HIDDEN TREASURES IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
"When I was in my early years (first through fifth grade) learning disabilities were an unknown entity. Those of us that had these problems were simply viewed as unintelligent, and from my perspective the greatest sadness was that we viewed ourselves the same way." Dr. Fred Epstein (pioneer in pediatric neurosurgery and patient-friendly facilities) [Copyright © 2004 ABC NEWS Internet Ventures.]
Robin Hansen and Rachel Norton, members of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Special Education for the San Francisco Unified School District know too well how to fight for hope. Robin is a parent of 3 children with disabilities – a dyslexic teenager, another teen with high functioning autism and an elementary child with ADHD. Rachel’s older daughter is autistic. Both women are passionate advocates for effective special education programs for children in SFUSD.
“We are not only supposed to advise the Board of Education about what is going on with special education in our district, we are also supposed to help educate parents on how to advocate for their children,” says Robin.
Robin teaches parents about courage, to believe in their children despite their disabilities and to remain resilient in their hope, just like Dr. Epstein who overcame severe learning disabilities marred by academic failures to his groundbreaking accomplishments as a surgeon.
According to the California Department of Education, the San Francisco Unified School District has 6,502 students in Special Education or 12% of its 55,000 students in School Year 2006-2007.
The students with disabilities range from under 1 year through 22 years are diagnosed with the following: Mental Retardation 445; Hard of Hearing 129; Deaf 19; Speech or Language Impairment 1,708; Visual Impairment 39; Emotional Disturbance 444; Orthopedic Impairment 72; Other Health Impairment 383; Specific Learning Disability 2,790; Deaf/Blindness 1; Multiple Disability 92; Autism 374 and Brain Injury 6.
African American students comprise 12.1% of all SFUSD students although they constitute 26.7% of all students receiving special education services in SFUSD. They also represent 54.65% of the SFUSD special education students labeled as “emotionally disturbed”.
21.3% of all SFUSD students are Latino-American but 28.21% of all students receiving special education services in SFUSD are Latino-American.
The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) members’ passion for advocacy is driven not only by love for children but also by apprehension. According to a 1988 U.S. Department of Justice study, 75 to 90% of juvenile offenders have learning disabilities; using a 12th-grade level as the standard, 75% of inmates are illiterate.
The special education parents’ tenacity of purpose and their desire to help other parents of disabled children has put them at odds with the San Francisco Unified School District administration. While the CAC is supposed to publish 2 newsletters a year to inform them of services available to students, they have not been able to publish their newsletter since August, 2007. Katy Franklin and Robin who wrote the censored article feel that:
“Basically, SFUSD has "removed" two pages of our newsletter. They are claiming such an action "is not censorship" but refuse to send out any newsletter from us unless its content is first approved by district lawyers. They are saying that is not censorship, it is "collaboration". The CAC will not agree to prior censorship, we will not agree to tell parents only what the district thinks they should know.
It is nothing more than a blatant attempt to keep parents from knowing the rights their children have to an appropriate education. The newsletter was specifically meant to help low-income and non-English speaking parents who do not have computers and who are not getting the basic advocacy information that is available on the internet.”
There is no doubt that the San Francisco Unified School District and the CAC will come to terms on how to best communicate with all special education parents. The school district, parents and students have a bigger battle, “to remain inspired despite all odds.”
The Great Schools Inc, a program of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation published the “People with Learning Disabilities.”
Many successful and famous people grew up with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) according to ‘Great Schools’:
Winston Churchill, the best British prime minister had a learning disability.
Walt Disney had a learning disability called dyslexia.
Thomas Edison couldn't read until he was twelve years old and had very difficult time writing even when he was older.
Albert Einstein, the great Mathematician and Physicist had a learning disability and did not speak until age of 3. He had great difficulty in doing math in school.
George Washington, our first president, had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.
Mackenzie Thorpe, world-famous painter, urges people at an exhibit of his work to "stop looking with your eyes and see with your feelings."
