I think that it makes a great deal of difference to know that lots of people have been through the same things one has experienced. the prevalance of these types of disabilities has also brought awareness and education to a much higher level - one I fervently hope will help today's children accept and cope with their disabilities a lot better that I ever had the chance to do. Oddly, looking back on my own life and childhood though, I recognized something interesting - if anything, the learning disabilities that I had, urged me to push further and try harder, as an adult, rather than the other way around. The saddest thing is that kids (as opposed to adults) don't always have the perspective to do that, and so often give up on themselves instead. Someone posted above a remark about how much harder learning disabled kids work..."imagine what these so-called "lazy" kids could accomplish if they weren't held back by dyslexia" (I am paraphrasing, I apologize) -isn't it ironic that those kids are actually putting out MORE effort than the other kids, and often getting no credit at all for doing so? I will never forget my fourth grade teacher (Mrs. Baker!) She was so often unable to say "You got that right" to me.... but she NEVER failed to say "I appreciate how hard you are trying." that alone, was what made me keep attempting.I'll never forget her for that. What an impact that made!
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