Disability people need education too


Creative Techniques and Learning Disabilities

Many strategies for dealing effectivelygeometric principles, while another
with learning disabilities includeshows how acting can enhance students'
multi-sensory approaches. The thinkingvocabularies. Clear, detailed
behind this is simple: the more ways youinstructions allow readers to put these
give a person to remember something, thetechniques to use in their own homes or
more chances they have of actually doingclassrooms. Smith makes the important
so. One approach that works-particularlyargument that art is not only a fun way
for the artistically inclined-is the usefor students to express themselves, but
of creative techniques to relay andalso culturally and scholastically
interpret academic information.enriching.
These techniques may include the2. Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and
integration of visual art (such asComplete Science-Based Program for
painting, drawing, or photography),Reading Problems at Any Level, written
literary art (such as poems, shortby Sally Shaywitz
stories, or plays), music, or drama. NotThis critically-acclaimed book uses
only are these approaches entertainingscience to give evidence that artistic
for students, they also make use oftechniques are an effective way to teach
different areas of the brain, whichdyslexic students how to read.
promotes valuable cross-regionShaywitz-a Yale neuroscientist-looks at
connections.the structure of the dyslexic brain and
There are two excellent sources on thehow it functions. Neurotechnology has
subject, which are profiled below.proven that those with dyslexia use a
1. The Power of the Arts: Creativedifferent part of the brain to read than
Strategies for Teaching Exceptionalthose without dyslexia.
Learners, written by Sally L. SmithArt can be used as a means to create
The author of this revolutionary book isconnections between the two areas of the
one of the country's foremost experts onbrain, thus enabling the ability to make
working with learning disabled students.sense of written language. Shaywitz
She's the founder and director ofmakes the compelling argument that
Washington D.C.'s Lab School, andyslexia should be looked at not just as
institution she created specifically fora weakness, but also as a strength. She
students with learning differences.points to the large number of highly
Smith is also a professor of educationsuccessful artists who have struggled
at American University and the mother ofwith and benefited from their dyslexia,
a child with scholastic difficulties.including Pulitzer Prize winning
All of these qualifications make herplaywright Wendy Wasserstein and
well-suited to providing parents,bestselling author John Irving.
teachers, and other learning disabilityShaywitz provides in-depth case studies
specialists with information on the bestof these artists to illustrate how
techniques for working with specialdyslexia allows for increased creativity
needs students. This book consists ofand comprehension, while at the same
interviews with faculty members of thetime inhibiting the ability to decode
Lab School, who have found thatletters and punctuation marks. She
incorporating art into their curriculumindicates that art can help to bridge
has made their lessons come alive forthe gap between these two types of
their students.skills, which can lead to great personal
One example illustrates how sculptureand professional achievement.
can be used to teach students about



1 A B C D 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102