Learning disability and volunteering
I am an instructor with a learning disability. Mine is due to an accident over 15 years ago, but I still struggle with some everyday tasks that most people take for granted. Thankfully, I recognized my issues, received help from others, and have been extremely successful by taking things slow and steady. One thing that I would like to share with others, is that most disabilities are not readily visible and many students have a "want to do it on my own" 0r "I need to prove I can do this myself" attitude. Personally, I think this is a great thing because independence is very important to one with a disability, but an instructor should still do certain things that would help everyone. With this being said, I never assign a routine task to anyone in the classroom. I always ask for volunteers. In my situation, I would have probably dropped a class if an instructor randomly called on me and asked me to solve a problem on the board in front of the class. Even though my hands look normal, I would have had difficulty holding the marker and been embarrassed. I believe volunteering is the way to go.
What is the best way to get a student to admit there is a learning problem so that I, as an instructor, can help them? It seems that the instructor is the last to know of a learning issue.
