By Maryanne Kooda PGD Special Needs Education
Sunday, 12 October 2014 00:00
He is a tall, lanky, 16-year-old boy, interested in girls and loves music. But his parents are worried, as they should be, because after a year in a special education classroom attached to his school he is still unable to read and write. Though based on the typical age progression he should be in Grade 9, he is still in Grade 5.
I met up with them, knowing that there is very little I could do for him at this stage, but hoping to offer some moral support. Re-mediating his inability to read and write at this age is not impossible, but would require considerable expense and time which neither his parents nor teachers could afford to allocate at this stage. His parents had a simple plan, to place him in a vocational training institute where he would learn some practical skills to aid in his future survival needs.
They left my place, saddened that there was no immediate choice that could solve this problem they had struggled with for so long. They could only take solace in the fact that they had a healthy son, who was capable of walking and talking, and perhaps one day, would find a type of vocation that did not place any demand on literacy skills.
This teenager studied in Sinhala medium, so the fact that he cannot read or write his own mother tongue is a challenge that can only be met by a team of experts in a varying field of special education and educational psychology.
The second child is still just seven years old. His parents have noticed that he cannot read grade level text. He also cannot seem to spell simple words.
It is obvious that he has some ‘inexplicable’ inability to read or write, the confounded parents are spending a lot of money for his education in a leading international school, but there has been little or no progress in his reading abilities.
Fortunately, the school he is in has a unit dedicated to struggling children like him and there is some hope that with a lot of hard work from home and at school there just might be a re-mediation of his reading difficulty.
This child studies in the English medium, and both parents speak English at home, but despite their upper middle class status their one and only child is failing at school. He does have other talents; he is a great swimmer and good artiste. He also has a gentle demeanor. He has a lot to offer the world, if his self-esteem is not damaged by his inability to achieve literacy.
These are two cases in thousands all over the world, but with little or no data on its prevalence in Sri Lanka it is difficult to estimate how many children are affected. The teenager was diagnosed late, hence the absence of proper intervention. There is hope still, for the younger child since it has been identified on time.
English as a Second Language
Many international schools in Sri Lanka teach subjects in English language and as a result the difficulties in learning to read are often further compounded by a lack of basic knowledge of the language. This makes it very important to identify the students at the primary level and provide intensive intervention for them at an early age.
In Sri Lanka, the challenges of learning English as a second language is common in all economic demographics of the country. It is not uncommon to find that children from well to do families are unable to read and write fluently particularly if it is not an English speaking household.
Sometimes, learning disabilities may be difficult to diagnose when children do not speak English at home, and most importantly do not get support from parents. This is undoubtedly not a Sri Lankan problem, the world over; literacy is a challenge that requires systematic intervention from teachers and school administration as well as partnership with parents.
This is not a problem unique to Sri Lanka, experts estimate that nearly 40 percent of U.S. 4th graders do not achieve basic levels of reading proficiency. The number is higher among low-income families, certain minority groups, and English language learners.
Complications
Early childhood education in Sri Lanka is based on the Montessori Method is a very useful method that uses a multi-sensory method of teaching. Yet it is not uncommon to find children who pass through the Montessori system and yet are unable to read and write at grade level.
One leading cause of this is undiagnosed learning disabilities. Due to the unavailability of experts in the field of educational psychology and special education there is very little knowledge here in Sri Lanka regarding the difficulties children with mild to moderate learning disabilities face.
Research, done by the Ladyridgeway Hospital, mentions in a 2003 report, that 70percent of the children attending their special clinic have learning disabilities. They further state that
“Recognition of the true characteristics of children with learning difficulties will lead parents and teachers to deal with them in a sympathetic yet effective manner. DSM IV gives criteria for diagnosis of learning difficulties. Subtle characteristics and their predictability as high, moderate and weak have been described which may help identify children with learning difficulties. Unfortunately these children are often not identified till late. This delays benefits of interventional care. If doctors, teachers and parents are vigilant about these characteristics, they can be identified early”
Another reason for the increasing number of children in primary school’s inability to read is the lack of training on how to handle children with reading difficulties. Most teacher-training focuses on the average child, who develops literacy with little or no difficulties; There are many systematic reading programs for struggling students which are not available in Sri Lankan schools.
It is essential not just to diagnose reading difficulties, but also have the correct training and resources to re-mediate the problem. It’s of no use if everyone in the system knows that the child is having a problem, but no one is willing or able to do anything about it.
Parents also have a large role to play in helping their children to develop literacy. A child that reads for twenty minutes each day is more likely to develop a vocabulary that is enlarged by the cumulative effect of early exposure to written text. It is unfortunate that many parents do not see the importance of their role in the first six years of their child’s literacy development. Then wait till O levels to spend thousands of rupees on tuition.
Solution
UNESCO defines literacy as the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.” This is a fundamental human right for ALL children. Unfortunately many children are derived of this due to a lack of systematic intervention.
There is no data in Sri Lanka on the number of children who are unable to read by the time they are in Grade 4, but speaking to teachers, it is not uncommon to hear that many children are unable to read the class level text books of the international school syllabus.
This situation can be easily re-mediated if there is early detection and re-mediation to prevent the students falling behind and losing confidence in their abilities. This intervention can be recommended by parents or teachers, and school management has the responsibility to provide a systematic approach to intervention so that children do not fall behind.
A University of British Colombia research study has shown that strategic literacy instruction paired with supplemental small group instruction for the lowest performing 20% Of Kindergarten and Grade 1 students can reduce the percentage of students reading below grade level in grade 4 to 2%.This is compelling evidence to support the implementation of early intervention strategies in primary schools.
In a nutshell, early detection, proper training of teachers and the availability of resources in schools as well as hands on approach of parents will go a long way in ensuring children with reading and writing difficulties are not left behind by an educational system that has been created to cater for the average child.
– See more at: http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/34078-correcting-learning-disabilities.html#sthash.TWkyOZpH.dpuf
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