An Elephant in the LD Room
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
© 2011 Sanford Shapiro
Imagine this: You’re six years old, and for the next 10 years or so, a sizable portion of your mental and emotional fuel tank will be used up avoiding humiliation, developing feelings of not being good enough, falling behind in assignments, getting teased, being misunderstood, and struggling way more in basic skills like reading and writing, than some kids who don’t seem to work as hard or care as much. You begin to dislike or hate reading and want to avoid the whole issue of school and homework altogether.
What are the chances you’d be at risk for some pretty significant emotional turmoil, upset or more? Six hours a day in a school setting that only marginally addresses your needs is a LONG TIME.
I’m not saying that having learning disabilities causes mental health struggles. But struggling with basic skills can marginalize you in school, and combined with other factors, significantly increases the chances of developing them.
According to the NICHD/Hazelton Foundation, 60% of adolescents in treatment facilities for substance abuse are learning disabled.
From the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, “Research indicates at least twice as many young adults in the criminal justice system show signs of dyslexia as those in the general population.”
Want more? From the Journal of Affective Disorders: “Presence of learning disabilities among clinically depressed, hospitalized children was 7 times higher than in the general population.”
My own experience in working in residential treatment centers and emotional growth/therapeutic boarding schools bears this out.
We have many schools and tutorial centers across the country, who provide excellent services for these kids, but too often, way too often, they are not enough. They are not enough to stem the tide that began early in elementary school. The waves of misdirected instruction, of poorly formed or late understandings and diagnoses come crashing down, and the rubble looks like anger, shame, self-doubt and mistrust, along with a really unhealthy dose of feeling like a victim in life.
Is it really a stretch to connect the dots from some of these kids and adults with such childhood beginnings, to self-medication and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors?
It turns out that there are hundreds of schools that have sprung up in the US and abroad, which are designed to address the emotional development of teens and to a lesser extent, younger kids. These schools, some with a more medical or clinical approach, some with less, have been around for a while now. It’s only recently that they’ve begun to wake up to the specific needs of kids with specific learning disabilities.
In addition, there are scores of “therapeutic wilderness programs” that are relatively short-term and high impact, that strive to, and purport to, having a knowledge base and sensitivity to kids with LD.
My own perception is that a few handful of these programs and schools are superior and that the gap between who they say the serve, what they say they deliver and what they actually deliver, is pretty small. Others are only talking that talk.
Recovery and lives are at stake. Due diligence is in order.
Next month I’m going to go out and visit a handful.
THANK YOU Sanford.
How many children with undiagnosed learning disabilities or executive function disorders or even on the autism spectrum have been shipped off to the “tough love” schools?
My own sense is that it is getting worse, in that the expectations for executive function mastery and other developmentally-inappropriate expectations (mine is handwriting) set up children for failure.
Dear Frustrated LD Professional,
I’m glad that what I wrote struck a chord for you. Part of my point is what you’ve honed in on; namely, that there are kids who get enrolled in an emotional growth or therapeutic boarding school who could get better served with high quality instruction in a less restrictive environment.
But also, and this is a big part of my thrust: There are many children and teenagers who are spiraling down emotionally and behaviorally and a part of, sometimes a big part of their struggle has to do with their learning disabilities and how they deal with the associated issues. Depression, drug and alcohol addiction/abuse, and self-harming behaviors need that something else, the emotional support and goals that can come from schools that address these concerns head on, not indirectly.
The problems and challenges related to the LD component are many and important.
These schools, and let’s use (for now) an umbrella term such as therapeutic boarding schools, have such range in terms of awareness and skill sets, that the risks are great when it comes to selecting them (let alone figuring our whether one is even needed).
As you say, there are some that are simply built on a “tough love” model. And, frankly, there are worse models than that.
But there are also many very good and increasingly sophisticated schools and programs that have excellent combinations of clinical support and can take a softer more nuanced approach to all sorts of issues.
I’m glad you took the time to write in and raise your concerns.
Hi Sanford,
Have you begun posting this series yet? Sounds very interesting and just what I need right now.
Many thanks,
Beth
Hi Beth,
I will begin posting soon. I’ll be off to visit several schools and programs next week.
I am an educational consultant who works with this population of kids. Not all therapeutic boarding schools and wilderness programs are the same, and some work better with specific populations of kids than others. When I am looking at therapeutic schools and programs for any student, but in particular for those with learning disabilities, it is very important that these needs are fully understood by the family, school or program, and consultant. The good news is that the right school or program can literally change a student’s life in many positive ways. I see miracles all the time.
What happens to many organizations is similar to the saying ‘ strong as the weakest link’ so many programs are driven by the staffing. It the staffing is great, so is the program and then people move….This time is covered by so many people in the global movement that what is a strong program one year may not be the next year. The kids are the ones the loose out.
Becky,
You’re absolutely correct: “Not all therapeutic boarding schools and wilderness programs are the same.”
There are different clinical levels, different philosophies and different skill-sets and different biases.
You said: ” it is very important that these needs are fully understood by the family, school or program, and consultant. The good news is that the right school or program can literally change a student’s life in many positive ways. I see miracles all the time.”
Thanks for those comments. I agree. One of the challenges is in determining the gap between what a program says they do and what they actually do. That’s where familiarity with the people at schools and programs is key.
Julia, you’re right about the line staff of any school/program being key.
That’s why when I find a program that treats its employees well and turnover is low, I really pay attention.
I have been spending time looking through your website – amazing work – love it !
Thanks Heather.
Sanford: Great information!!! How do you receive help with the tuition of a Therapeudic Private School, once you find a good one. We are in Texas and our “wonderful” school district informed me right out that they would not assist in any sort of funding for private school, regardless of the need.
Thanks Kindly!
April,
Glad you appreciate the information thus far. Thanks for your comments and question.
Regarding funding issues, I have to first ask why you feel the school district should fund your out of district options. There may be good reason, but it’s not an automatic.
On the other hand, if it’s as you write it, I’m troubled by a school district making a statement like that “regardless of need.”
Things that are important:
1. What are the needs specifically. How bad is the current situation?
2. What programs and interventions have been tried, including school district programs?
3. Are there any things the district has done that puts it out of compliance with the law and or the IEP?
Getting school district funding is a complex affair at best. You might want to see about hiring an special education advocate. Prior to doing anything else, I would make sure you’ve had your son or daughter throughly evaluated both from a learning perspective and from a psychological one.
Sanford