John E. Morgan, PGA champion, was bullied as a kid because of his learning disabilities.
Charles Schwab is the founder, chairperson, and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation, the largest brokerage firm in the U.S. He also has dyslexia.
Valli Kugler, Miss Tennessee 2002, who set up a summer camp for children with learning disabilities (LD) when she was a student at the University of Tennessee, used the pageant as a platform to increase understanding of LD.
Danny Glover, acclaimed actor of theatre and film, has used his celebrity status to advance many community programs and worthy causes, such as AIDS awareness in South Africa and the advancement of minority youth. (Source: On a Roll a Talk Radio about Life and Disability, October 29, 1999)
Brian Grazer, successful producer of movies such as A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 recalls his personal struggle with dyslexia. (Source: Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2002.)
Lindsay Wagner, most famous for her title role on the hit 1970s TV series Bionic Woman, has dedicated much of her time to raising awareness about learning difficulties.
James Carville, is one of America’s most famous political consultants and he lives with AD/HD. Carville is also an author, restaurateur, and co-host of radio and television shows. Today he concentrates on international political and corporate consulting.
Delos Cosgrove, M.D., is a cardiothoracic surgeon, inventor of several medical devices, and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. He says, “I didn't know I was dyslexic until I was 33 years old. I went all the way through medical school without knowing it.”
Harry Belafonte is a famous African American singer, actor, entertainer and political activist who, even into his seventies, use his position as a celebrity to promote human rights worldwide.
Phillip Manuell, one of the country’s leading jazz vocalists, was diagnosed with AD/HD in 2000 and says only then did his life journey begin to make sense to him.
Don Johnston, CEO of Don Johnston, Inc. His mission is to support diverse learners with proven instructional models, effective literacy strategies, and innovative technologies to help them reach grade-level performance.
Patricia Polacco, prolific children’s author and illustrator, didn’t learn to read until she was 14.
Art Rodriguez is a California author who documents his challenging childhood in children and young and young adult books.
“There are and were a number of famous people with learning disabilities who had problem in learning, but they turned out to be the greatest of men and proved that disability or handicap is not a curse. The famous people with learning disabilities proved themselves better than other able persons.” Great Schools, Inc.
Robin Hansen and Rachel Norton, members of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Special Education for the San Francisco Unified School District know too well how to fight for hope. Robin is a parent of 3 children with disabilities – a dyslexic teenager, another teen with high functioning autism and an elementary child with ADHD. Rachel’s older daughter is autistic. Both women are passionate advocates for effective special education programs for children in SFUSD.
“We are not only supposed to advise the Board of Education about what is going on with special education in our district, we are also supposed to help educate parents on how to advocate for their children,” says Robin.
Robin teaches parents about courage, to believe in their children despite their disabilities and to remain resilient in their hope, just like Dr. Epstein who overcame severe learning disabilities marred by academic failures to his groundbreaking accomplishments as a surgeon.
According to the California Department of Education, the San Francisco Unified School District has 6,502 students in Special Education or 12% of its 55,000 students in School Year 2006-2007.
The students with disabilities range from under 1 year through 22 years are diagnosed with the following: Mental Retardation 445; Hard of Hearing 129; Deaf 19; Speech or Language Impairment 1,708; Visual Impairment 39; Emotional Disturbance 444; Orthopedic Impairment 72; Other Health Impairment 383; Specific Learning Disability 2,790; Deaf/Blindness 1; Multiple Disability 92; Autism 374 and Brain Injury 6.
African American students comprise 12.1% of all SFUSD students although they constitute 26.7% of all students receiving special education services in SFUSD. They also represent 54.65% of the SFUSD special education students labeled as “emotionally disturbed”.
21.3% of all SFUSD students are Latino-American but 28.21% of all students receiving special education services in SFUSD are Latino-American.
The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) members’ passion for advocacy is driven not only by love for children but also by apprehension. According to a 1988 U.S. Department of Justice study, 75 to 90% of juvenile offenders have learning disabilities; using a 12th-grade level as the standard, 75% of inmates are illiterate.
