There is an old saying that “a square peg won’t fit in a round hole”. Yet much of education, especially for those of us with learning disabilities, seems to consist of trying to force a square peg into a round hole. But can we change the hole?
Disability is not disaster
May 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I have written elsewhere that I refer to my condition as a learning disability rather than a difference. I’ve been thinking some more about why there is antipathy towards this; I think some of it is because we tend to hear “disaster” when we hear “disability”.
Diagnosing the dead and famous
May 9, 2014 by 1 Comment
Lots of people try to diagnose the dead and the famous. “Did XXX have YYY?” questions are all over the place, as are more assertive statements that, in fact XXX did have YYY. Given how hard it is to diagnose people, even if the person is not only alive but being seen by a qualified […]
Accommodations at home
March 5, 2014 by 4 Comments
In previous posts I’ve looked at accommodations at work and at school and I’ve asked “who are they accommodating?” Now, accommodations at home for people with nonverbal learning disorder.
Accommodations: Who are they acccommodating?
February 27, 2014 by 1 Comment
In this post I discussed accommodations at school; in this one – accommodations at work; in a future post I will discuss accommodations at home. But today, I want to discuss a more general question: Who are they accommodating?
Accommodations at school
February 23, 2014 by 5 Comments
In a recent post I discussed accommodations at work. Now, I’ll discuss the much larger topic of accommodations at school. Larger, at least, because more has been written about it.
Accommodations at work
February 22, 2014 by 5 Comments
Kids grow up and that includes kids with NLD. They (nearly all of them, anyway) need to go to work. Many people with NVLD will need accommodations at work. Others won’t exactly need them, but may do better with them than without. Unfortunately, the accommodations at work are not mandated and not standard. You have […]
Academic, social or behavioral? Can they be separated?
February 8, 2014 by 2 Comments
School age children with learning disabilities often have difficulties. Sometimes, people (teachers, parents, administrators, psychologists, the kids themselves) try to divide the problems into academic, social and behavioral. Maybe this is sometimes useful, but often, it’s a false division. All three play into each other in a sort of vicious circle; and the start of […]
Hey teacher with an NLD student! Don’t freak out!
February 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
In an earlier post, I suggested that kids should not freak out. Now, I give the same advice to teachers (and I will give the same advice to parents, too). So, you’re teaching. Good for you. Teachers are wonderful; the vast majority work very hard and care a lot about the kids they work with. […]
Hey kid! Don’t freak out!
February 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
So, you’re sitting in class and your teacher is bugging you and your classmates are bugging you and when you get home your parents will be bugging you and pretty much the whole darn world is bugging you. What to do? Well, I’ve been there and done that, about 40 years ago. I’ve cursed at […]
Finding strength to have strength
February 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
This post stems from a conversation I (@Nonverballd) had on Twitter with @spectrum_life. It’s about how to find the strength to not let bullies get you down.
Not the “right” label but the “best fitting” label
January 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Labels. The special education world is just chock full of labels. Sometimes these labels are used strictly for funding purposes – such labels are often drawn directly out of the latest DSM and correspond to some diagnosis listed there. But other labels are used to help people (parents, teachers, administrators and – oh my! – […]
How to decrease agitation for (some) NLD students
January 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
You’re teaching. One of your students, you think, has nonverbal learning disabilities. He’s getting upset. With other kids, you have lots of tools in your arsenal; things you know by instinct or from training or from other teachers. But, with this kid, some of those tools don’t seem to work.. What might work?
Ways for teachers (or anyone!) to support communication with NVLD students
January 8, 2014 by 3 Comments
Suppose you are a teacher and you have a kid in your class who has nonverbal learning disability (NVLD). Like nearly all teachers, you want what is best for your students. You want to help. But sometimes communication with that NVLD kid just doesn’t seem to work. What might you try?
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