School, Learning Disabilities and the Computer

 Daniel’s school experiences gave him mixed and confusing messages about his academic abilities. He was a ray of sunshine in every pre-school and kindergarten class.  He lived life with enthusiasm, joy, creativity and humor.  He was the child who understood the point of a book or discussion. He was curious about everything.  Daniel cared about doing well and when his four year old friend, Ilana, learned to tie her shoes, Daniel worked on it consistently until he was able to tie his as well.  At the age of three, he was already sounding out words.  The first time Daniel mentioned any concern about his academic abilities was when he overheard his kindergarten teacher telling the first grade teacher that all of the kids in her class were reading except for two.  Daniel came home worried and wanted me to ask his teacher if he was one of the two.

 
As Daniel changed schools to Friends’ Central, his first grade  teacher was concerned that such a bright and verbal student was not excelling at reading.  In addition, he struggled with handwriting, spelling and organization.  This was a time before learning disabilities were as widely recognized as they are now.  The teachers responses to Daniel in elementary school fluctuated between those who adored having him in class because he could be counted on to elevate the discussion, and those who were annoyed and thought Daniel’s handwriting and spelling could be better if he tried.  Though Daniel had a hard time figuring this out, he did have many great experiences as a young child.  He was the one first grader picked to be in the high school play.  We were told it was because of his angelic face.  He was on a traveling soccer team for two years.  He was not one of the best players, but he was one of the most enthusiastic.  

Testing showed what we had all seen: that Daniel excelled in all verbal skills and had more difficulty with visual, perceptual skills.   It is  hard  for a child to understand that they are still really smart even though focusing on the written word, spelling and handwriting are more difficult for them than for the other children they see around them.  It was particularly hard for Daniel because he was very self aware and and wanted to do really well. Even with hard work, things sometimes got in his way.  Daniel had a test on explorers.  He memorized their countries of origin, the areas  they had explored and what they had discovered.  He could rattle off all the information.  When Daniel came home he was disappointed.  It turned out that there was also a map of the thirteen colonies that he was supposed to have learned.  Studying that was not in his homework notes.  These experiences were hard on his self-esteem and he had more difficulty as he grew older  accepting that he could work on something and not receive the good grades he had hoped for. His motivation to work often wavered when he did not have the success he expected. Most of his papers had good grades for content but he was  marked down for spelling, punctuation and for leaving out small words that would have been apparent to most children. 

Daniel wrote about his academic struggles, and how computers helped him in a paper he wrote for a high school English class. I have quoted some parts from that very detailed paper.  “Early in elementary school my parents were concerned about my lack or organization and illegible handwriting.  Although I was young, I understood that I had learning differences from the other children.  My mother was very supportive and understanding of my problems.  On many occasions she had to go out of her way, driving me back to school late at night to find a lost book or pick up forgotten homework.  I was always considered to be “goofing off” because I could not finish the most basic tasks.  Consequently, I was a very confused child, always being told that I was very bright, while my scholastic achievement was below that of the other students in my class…

 In fifth grade we got our first computer.  In eighth grade I was given a lap-top that I took to school with me.  The lap-top enabled me to take legible notes and have a system of  organization for my school and homework. It was also in eighth grade that I was first introduced to computer programming….During the summer after eight grade, my neighbor, then a senior in high school was doing an internship at the Franklin Institute, the second largest museum in Philadelphia.  He was designing an informational program and asked me to assist him.  I was awe-struck by the power of computers and computer programming. I began to teach myself more extensive computer programming,  attempting to become fluent in three languages, Pascal, C, and Assembly.  Since then I have written a game with a graphic artist from Epic Megagames and have done extensive programming for The Academy of Natural Sciences and Lower Merion High School as well as many smaller projects.”  

Daniel credits that work with computers with helping him to become a more successful student and better able to deal with some of his learning issues. He also was able to be helpful to many professors at both of his colleges and to numerous friends, neighbors and to me, his mother.  Most jobs that Daniel had in his 20’s  were unrelated to his computer skills but the companies he worked for or ran still relied on his computer expertise. Equally important was the  job he had as a computer programer at Guiding Technologies.  The work was really important to him and he had wonderful people to work with and for.   As for the credit he gives me, that was mostly for the sake of his paper.  You would more frequently have heard Daniel complaining and angry that I was too strict.

 
Computers were a life-long interest to Daniel. They benefitted his work and his ability to volunteer in numerous ways. They were helpful to him in dealing with his learning difficulties.  I’m appreciative that he connected with them at such an early age and was able to use his skills to enrich his life and the lives of others.