Smart Kids With LD

By Susan Baum, Ph.D.

As parents we spend a lot of time thinking about how to bring out the best in our children. We are natural fixers of whatever is wrong as we kiss the hurts away and repair anything that is broken. So it is when our children have a specific learning disability. Our first instinct is to get it fixed. Indeed all resources are directed toward helping these children read, write, and achieve up to their potential.

In our effort to fix what’s wrong with our children, we often lose sight of what is right with them.

We tend to ignore or pay less attention to strengths, interests, and talents. Despite our best intentions, that tack does our children a disservice.

Research shows that paying attention to the positive reaps tremendous benefits. Dr. Ned Hallowell, renowned psychiatrist and expert on ADHD explains: “I have learned first and foremost to look for interests, talents, strengths, shades of strengths, or the mere suggestion of a talent. Knowing that a person builds a happy and successful life not on remediated weaknesses but on developed strengths, I have learned to place those strengths at the top of what matters.”

Focusing on strengths allows children to form a positive identity. They engage willingly in activities that show how smart they are and revel in accolades based on what they can do, rather than being defined by what they can’t do. This in turn, helps children develop a sense of self-efficacy as well as a favorable picture of what they can do.

Take Action

Think about opportunities that capitalize on your child’s strengths and interests.

• Find extracurricular activities, web sites and books that relate to your child’s interest area
• Try setting up lunch dates with adults who have similar interests
• Enroll your child in clubs and classes that align with his strengths and talents

In short, have fun and enjoy experiences together that both develop and expand interests, strengths, and talents—but be careful not to take over the interests that your child has developed on her own as she may stop sharing them with you.

The author is the Co-Director of the International Center for Talent Development, and the Director of Professional Development at Bridges Academy for students with LD, grades 1-12.

By Lynn Eastman Rider, M.S.W., M. Div.

For every parent, educator, or student grappling with dyslexia, a vital new book has been added to the toolbox. The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain is the work of Brock and Fernette Eide, both MDs and experts in neuroscience and learning disabilities who have worked with hundreds of individuals with dyslexia and their families. In the process they’ve seen patterns emerge across generations. People with dyslexia who struggle in school are often late bloomers who excel in distinctive fields later in life. The authors attribute this pattern to the dyslexic brain that is now understood by science as simply different, and not defective.

The Eides take that difference one step further and assert that dyslexia is rightfully understood as an advantage.

By detailing the strengths and benefits of this advantage, they hope to shift our attention from fixing problems to unleashing the potential of brains that they assert aren’t supposed to be like everyone else’s. They want to “show you what the dyslexic mind looks like when it opens its wings and begins to soar.”

This is heady stuff for anyone trying to build a bright future for someone with dyslexia. The very readable book contains chapters full of studies, anecdotes, and examples describing the four core strengths the Eides have observed. But most compelling are the excerpts from dyslexic individuals themselves explaining their minds at work. For example, geologist and mystery novelist Sarah Andrews once wrote,

“We are great sponges for observed patterns… Repeated patterns become ideas, and new patterns lead to new paradigms… We can, using the barest shreds, ‘see’ through solid rock, back through time, and into future events.”

In addition to the excitement of identifying specific strengths in your child (or yourself), there are helpful chapters on how to access, train, and put those strengths to use from elementary school through college and into the workplace.

In this book, the Eides have articulated the essence of a paradigm shift that’s taking root within the LD community. Research scientists, educators, diagnosticians, students, and parents are recognizing that people with dyslexia bring more than puzzling challenges to the table—they also bring an array of unique strengths that, when tapped, position them for success.

If you are wondering where to go once your dyslexia paradigm has shifted, look no further. The Dyslexic Advantage is a must-read brainstorming aid and source of concrete hope that you will refer to again and again.

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.

