The Answer Sheet: learning disabilities


Posted at 04:01 AM ET, 04/12/2013

'Learning disabilities' movement turns 50
By Valerie Strauss
Fifty years ago the phrase "learning disabilities" was coined -- and a movement began.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:01 AM ET, 04/12/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A Brief History, Learning Disabilities

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 11/03/2010

Why so many bright kids fail to launch in college
By Valerie Strauss
Nationwide, there is a large and growing group of bright kids whose brains aren’t wired right for a demanding college routine. The strategies and supports that worked in high school when they were living at home are not adequate to the new demands that college places on the executive functions of the brain.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:00 AM ET, 11/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Higher Education, Higher Education | Tags:  SAT scores, add, adhd, college dropouts, college freshmen, college graduation, college work, executive functioning, graduation rates, high school, higher education, landmark college, learning disabilities

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/08/2010

Poll: Americans misunderstand learning disabilities
By Valerie Strauss
A new poll shows that a majority of Americans have severe misperceptions of learning disabilities, the causes and even the definition. This can affect when children are diagnosed and given help that they need.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities | Tags:  autism, learning disabilities, mental retardation, research, roper

Posted at 02:45 PM ET, 02/02/2010

Special ed arts teacher walks in students' shoes
By Valerie Strauss
Pamela Michaels worked for 28 years in four schools with at-risk special education students in the arts. She developed two art programs in schools for students with learning disabilities and taught numerous subjects. After years working with learning disabled students, Michaels suffered her own disability--severe hearing loss--that helped her gain a new understanding of the challenges her students had faced throughout the years. Here is her story.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:45 PM ET, 02/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning Disabilities | Tags:  learning disabilities

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 01/20/2010

Does this sound fair?
By Valerie Strauss
The National Board of Medical Examiners denied a request by medical student Frederick Romberg to have extra time to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. Romberg is a 41-year-old student at Yale Medical School who has been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. He is appealing the decision. Here is what Romberg told the board, and what the board told him. How would you decide the case? ... It wasn't until he was an adult that he finally learned what was causing his academic difficulties. A professor asked him why he was taking so much longer than anyone else to finish a 10-question quiz.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 01/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning Disabilities | Tags:  learning disabilities, test accommodations