First Hand Experence

Number one rule: sometime you just need to laugh at yourself.

It is often said that it is difficult to remove ones self from ones teaching, that in essence, we teach who we are.  For me, understanding and accommodating learning disabilities this has always been a critical aspect of my teaching, for the very simple fact that I grew up with one.  I was diagnosed with Dyslexia in 1st grade, during a time when 504 plans and IEP's weren't all the rage.  While I was lucky enough to have a family that advocated for me and my learning disabilities, many students are without such luck.

If you've ever wondered what it was like to have a learning disability, PBS put on an exceptional video and website on different learning disabilities, called Misunderstood Minds.  Use the link below to gain from first hand experiences as to the struggles students like myself, experience on a daily basis.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/resources.html#writingweb

With help and resources I learned, like many other students, how to use my abilities to work around my disabilities, how to compensate for my inadequacies and learn how I learn.  While my years in elementary seem to be eons ago, I am thrilled and excited to see the potential assistive technology offers for a new generation of students that learn just like me.

Learning how to use technology is the key to providing students with an exceptional education plan designed to work with their abilities and help adapt learning to fit into our students' frame of reference.  Sometimes, as we talked about in the first post, there are easy ways to incorporate readily available technology into one's teaching.  The goal is simply learning how to use the technology at hand.  The following article goes into more in depth technology strategies.

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs?page=1

Like most other dyslexics proof reading as ALWAYS been one of my biggest issues.  The following article goes over some great technology tools that are specifically designed to help students become more effective proof readers.

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/962-proofreading-software-programs.gs?page=1

So the question becomes: how does this relate to the work we do in an art classroom?

While it's often suggested students that do not conform to traditional styles of learning excel in the art room, I'd conversely argue that the nature of art and creative thinking is based in a particular application of concept.  Chemical reactions, when written on the board in chemistry class come alive in the art room, when one mixes a developer with photo negatives causing the silver emulsion to develop in a range of grey tones.  Or the mathematical proportion and ratios in an algebra class are applied to mixing ceramic stain.  Art allows students to learn and apply their learning to real world uses, making it ideal for students with learning disabilities.  The national Learning Disability organization echos this thinking in the below article.

http://www.ncld.org/in-the-home/parenting-issues/play-enrichment-aamp-holidays/learning-disabilities-and-the-arts

Leonardo di Vinci was believed to be dyslexic.

The integration of technology into the art room only seeks to enhance students success.  The following article addresses the concerns art teachers face when working with students with disabilities, from getting involved in IEP meets, mainstreaming students into the art room and well as how to use technology to enhance learning.  The article both it's rather eloquently focusing on: Teaching Artistically Abled Students with Exceptional.

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=337