Smart Kids With LD

By Marcia Brown Rubinstien, MA, CEP

When a child struggles with “grade-level appropriate” material, he is often retained in the same grade to take a second stab at the material that caused the problems in the first place. The name given to this practice by schoolchildren—staying back—shows that even our youngest scholars know how regressive this practice can be. In one poll sixth graders rated grade retention as the most stressful life event, followed by the loss of a parent and going blind.

Yet after decades of research that has failed to support the efficacy of retention, The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) reports that the practice has increased during the past 25 years. NASP cites research that indicates that grade retention in elementary school has a negative impact on all areas of achievement (reading, math, and language) as well as social and emotional adjustment (peer relationships, self esteem, problem behaviors, and attendance). The effect is even more striking when measured at the secondary level, where students who were retained or had delayed kindergarten entry are more likely to drop out of school.

Better Alternatives

Since students with learning differences are more vulnerable on both academic and social/emotional levels, how can parents and educators foster a proactive learning curve without retention or meaningless social promotion? Following is an array of responsible strategies to discourage retention. It’s up to you as concerned parents to make sure that schools consider them.

Strategies to Discourage Grade Retention

• Ensure that your district maintains state-of-the-art early development and pre-school programs for students at risk for learning difficulties.
• Encourage sensitivity to different learning styles, cultural differences, and age-appropriate learning methods.
• Make sure that your schools use effective assessment tools, continuous monitoring and evaluation to promote the use of instructional modification.
• Insist on effective early reading programs and consistent reinforcement.
• Demand effective school-based programs for emotional and behavioral health at all grade levels.
• Understand the network of services available for children with learning disabilities; look for ongoing collaboration between regular, remedial, and special education professionals.
• Instead of retention, insist that your school system offer extended year, extended day, and summer school programs for children who could thrive with different schedules for learning.
• Stay actively involved with schools, district decisions, boards of education, and all systems affecting educational programs. With the cooperation of parents, educators, policymakers and students, the ineffective strategies of retention and social promotion can be replaced with educational systems that meet the diverse needs of all students.

By Marcia B. Rubinstien, MA, CEP

Learning differences may have nothing to do with the ability to work at a summer job, but they may have everything to do with the business of finding one. Children who have executive function disorders, reading problems, attention deficits, nonverbal learning disabilities, or social anxiety may need coaching before attempting to enter the world of work. You know your child best. Make an assessment of strengths and weaknesses and develop a list of tips that will make the job search easier. Here are some ideas to help get the process started.

1. Help your child prepare a resume. If she’s not a sparkling conversationalist, it will ease her into the interview with questions about topics she knows.
2. Most adults find jobs through networking. Explore your family and friends’ connections or have your child do the same.
3. Look into courses that will make her more marketable. Computer technology, web design, or lifesaving are skills suited to summer work.
4. Encourage him to identify his interests, then help him find the areas he might enjoy. A cyclist might be a great help in a bike shop; a bibliophile could be happy in a library.
5. If she’s worried about reading the application and filling it out on the spot, pick up the forms, and let her fill them out at home.
6. If he can’t find work outside the home, hire and pay for him to do jobs around the house.

Summer jobs offer more than extra pocket money. They offer kids the chance to interact with the “real world” and the promise that one day they’ll be independent and productive. For kids with learning differences, that is the greatest promise of all.

Each year Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities recognizes students that have achieved success in spite of – or because of—their learning disabilities. The winner of the 2011 Youth Achievement Award is Ryan Haggerty, 17, of Stamford, CT who will be honored for his determination in overcoming a severe reading and language disability to succeed academically, as an athlete, and as an inspiration to other students with significant learning difficulties.

Haggerty decided early on that he would not let his learning disabilities get in the way of his achievement, including his passion for hockey. As a high school junior, he served as alternate captain with the Under-17 US Hockey Team, winning the World Challenge in January 2010. On April 24, playing in the International Hockey Under 18 Championship, his team defeated Sweden in overtime to win the 2011 gold medal. He will graduate from Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School and will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute next fall.

Two students will receive Special Recognition Awards: August Hunt of Paris, TX, a sophomore at The Kildonan School for students with LD in Amenia, NY; and Jacklyn Sullivan, 16, of Wantagh, NY who is a junior at General Douglas MacArthur High School in Levittown. Click here to read the story of their accomplishments.

Honorable Mention awards will be given to Mackinzie Hamilton of Providence, UT; Abigail Johnson of New York, NY; Spencer Kerivan of Kettering, OH; and Hayden Elizabeth Sharpe of Winston Salem, NC.