admin

While more students with learning disabilities are attending college the overall graduation rates continue to be relatively low. One of the theories for this could be that students attending schools that don’t offer nearly enough support either because they were unaware of all the colleges that have structured support programs or the high cost associated with them. Read More

Growing up while overcoming an NVLD, one of the things I noticed was that a large percentage of those with disabilities didn’t take as many risks involving decisions for inclusion in school and life outside of school. While the recommendations they were being offered were good, at times more could have taken place if both families and IEP teams stepped out of their comfort zone to try new methods and experiences. Read More

When I first was diagnosed with NVLD I was 18. I was a senior in high school. Long story short, starting in middle school I often struggled with time on exams and struggled to keep up. This continued through high school although people thought I was smart, my grades didn’t reflect that and because of this I never really liked school and I didn’t think I was all that smart. Read More

My observations of a professor-friend about twelve years ago led me quite accidentally to the conclusion that he had Asperger’s Syndrome. After further research on how Asperger’s is expressed in women, I became largely convinced (especially on bad days) that I was similarly afflicted. (This was a few years before the removal of Asperger’s Syndrome from the DSM-5.) Read More

As a young child, looking back, I was different – way ahead of my peers in reading and memorization. But so bad at sport I was sent off the football pitch for upsetting the other players, and I never won at cards or strategic games. As I approached 16, I noticed that my former advantages were becoming disadvantages – my reasoning was really poor, I couldn’t foresee outcomes others saw easily, and the more theoretical maths and logic that my peers could handle easily were impossible. Read More

Making sure full inclusion was in place during high school was hard at first as partial inclusion then was fairly new so understandably it was harder for our current Special Educator director to understand the differences. Thankfully my parents had the opportunity to share the updated Inclusion models with the History and English department chairs. Read More

While it’s no secret that I am a true believer in full inclusion for secondary-level students with an NVLD and similar disabilities, I don’t agree with it for elementary students. This is because, for the elementary level, true full inclusion means having all your support services in the regular classroom. I believe these students besides needing more direct instruction also need a place just to cool off. That being said I believe these students shouldn’t be leaving the classroom for every service either and it should be limited to 45-60 minutes with the understanding that by the time students reach the secondary level true full inclusion needs to be in place. Read More

To Students With An NVLD: Growing up it was hard for me to understand why  I needed a lot of support from my teachers, therapists, and coaches to be successful.  It just didn’t make sense as my sister excelled at everything and things were relatively easy for the friends I had through youth activities. While not all of them were necessarily great students they were strong athletes. So if you are facing self-esteem issues I can completely understand your feelings of hurt having to have all the extra assistance but I believe with growth and maturity you will be very thankful for how much these adults have impacted your life. It truly does take a village to raise a child though often it does take time to see this. Read More