By Saundra Dobbs

A learning disability is defined as, “A condition that either prevents or significantly hinders somebody from learning basic skills or information at the same rate as most people of the same age.” When people think of learning disabilities they often think of attention deficient disorder and hyper activity. However, there is a whole spectrum of learning disabilities that are not as well known. The diagnosis of a learning disability does not always come with a specific label. Since 1997, a learning disability was diagnosed if a child had a fifty percent discrepancy between academic testing scores and actual achievement. This means that the diagnosis of “learning disabled” would be given if a child had a much higher IQ score than actual grade level testing. This system has been found to be ineffective; however it is still being used.

When a child is diagnosed with a learning disability, he or she is often times given special attention in the form of resource room, learning lab, or a variety of other methods. However, the aid is not centered on the area of deficiency. This means that if a child does poorly in math but excels in reading, he or she will be given aid that encompasses all of the categories rather than focusing on the problem area. This is a waste of time and money and stigmatizes students.

A new strategy has been developed which many people in the field find to be much more effective. This strategy still uses the 50 percent discrepancy but instead of immediate classification, alternative methods of treatment are utilized first. For example, a child may be put in peer tutoring or reading room program prior to classification. If the child still has difficulty, then the specific area of problem is given the special attention it needs. This new method reduces the amount of time a child is classified because the area of difficulty is concentrated on and the child is able to participate in regular classes for the areas he or she is succeeding in. This helps reduce the stigma attached to being labeled as learning disabled and allows a child to interact with the school’s general population for the majority of his school day.

However, this new method is not being widely utilized. Schools must be held accountable to their populations with learning disabilities. Some suggest these methods are not being implemented because students with learning disabilities are given more time on standardized tests. This allows a school the opportunity to have increased test scores, which have become so important after the No Child Left Behind Act was mandated. Opponents of this new system argue that these new programs are expensive. It is true that, when all is told, the immediate cost may increase due to an increase of variety in resources. However, in the long term, the costs will even out because children will need fewer resources for a shorter period of time than before. Regardless, schools must give children with learning disabilities enough attention to help them succeed and must work harder to not misdiagnose learning disabilities. It is our responsibility that every child be classified appropriately in order to ensure that they can get the best education possible.