MERIDEN, Conn., June 28 -- Although 2.25 million American school children suffer from learning disabilities, a poll released Wednesday by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation found the problem was woefully misunderstood. Learning disability is a neurobiological disorder affecting 10 percent to 15 percent of the nation's population, in which a person of normal or above normal intelligence has problems in understanding spoken or written language. It is often confused with mental retardation, autism, physical disability and behavior affected by social conditions. Sally Bowles, president of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, said 'The medical, educational and research communities have made enormous progress in the past 10 years in identifying the roots of learning disabilities and in establishing interventions to enable children to succeed,' Bowles said. 'Yet the Roper poll confirms that this information is essentially not reaching those who need to know it and use it,' Bowles said. The poll was conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide Inc. The foundation plans to use the findings of the poll to launch a nationwide campaign to raise public awareness about learning disabilities. The poll of 1,207 randomly chosen adults in January found that three in 10 people claimed direct experience of someone with learning disability with the least well-educated more likely to identify themselves as learning disabled. The report said, 'The least educated may well have dropped out of school because they have learning disabilities. Alternatively, it is also possible that those who have experienced trouble with school rightly or wrongly identify their difficulties with learning disabilities.'
Between 60 percent and 85 percent of those questioned incorrectly identified a number of conditions, such as blindness, as a learning disability. A similar number of respondents identifying themselves as teachers misidentified the conditions. There is no cure for learning disabilities, the report said, but people afflicted can be taught how to cope with their disability. But that's not always done. 'The American public overwhelmingly perceives that learning disabled children are being put down by teachers and fellow students at school and, worse, are dropping out of school if their special needs are not recognized or met,' the report said. It said 35 percent of students believed to have learning disabilities drop out of school. The poll found 81 percent believe teachers do not have the training to teach learning disabled children and 68 percent feel teachers lack the time or resources for specialized teaching. But 61 percent felt teachers could meet the needs of those special children without shortchanging the rest of the class and that it would not be hard for teachers to change their teaching styles to meet every child's needs. Some 62 percent believed that learning disabilities are being used as an excuse by teachers when they can't control or teach children. The polls found 89 percent questioned felt adults with learning disabilities suffer a lot of pain and humiliation because they are discriminated against, yet 80 percent say those with such disabilities are as capable as any other employee of doing their job. At the same time, 33 percent believed adults with learning disabilities are not safe to be around in the workplace. Those polled showed a willingness to devote more resources to teaching children how to cope with early diagnosis and proper instruction and that it would be cost effective to do so. The foundation said some of the consequences of not dealing with learning disabilities are unemployment and juvenile delinquency. One year after graduating, it said, 62 percent of learning disabled students were unemployed. Among juvenile delinquents, 50 percent were found to have undetected learning disabilities. Among adolescents who are learning disabled, 31 percent will be arrested three to five years out of school. Of those being treated for substance abuse, 60 percent had learning disability. It said learning disability and substance abuse were the most common barriers for welfare recipients to becoming employed and staying employed. Problem with learning disabilities often start at an early age. Ann Kornblet, president of Learning Disabilities Association of America, said, 'In most states, children must wait until they fail before parents are able to obtain services for the child. The earliest the children receive the right kind of help is the third grade and in many cases, the fourth or fifth or later grades. 'By this time children have already experienced too much frustration, self-doubt and hopelessness and more extensive services may be needed. The survey shows the dire misunderstanding of learning disabilities among the general population. This ignorance of the condition also exists in our schools.' (Edited by UPI Science and Technology Editor Larry Schuster)