Reviewed by Miriam Cherkes-Julkowski, Ph.D

Stanley and Nancy Thorndike Greenspan’s book, The Learning Tree: Overcoming Learning Disabilities from the Ground Up, is the latest addition to Stanley Greenspan’s signature view of child development. Based on years of research, the eminent psychiatrist and early childhood expert maintains that real learning takes place through child-directed initiatives—not adult-driven actions. In Greenspan’s view, the role of adults is to support child-driven initiatives and expand upon them gradually, always handing the initiative back to the child. For example, he describes how a little girl works with her mother to organize herself in a fun, everyday learning situation:

She (the little girl) draws on her ideas to plan what she wants, and her eyes, ears and hands to carry out the plans, all in logical order. Packing the lunch, she and her mother talk about shapes—a round apple, a rectangular box of juice, a triangular half of a sandwich. This little girl is more likely to remember all this than repetitive, non-expressive activities, such as flash cards or a shape sorter, used to memorize shapes.

Power Play

No flash cards? This is likely to be a welcome relief for most parents and even more so for parents whose children have learning disabilities. As implied in the book’s title, learning cannot simply be drilled into place without the requisite developmental readiness. It begins from the bottom (roots) up and takes form through creative, interactive play:

Play excites your child’s interests, draws her to connect to you, and challenges her to be creative, curious and spontaneous—all of which move her forward intellectually and emotionally…. For a child of any age you do three things:  1) follow your child’s lead; 2) challenge her to be creative and spontaneous; and 3) expand the action.

True to their developmental point of view, the Greenspans place the emphasis on early ages. However, throughout the book they provide references on how their model might be applied as children develop through the school years.

Holistic Approach

It is the whole child that is the focus of concern. Behaviors are not to be taken out of their contexts, and symptoms are not to be disconnected from the dynamic out of which they emerge:

For the most part, inattention is a symptom of other problems. It’s like having a fever. Obviously, a fever is not a disease but a symptom common to many. Taking a pill to get rid of a fever without looking for the cause is not good medicine.

From this holistic vantage point, behaviors that might be seen at first to be problematic, are framed in a developmentally positive light:

Just hearing a child explain what she likes or why she doesn’t want to do something, you can feel proud about how thoughtful and insightful she is becoming, even when she disagrees with you.

Continuing the theme of respect for the child, the Greenspans caution against knee-jerk kowtowing to IQ and emphasize instead a child’s strengths (mostly) and weaknesses (some):

Children are often smarter than we give them credit for, but they do vary in terms of processing capacities. They can be uneven in their central nervous system development. Time, however, is on their side. There’s no horse race. …The most important element, is to engage the child by building on his existing interests and experiences, on what he already likes and feels comfortable with…

While the Greenspans provide an important and humane foundation for understanding, interacting with, and supporting children, their discussion of specific learning disabilities in this book is not sufficient for pinpointing instruction or grasping the nature of the problem. That aside, the reader will be left with perhaps a new respect for the role of experiential learning particularly for students with LD and ADHD.

The Learning Tree: Overcoming Learning Disabilities from the Ground Up, Stanley I. Greenspan, MD and Nancy Throndike Greenspan. Da Capo Press; Philadelphia, PA, 2010

The new HBO documentary airing Tuesday, October 26^th doesn’t flinch from testifying to the pain that children with LD and ADHD endure in school: “They said I was stupid, so I thought I was stupid,” says Abby, a bright and articulate nine-year-old who struggled to read, write, and spell. But after receiving appropriate help for her dyslexia, Abby regains confidence in herself, declaring, “Now, I love books!”

“I CAN’T DO THIS BUT I CAN DO THAT:  A Film for Families About Learning Differences” is an account of 8 children who speak movingly about their hard-won understanding that they have very real abilities along with their learning problems–and, like Abby, have learned to use their strengths to compensate for their difficulties.

I Can Do That!

The film highlights the resourcefulness, creativity and strengths that schools frequently fail to acknowledge when students with LD are viewed as less capable than others, and are not given the help they need to succeed.  As director and producer Ellen Goosenberg Kent notes, the film “encourages students, families, and teachers to look beyond labels and discover the gifts each child possesses.”

An engaging 12-year-old, John used to hate school. Like many of the children interviewed for the film, he was often humiliated in class: His third-grade teacher called on him to do math problems in front of the class, and published his failing grades in the school newsletter. Today John attends Denver Academy in Colorado, a school that acknowledges and supports instruction for children with learning difficulties, and expects them to excel. John says, “I have problems with handwriting, but I can still play guitar!”