The special education parents’ tenacity of purpose and their desire to help other parents of disabled children has put them at odds with the San Francisco Unified School District administration. While the CAC is supposed to publish 2 newsletters a year to inform them of services available to students, they have not been able to publish their newsletter since August, 2007. Katy Franklin and Robin who wrote the censored article feel that:
“Basically, SFUSD has "removed" two pages of our newsletter. They are claiming such an action "is not censorship" but refuse to send out any newsletter from us unless its content is first approved by district lawyers. They are saying that is not censorship, it is "collaboration". The CAC will not agree to prior censorship, we will not agree to tell parents only what the district thinks they should know.
It is nothing more than a blatant attempt to keep parents from knowing the rights their children have to an appropriate education. The newsletter was specifically meant to help low-income and non-English speaking parents who do not have computers and who are not getting the basic advocacy information that is available on the internet.”
There is no doubt that the San Francisco Unified School District and the CAC will come to terms on how to best communicate with all special education parents. The school district, parents and students have a bigger battle, “to remain inspired despite all odds.”
The Great Schools Inc, a program of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation published the “People with Learning Disabilities.”
Many successful and famous people grew up with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) according to ‘Great Schools’:
Winston Churchill, the best British prime minister had a learning disability.
Walt Disney had a learning disability called dyslexia.
Thomas Edison couldn't read until he was twelve years old and had very difficult time writing even when he was older.
Albert Einstein, the great Mathematician and Physicist had a learning disability and did not speak until age of 3. He had great difficulty in doing math in school.
George Washington, our first president, had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.
Mackenzie Thorpe, world-famous painter, urges people at an exhibit of his work to "stop looking with your eyes and see with your feelings."
John E. Morgan, PGA champion, was bullied as a kid because of his learning disabilities.
Charles Schwab is the founder, chairperson, and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation, the largest brokerage firm in the U.S. He also has dyslexia.
Valli Kugler, Miss Tennessee 2002, who set up a summer camp for children with learning disabilities (LD) when she was a student at the University of Tennessee, used the pageant as a platform to increase understanding of LD.
Danny Glover, acclaimed actor of theatre and film, has used his celebrity status to advance many community programs and worthy causes, such as AIDS awareness in South Africa and the advancement of minority youth. (Source: On a Roll a Talk Radio about Life and Disability, October 29, 1999)
Brian Grazer, successful producer of movies such as A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 recalls his personal struggle with dyslexia. (Source: Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2002.)
Lindsay Wagner, most famous for her title role on the hit 1970s TV series Bionic Woman, has dedicated much of her time to raising awareness about learning difficulties.
James Carville, is one of America’s most famous political consultants and he lives with AD/HD. Carville is also an author, restaurateur, and co-host of radio and television shows. Today he concentrates on international political and corporate consulting.
Delos Cosgrove, M.D., is a cardiothoracic surgeon, inventor of several medical devices, and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. He says, “I didn't know I was dyslexic until I was 33 years old. I went all the way through medical school without knowing it.”
Harry Belafonte is a famous African American singer, actor, entertainer and political activist who, even into his seventies, use his position as a celebrity to promote human rights worldwide.
Phillip Manuell, one of the country’s leading jazz vocalists, was diagnosed with AD/HD in 2000 and says only then did his life journey begin to make sense to him.
Don Johnston, CEO of Don Johnston, Inc. His mission is to support diverse learners with proven instructional models, effective literacy strategies, and innovative technologies to help them reach grade-level performance.
Patricia Polacco, prolific children’s author and illustrator, didn’t learn to read until she was 14.
Art Rodriguez is a California author who documents his challenging childhood in children and young and young adult books.
“There are and were a number of famous people with learning disabilities who had problem in learning, but they turned out to be the greatest of men and proved that disability or handicap is not a curse. The famous people with learning disabilities proved themselves better than other able persons.” Great Schools, Inc.
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