Children, adolescents, and adults with learning and performance difficulties are usually faced with information processing problems
in a few specific areas. These areas include visual processing,
auditory processing, organization, memory, attention, executive
function, abstract reasoning and more.
For children and adults with LD and/or ADHD,
their parents, and their teachers there are three very important words
to remember: 1. Information, 2. Knowledge, and 3. Wisdom. Read on to
find out what this means.
INFORMATION
The
1st level of understanding comes when you gather information (a) about
LD and ADHD, their types, the combinations of difficulties, how they are
diagnosed, and how they are treated so that you know as much as
possible in order to proceed successfully, and (b) about the individual,
including strengths, difficulties, testing results, behaviours, and
performance. You will read books, watch DVDs, attend workshops, and ask
questions.
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge is the level
above information. You must organize the information under headings and
into categories. Secondly, you must apply the information by taking
action to find solutions to practical problems. For example, a girl is
unable to memorize the multiplication tables, so she is allowed to use a
calculator at all times. Be aware that often the first solution fails,
and we have to try something different. What if the girl with the
calculator confuses 3 and 8, 2 and 5, and 1 and 7, resulting in many
mistakes? You will search the software and assistive technology, or ask a
specialist to find a solution for a problem.
WISDOM
The
highest level of understanding is what we call wisdom. This occurs when
the individual, or the parents/teachers, learn to view the problem in a
larger context, such as graduation from school, career choices, playing
hockey, or getting on with life. Sometimes we find that a problem we
thought was very important is not very important in the big picture of
things. When the problem is put into a larger context, then we are able
to give the problem an appropriate weight. An adult with a serious
problem with mathematics will see that there are many interesting jobs
which require almost no mathematics ability. Once again, a specialist
can help to answer questions and provide valuable insights.
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