And as he notes with wisdom beyond his years, “It’s not a learning disorder, it’s a learning difference.  If people think you have a disorder, their expectations drop tremendously.  I can do better than that.”

Joey, also 12, is a talented artist, whose room-sized mural of knights fighting dragons reflects his efforts to contain his anger when he has trouble understanding what he hears, or expressing himself clearly—the result of his auditory processing disorder. “I didn’t think I had a very bright future,” Joey says. But after receiving help from trained instructors and the support of his school principal, he says now, “I realized I could change that future.”

Viewing times

I CAN’T DO THIS BUT I CAN DO THAT:  A Film for Families About Learning Differences” debuts Tuesday, Oct. 26th (7:30-8:00 p.m. ET/PT) exclusively on HBO.

HBO2 playdate:  Nov. 23 (6:00 a.m.)

HBO Family playdates:  Oct. 30 (6:30 p.m.) and Nov. 3 (8:30 p.m.), 12 (10:30 p.m.), 18 (6:30 p.m., 2:00 a.m.), 21 (noon) and 29 (8:30 p.m.)

A trailer for is available for viewing at http://www.hbo.com/#/documentaries/i-cant-do-this-but-i-can-do-that-a-film-for-families-about-learning-differences/synopsis.html

By Susan Baum, Ph.D.

Education professor Susan Baum, Ph.D. is a leading authority on children who are both gifted and learning disabled. Here she discusses the unique challenges facing this often misunderstood, misdiagnosed group of students.

Many people assume that learning disabilities and giftedness are at opposite ends of a continuum. In some states, a student may be identified with either LD or giftedness, but not both. In fact, we know that learning disabilities and giftedness can—and often do—exist simultaneously. You’ve probably come across people who exhibit remarkable talents or strengths in some areas and disabling weaknesses in others. This is the 8-year-old bug expert who can name and classify a hundred species of insects, yet he can’t read; or the obviously bright student who is struggling to stay on grade level.

Missed Diagnosis

Often bright children who are having difficulty maintaining their grades are neither identified nor offered services because they are not failing or performing below grade level. But a profile from the WISC IV IQ test can provide the evidence for diagnosis of such a subtle learning disability.

Likewise, children who have been diagnosed with LD are passed over for gifted programs. Their overall IQ test scores, depressed by their learning disability, prevent them from being identified and receiving services they deserve as gifted or talented. Again, examining areas of strengths on the WISC IV can provide the needed evidence for proper identification, setting the stage for appropriate services.

Different Shapes and Sizes

Students that are gifted and LD can be grouped into three categories, each resulting in unique challenges:

1. Identified gifted students who have subtle learning disabilities. While increased effort may be expected of them due to their obvious intellect, they often do not know how to do what’s being asked of them due to their LD.
2. Unidentified students whose gifts and disabilities are masked by average achievement. These students are struggling to stay at grade level. Their superior intellectual ability is working overtime to compensate for undiagnosed learning difficulties.
3. Identified LD who also are gifted. These students are most at risk because of the implicit message that often accompanies an LD diagnosis: something is wrong that must be fixed before anything else can happen. As a result their talents are put on hold, when in fact, nurturing their gifts is the key to helping them deal with their learning challenges.

In the final analysis, students must learn to be their own advocates. But parents and teachers can help by following these general guidelines:

• Focus attention on developing your child’s gifts
• Provide a nurturing environment that values individual differences
• Encourage compensation strategies
• Encourage awareness of individual strengths

Melissa Rey of Chesterfield, MO, already a Top Young Scientist award winner and seasoned educator at the age of 16, has won the 2010 Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. The award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of students 19 or younger who have learning disabilities and/or ADHD. Selected from over 150 entrants in the nationwide contest conducted annually by Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Melissa was identified with dyslexia (a reading disability) in first grade. She accepted the $1,000 award at the nonprofit organization’s 10^th Anniversary Benefit at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT, where she confided, “taking the jumbled letters dancing in my brain and rearranging them into the patterns of words and sentences has been the greatest challenge I have faced.”

