Students with Learning Disabilities Require Cool Factor

I am the resource specialist at a public charter school. I support students with mild to moderate disabilities with their general education classes, as well as teach two study skills classes called “Academic Literacy” that work to teach students about their learning styles, bolster their skills, and provide a place where they can both get and give help. Our school has been successfully teaching “at risk” students for 10 years, and more than half of our students are low income. In addition, many of our students are the first in their families to go to college. Two years ago, I transitioned from being an English teacher to working with my current students, all of whom have learning disabilities. What struck me was how much energy some of my students put into hiding their disabilities. It was often when they were struggling that they were most resistant to help. Especially in high school, students are very conscious of appearing different from their peers or of calling attention to their disability. Because of this, many of my students don’t access the technology that would help them be more successful students. Many students have a learning disability that effects visual processing (how their brains interpret visual information), and therefore have an extremely difficult time reading. Yet our school requires students to read some very demanding books: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Night by Elie Wiesel, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and A People’s History by Howard Zinn. In order to access this material in the same way as their non-disabled peers, my students greatly benefit from having the books read out loud to them or from being able to listen to the books. Right now, however, our program has mostly bulky tape recorders and old walkmans. Many of my students say they feel “stupid” listening to the books on tape and not surprisingly won’t do it in front of their peers. This past summer, I had a similar grant funded that provided an iPod for my class to use (thank you Connie and Sam!). Students who initially refused to listen to audio books are now asking to use the iPod, and we are in need of a second one! The use of iPods is appealing because they have the “cool factor” for students. Using popular technology gives my students the opportunity to access the resources they need while simultaneously “saving face” and not feeling as self-conscious about their need to learn differently. The use of an iPod also provides my students with more autonomy because they do not need to rely on someone else to read them the material. This year I am hoping to significantly improve the access my students have to sophisticated technology in order to increase their learning. Students would be able to use the iPod during our class, check it out from me during their other classes or advisory, or come to the resource room to use it after school. The first iPod has been a huge success, and I look forward to more students having access to this same resource. Thank you for helping to make this happen!