not a problem with learning, It is a difference in learning. Therefore, I now say that I have and or had a Learning Difference. Many of us who have and or had this are actually pretty smart but just learn differently. I was never told that I was a cop out because I was always trying and showing them that I could do it and I do not think they would get away with that today. I hope that I helped you out.

Answer 4

My husband is dyslexic and has had several experiences like this. He had a 2nd grade teacher that called him lazy and stupid (and then the other kids in the class did too!). He's a lawyer now, and this year was voted an "Up and Coming Legal Elite Lawyer" in our state so he must not be too stupid and lazy!

I'm in several Yahoo groups for homeschooling LD children and there are still people today that would like to deny LD's which is so bizarre. But it is totally genetic. My MIL is dyslexic, my husband, and my son so people that deny it just don't know anything about them, really.

And yes, I think people still say things like that today. I still frequently see people on this site say nasty comments when people make spelling errors or don't have the best writing and say how stupid or ignorant the person is. Very often there is probably a good chance the person has dyslexia, and instead of addressing the person's point, they make nasty comments about spelling which the person probably has no control over. I always think that could be my husband or son (who are dyslexic) and are nice people, but with poor spelling and you are calling them stupid and ignorant! How awful!

Answer 5

As medical science increases understanding of how the brain functions, previously "lazy troublemakers" "become teachable". Education specialists figure out ways to reach the child, new labels are created and old ways are unacceptable.

The bottleneck occurs at the funding level controlled by federal, state and local voters, huge bureaucracies and lobbiests. A parent almost has to quit a job to take on the challenge of ensuring the best education of a special needs child in the public school. One should research local support, and ponder many variables VERY carefully before homeschooling.


There is not enough money to hire enough specialists, or enough time & money to train classroom teachers and reduce class size so that each child has a better chance of more individualized attention. Every child has a unique way of learning, be he challenged by a disability or a gift, or happy in a mainstream.

It all boils down to the understanding of the average taxpayer, who went to school when the hurtful label of lazy troublemaker still applied. The unenlightened say, "I made it through life, all this molly-coddling is nonsense." They are bitter and do not vote for extra tax dollars for the schools (They see wasted $, but we also see wasted $ in our highway improvements, don't we?) They are also more concerned with their immediate elder needs than with who is going to care for them in 20 years.

Better times are coming. As in all improvements in all walks of life, we suffer until we know better. I speak from experience on both sides of the desk.

Answer 6

Ok,

I'm in an extensive Education program to become a teacher. I currently work with kids who have Down Sysdrom, Autism, Mental retardations, ect. I can gaurantee there are learning disabilities, and it is not a cop out. Elementary students do not know what a "cop out" is until a parent whom should not have a kid in the first place tells them.

Who ever that Pyschiatrist is most likely in no longer in the Medical field today, or is he/she is I bet they have changed their thinking process by now.

To say a child is not developmentally challenged, and that there using it as a "cop out" is nieve and stuped on the Adults part.

Answer 7

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience.

There is a lot of research, including physiological brain research, that clearly shows that all students have varying learning abilities. Some students excel in one area and fail in others, some excel in nothing, etc. But there are definitely learning disabilities.

However, I do feel that it is a "cop out" as you say to write students off by saying "Well, they have a learning disability" or even worse, when teachers just say that a kid IS LD. It's an ability or lack of ability, not a disease. There are just extra or different routes of learning that child needs, extra help, extra time, etc.

Answer 8

There is definitely such a thing as a learning disability. People can have average or above average IQs and still have difficulty learning in the same manner, at the same pace, or using standard instructional techniques. A learning disability is not an excuse not to learn, it's a challenge to find out how.

Answer 9

Yes and no!
I think some people are given the negative label of being "learning disabled", when really they just don't learn in the conventional method that schools had to offer back then. (Up to the present day in some school systems!)
This sounds like the label you may have been given.
These children are just as capable as learning as your average child, but need to be taught differently. Some teachers don't believe this or just plain don't want to make the extra effort.

Answer 10

Albert Einstein was kicked out of school because his teacher determined that he was "addled" and unteachable. He was dyslexic.

My daughter is 15 and significantly dyslexic. Her doctor said that she would probably never be able to tell time on an analog clock because of her disability. In all her time in public school she was never able to learn how to tell time.

I began homeschooling her and within just about two months she is telling time very easily.

My point is that teachers are ill equipped to recognize and address many learning disabilities. This is why so many children who are undiagnosed or who lack the fierce and aggressive support of a parent will fall to the wayside and become lost in the system.

They do still get away with it, it happened to my child and other children whom I know, including my younger brother. It is not that the teachers and school administrators necessarily mean harm to the child, they are just uneducated in learning diabilities, are overwhelmed with overcrowded schools whose primary concern is focused more on standardized test scores that actually educating the individual child and often lack the motivation to address children who fall "outside the norm."