A sophomore at Kennedy High School in Manchester, MO, Melissa spent three years shuttling from her regular classroom to the school’s reading specialist, often arriving in tears, as she struggled with the task of learning to read. Learning to break down the process of reading into a series of simple, manageable tasks, she also gained the self-discipline, confidence, and poise that allowed her to triumph over competitors from across the country in the 2008 Discovery Channel 3M Top Young Scientist Challenge. Named one of three finalists after two days of grueling competition at the NASA Goddard Space Center, she performed a science experiment for an audience of 300 people after just five minutes of preparation, while the other finalists wilted under the pressure.

Accepting the award, Melissa told the audience, “When I succeeded in learning how to read, I discovered my secret weapon.” Today, thanks to winning the Discovery Channel’s Top Young Scientist award, she is on a mission to educate other kids about the wonders of science. She conducts webinars for middle-school students across the country, teaching them not only that “science is everywhere, and yes, it is also very cool,” but also that enthusiasm, dedication and an organized approach can help them to overcome any obstacle. In answering their questions, she says, “I often begin by telling them that I have dyslexia and it has taught me that I can face any challenge and win. If I can win, so can they. All they need to do is to discover their own secret weapon.” Read her story at http://www.smartkidswithld.org/success-stories/youth-award-winners/melissa-rey-2010-youth-achievement-award-winner

2010 Junior Achievement Award

William King Barnett, 14, of Encino, CA, an 8^th-grader at Bridges Academy for twice-exceptional (gifted and learning-disabled) students in Studio City, CA was named the winner of the 2010 Junior Achievement Award, for outstanding accomplishments by a student with learning disabilities or ADHD not yet in high school. After struggling to learn to talk, to walk and to develop basic motor skills, William has pushed himself to accomplish goals beyond what anyone thought possible—becoming a proficient pianist, performing leading roles with the Golden Performing Arts Center, writing movie scripts, and composing music.

Honorable Mention winners include:

Gregory Bayliss, 18, of Greenwich, CT, honored for his determination in overcoming a reading disability and ADHD to win recognition both in academics and athletics at the Taft School in Watertown, CT, where he is a senior.

Emily Cassidy, 18, of Westlake, TX for her innovative community service, creating a clothing boutique serving 300+ teen girls in foster care in northern Texas, recognized with a Gold US Congressional Award. She is a senior at Faith Christian School in Westlake.

Ina Herlihy, 17, a senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco, CA for her work as a political journalist and photographer, including covering President Obama’s inauguration as the only high-school student with full press credentials. Her photography may be seen at www.InaHerlihy.com.

Alex Lake, 19, of Roswell, GA, a freshman at Elon University in North Carolina, for conquering a reading disability and ADHD to become a Presidential Scholar, Elon’s Challenge Course Student Director, community volunteer, and Business Fellows Program member.

William Pendleton, 18, of Lawrence, KS, a freshman at Kansas State University, for using the challenge of his disabilities as a springboard to success in academics, music, track, and the creation of an award-winning butterfly habitat—teaching the lessons he has learned to other students.

Ben Waldow, 17, of Beverly Hills, CA for continuing to draw in class to manage his ADHD, despite his teachers’ disapproval. Now a senior at Beverly Hills High School, Ben launched a career in art, inadvertently, by decorating tennis shoes, as well as everything else, with his doodles, and has become a mentor to other students, a minor celebrity at school, and an effective fundraiser through his talent as an artist.

Put some kids who struggle with LD and ADHD on a soccer field, and they will finally feel in control of their environment–able to show off their skills and work off their abundant energy. However, for many others, the soccer field (or any other sports venue) is a place they’d rather avoid at all costs.

Summertime is a perfect time to find the place your child will feel successful, to build confidence by exploring areas of interest in which your child may excel.  A traditional sports camp experience may be perfect should you have a budding athlete, but know that there are many other options available to children and teens over the summer break.  Some kids, who can’t throw a ball but love the outdoors, may enjoy camps that focus on outdoor experiences close to home.  Others may choose to explore  cooking, science, or photography, or classes in drama or the arts. For children who march to the beat of a different drummer, a wilderness camp experience may be the perfect antidote to feelings of fearfulness and inadequacy.

Summer is a wonderful time to build self-esteem through trying out new activities, and with a little bit of luck, they may become the basis for new friendships as well as new skills.