Patience, Guidance, and Time...

As a parent, is the education of your child important?
If so, then wouldn't the education of a child with learning difficulties be even more so?
There is a distinct difference between learning DIFFICULTIES, and learning DISABILITIES.

Learning Difficulties; [noun] Difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills to the normal level expected of those of the same age.

Learning Disabilities; [noun] Learning Disabilities refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information.

Learning Barriers; [noun] A barrier to learning is anything that stands in the way of a child being able to learn effectively. A learner may experience one or more barriers to learning throughout his or her education. ... For example extreme poverty, abuse or neglect will all act as barriers to a child's learning.

At the age of twenty, I was working at a Montessori school; when a mother walked in with her toddler. The young child was between the ages of two and three years old. As she toured the school, the mom pleaded for the acceptance of admission for her child... her request was declined. My supervisor at the time had his reasons, however the fact that the little one had epilepsy was at the top of his list. This decision upset me greatly, unfortunately as the twenty year old student teacher, with less then six months experience, my opinion did not matter.

The fact that a school, who boasted in a theory; designed to aid in the education of children with learning difficulties and barriers, would refuse an epileptic child puzzled me. As a toddler, I myself was welcomed into a Montessori school. It as the greatest act of kindness, bestowed on my family at the time. The teachers were kind and patient, making exceptions when needed; for instance my father popping in every now and then to give me my medicine. The hands on learning aided me in over coming my learning barriers; by allowing me to repeat the work as many times as needed. Personally I feel as though, this was proof that the theory worked. (I have been "obsessed" with it ever since).

As time progressed a Montessori school was no longer optional. We needed to find another school. This was not an easy task however, as no one would accept me. Eventually my parents agreed that home schooling would be best. Adopting many different theories my mom would teach us from roughly 08:00 am-14:30 pm each day. It was a success; (besides the two year gap between the ages of 10 - 12 years old) as discussed in my previous post). This method of education aided my mom, in keeping track of my health, and abilities. For instance, unfortunately I do not grasp the concept of mathematics very well, therefore I had to exchange Math core, for Math literacy in GR 10. However besides no longer being able to become an archaeologist, I still passed matric. I have decided to challenge myself further by studying through UNISA (the University of South Africa).

I understand many people, and children like myself have learning difficulties. However learning is not impossible. With patience, guidance, and time we are capable of understanding the world around us. It is with this hope, I am driven to encourage you. It is with this hope, I am driven to share the rest of my story with you.