When Working With Children With Learning Disabilities

AMONG the disabled community, one of the groups that are the most disadvantaged and neglected in society are people with learning disabilities.

And it is not difficult to see why.

Their handicapping conditions often render themselves in an unfortunate position where they are unable to speak up for themselves.

This is especially true for those who are profoundly affected by their conditions.

As a result, they and their caregivers frequently face unpleasant situations where because of people’s ignorance about them, they experience discrimination.

Many incidents have happened where parents of non disabled children had immediately grabbed their kids away when a child with a learning disability had entered a playground.

This was because they didn’t want their so-called “normal” kids to get near to the handicapped child. This is for fear that their children might come in contact with his or her saliva and become disabled too.

Parents of learning disabled kids also have problems when they try to go out on outings as a family. They are frequently stared at by the public – even by waiters in restaurants – as if their child was from another planet.

Puan Sariah Amirin, 68, is someone who understands persons with learning disabilities (PLDs) and what they need well.   

“Things were far worse for PLDs before,” she told Wheel Power in an interview last week.

“But a milestone was created when the government moved to mix students with learning disabilities with their non disabled counterparts in regular schools in the late 1980s,” added Sariah, who was one of the pioneers in the project.

“It was one of the best moves that had ever been done because it gave kids with learning disabilities the much needed opportunity to integrate with non disabled children and vice versa.”

Sariah, who is president of the Dyslexia Association of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, went on to point out that it began with a special class in a separate wing of about 40 LD students.

They had a chance to mingle with non disabled kids during recess time which is a vital part of social development for every child.

A special adoption programme even went as far as to pair a non disabled student with a PLD. The former would be responsible in taking care of the latter such as helping him get their tea or lunch.

“The exercise is also highly beneficial for the non disabled student in helping them become sensitised to people with disabilities.” Sariah explained.         

A programme called “Inclusive education” was introduced later with even more benefits. These are opportunities for PLDs to join non disabled students in one classroom – rather than separately.

The disabled students, however, would have an extra teacher to guide them along.

As good as all these are, Sariah still feels that there is even more that the special education system can do to help improve the quality of lives of PLDs for a better future.

There include:

·       Every effort must be taken by the Ministry to ensure that special education programme in each and every school is up to the mark so as to not short-change students with learning disabilities. Sometimes what may “look good on paper” may not necessarily be what is actually happening on the ground. 

·       A planned curriculum based on academic skills alone is not the most important thing. Equal emphasis must be given to self-help skills for each student. Some PLDs for example, do not know how to use the toilet – such as taking off their clothes only when they are in the restroom and not before. Fine motor skills such as writing and drawing are important but PLDs have problems with gross motor skills such as not knowing how to jump or throw a ball, etc that require equal attention.

·       Parents of LD children – and their teachers – must address the behavioural problems first instead of only focusing on academic issues. PLDs often have problems of hyperactivity, short attention span and others that come in the way of their learning abilities. Teachers who don’t understand this and inadvertently label a child as “lazy” or “stubborn” will only discourage the child and make him or her find excuses for not coming to class.

·       The problem with some teachers is they don’t provide enough of learning opportunities from fun and play activities that can greatly benefit PLDs. These include music sessions and outings for the children which are also great learning tools!

·       PLDs in special schools need special assistance from professionals such as speech and occupational therapists and psychologists which are provided for in a similar setting in overseas countries. Without them, parents have to go outside of the school to obtain their services which are very expensive.

THE END

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