Poverty and Learning disabilities Pt.2

In my last blog, I mentioned that most low-income areas have little to no options for testing or evaluation of learning disabilities.Therefore, these children do not receive accommodations for their disability and their education suffers. Children usually spend most of their early life learning, developing critical thinking skills and building a foundation for their learning. With a learning disability, development of these skills suffers or the foundation may not be there and this causes some significant struggles later on in life. Unfortunately, more than 60% of adults may have a form of undiagnosed learning disability, and suffer from it in daily life. Luckily, there’s sometimes a private schooling option. Many private schools over the last several years have created scholarships for a variety of populations, including low income areas. This option can provide a child with a disability the opportunity to be discovered since most private schools have a lower teacher to student ratio. This gives the child more focused attention from a teacher. In these situations, the hope is that the extra attention would allow the teacher to realize that the child might have an undiagnosed disability. The child could then be tested through the school system to be diagnosed. This helps tremendously, as the child now has the ability to understand why they struggle and how to adapt their environment or make an adjustment in the classroom so they will succeed.

Another way to help children with learning disabilities is with device donations. The cost of assistive learning devices can be so expensive that it just isn’t something some families will ever be able to afford. Assistive learning devices can range from hearing aids, text to speech devices, text to speech pens, and more. Around 80% of those with learning disabilities have to pay for these themselves, and as I said, they can be very expensive. Donating this technology or the money for them can change that and give the person an opportunity to learn that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

On the topic of donations, monetary donations can also be very helpful in low-income areas. As I mentioned previously, not all schools will have the equipment, materials or accommodations for those individuals with learning disabilities. However, there are ways that anyone can help with this issue. For example, anyone can supply textbooks, notebooks, writing utensils, technology and other materials or equipment to the school in order to give the children there a great opportunity to learn. Some schools will even take cash donations for those that want to help but don’t know how. Further, through blogs like this, word of mouth, community outreach and other resources, getting this knowledge out there can reach people that want to help. Getting the information out there to reach other parents and young adults so they understand that a child with a learning disability might need accommodation or some type of assistance.

I think it’s easy to overlook this kind of disability because it may not be as obvious as someone in a wheelchair. It’s important to help in any of these ways because a parent may not speak out early enough letting people know their child needs help. They may not know, they may not feel comfortable, or they may know something is wrong but are not sure what to do or what can be done. What if there are only a limited amount of resources? If the accommodation isn’t identified and therefore met, then in adulthood, it’s likely that they may not have a job, as 46% of adults with learning disabilities are unemployed. Getting information out about these disabilities is just as important as accommodating for them.

There are also ways that college students can help out. Universities have graduate programs that offer specific evaluations. These evaluations are done in special clinics, where a graduate and an experienced psychologist evaluate children or families that might need them. In these evaluations, a diagnosis of a learning disability may show up, and this can be a way for families to learn about their child or family member’s disability early on in life, whereas they might not have been able to prior to the program being available. The best part about this program is that it’s entirely free!

In addition, there are hospitals that provide free evaluations in their psychology, psychiatry, and neurology departments. These are called ‘teaching hospitals’, and they too can help a family member or child in need. All you have to do is find one that offers the program and spread the word!

Finally, there are multiple centers and websites that can be looked into when someone is in need of an evaluation. However, there are so many of these, I have to list them out! I urge you to look at every single one, as one of them may be the solution needed in a specific case. I will also make a blog elaborating in detail what all of these websites and centers do, so keep an eye out for that! The centers provided are: Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs), Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA Center), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) ADHD Resource Center, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Network, and Children’s Dyslexia Centers, Inc. The websites provided are: Samhsa.gov, and 211.org.

There are multiple ways to help out those in low-income areas, especially with education and identifying their unique needs early. Showing where there are opportunities such as private schooling scholarships, donations and spreading good information and knowledge are good places to start. What can you do to help?