The Story. Every person, place, and thing has a story.
Learning
Differently Network Support (LDNS) has one too. LDNS
story started as an educational learning experience at Mercy
College with Anita Schwartz.
Work
environments, and educational institutions, still fail to meet the criteria of
the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
A Case Study:
(
U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, November 2000, case
#02-00-2097).
The history of Learning Differently Network Support
began with Anita Schwartz, who grew up with an undiagnosed learning
disability. She was made to feel inadequate because she learned differently
compared to her other sisters and friends. While working on her bachelors
degree in Psychology at
Mercy
College
,
Dobbs Ferry
,
New York
she encountered extreme difficulty with coursework and advisors made it clear
that in order to receive legal accommodations, it was necessary to be
officially diagnosed. With heartache, Anita was tested and diagnosed with a
learning disorder. However, she was not granted accommodations from
Mercy
College
. Almost a year later with the assistance of Office of Civil Rights, Anita was
given her accommodations. Anita graduated with departmental honors in 2002
with a promise to herself that she would help others so they would not have to
face the resistance and the struggles of learning differently alone.
My story began a long time before I had
even stepped through the doors of
Mercy
College
.
When I was in elementary school,
(about 3rd grade) the school administration told my mother I could
be autistic. Then they said maybe that I would be better off in special
education. My mother fought the school against placement in special education
and for me to remain in mainstream. She did not want me to bear a label that
she thought would mortify the rest of my life. Nevertheless, being in reading,
speech and math labs did not fully help bring me up to grade level. It did not
even bring me half way! My parents were beside themselves and even had church
tutors try to help me. But nothing seemed to help. Even making friends was
difficult for me because when the teachers passed out their ditto sheets or
the Weekly
Reader and everyone took a turn reading, I was very slow reading
and stumbled over words. Some of the other children would laugh and I would
feel “stupid”. Yet, I was not, and knew I was not.
When my father helped me (in 3rd or 4th grade)
with my diorama of the solar system and to learn about the universe, I asked,
“daddy, what is beyond
the universe?” My father was floored and thought there was something
wrong with me. He just looked at me stunned, replying, “There is nothing
beyond the universe, all there is, is the universe!” Today, scientists are
hypothesizing there is so much more. Could you just image this from an 8 or 9
year old that the school system thought was autistic?
Finally, in high school I wanted to
drop out of school. Even though I loved to read, write stories, poetry, and
just be in a library, I wanted no part of the traditional educational
institution where I did not “fit in”. I knew I was smart and could learn
but I knew I was different too. By being different in such a way limited my
learning and social skills. My parents did not want me to drop out. Certain
teachers did not want me to drop out. The principal did not want me to drop
out. So they shipped me off to Yonkers Prep, a local high school where
everyone in it had something “different” about them. It was not just a
school for LDers. Students had
other problems that affected their learning in the traditional sense. At Prep,
most were able to achieve academic success better then in the public school
system. I took college classes at Mercy for high school credit, did
independent studies, and graduated in 3 years instead of 4 years with two high
school diplomas.
After high school, I went on to a 2-year school,
Pace
Business
School
and graduated with an overall average of 3.97, went through many professional
and unprofessional jobs. Secretary, administrative assistant, bookkeeper,
manager, I had all these fun filled titles but was not a happy camper. While
in the job market, I also attended Mercy College for a degree in
accounting. It just
took so much energy to do my jobs that I became psychologically and physically
tired. I was so unhappy, that
in my last year of college, I switched my major to Psychology. Wow, I lost so many credits
and gained another year of work for myself, but I was happier.
Although I was happier with doing online classes, working and my family
life, I was not happy about how much effort it took to keep up with everyone
else. There came a point that it just was too much for me and I thought there
was something wrong with me. I wanted to drop out of school, knew I
could learn - but it just was at a slower pace. Was it me? Was it just the way
teacher taught? Was it the stress of trying to have it all? Or was it
something else? I needed to know before I just “dropped out”. Not being
the one to just
giving up, toss in the towel or allow a difficult situation get the best
of me. The inner social worker in me took over, and I began my search to find
out answers I needed. To whom do I tell my story? Who will listen?
Fordham University had listened to my
story, took me in, helped me to help myself, taught in the least restricted environment,
and gave me a high quality learning experience.
Upon graduating from Fordham
University with an MSW the story continues. To find out how the story
unfolds please go to: http://www.ldns.org/lookingbacklookingforward.htm
The story currently is here, at this web site,
new
projects, research developments in the field of learning
differently and with YOU.
On LDNS
web
site you will not find the word "learning" before
"disorder", "disabled", "disability" "diagnosis",
etc. (Exception: only in some sections, such as the research and reports
section, you would find these words
next to each other) The reason for this is simple. When one of these
"labeling" words is joined with learning, it "labels" the
characteristics of a person who simply learns
differently. By labeling, when it is not necessary, only enhances the
stigma that society has conceptualized. Therefore, the operational definition (the meaning of)
learning
differently (LD) is: everyone has the ability to
change, learn and grow. However, the unique method of how someone learns can
deviate from the norms of society.
Today,
many LDer's (not
labeled and labeled) are not inclined to divulge their differences to
anyone, even other LDer's due
to the fear of not being accepted, being persecuted, and discriminated
against. Here at LDNS,
LDer's come together as a
network to support one another, and to create positive changes for a better
quality of life. LDNS
also
realizes that the
public also can start to allow and accept these LDer's
individualized methods of learning.