Maybe adults back then were misunderstanding of those problems.

I am not sure how old you are but educational views are changing. Although there are still people in the educational society that do not understand learning difference and prefer not to deal with differences in teaching methods, it has gotten better. The drop out rate is still high for persons with learning disabilities dropping out of school. The rates double if you are in a minority group.

In the past, the educational society thought they were doing students a favor by saying, school isn’t for you why not join the military, work in the family business or go learn a trade. Society also believed that people with learning disabilities would be better off doing things with their hands instead of working on reading and writing because it was hard. It was their place to make sure you could make a living to support your family (wife and child).

If you were in school today you may receive the supports you need for a free appropriate education in the least restrictive placement. Nothing has a guarantee. Children with disabilities still struggle in the academia world. The biggest difference is that parents are standing up for their children and pushing for the education that their child deserves. Children are also learning that they have rights and learning to advocate for themselves.

Just because you didn’t have the support when you were a child, you may still have an opportunity to return to school now, get your GED and go to college. We are never too old to learn and more services are being developed for adults with learning disabilities. We never stop learning and what is important to remember:

Book smarts are not everythng. Some of the most gifted individuals that we admire as a society did not have the schooling we think is so important.

Yes, things would be very different if you were in school now. I have an LD daughter, and she has wonderful teachers that work with her. I was told by other teacher that have been teaching for a couple of decades now, and they told me how school children with disabilities were treated. I think it was mostly ignorance on the teacher’s and counselor’s behalf, similar to how a lot teachers tend to want to kick children out of their classes now because they do not want to take the time to handle them because of them having ADD. Sadly, people fear the unknown, and back then people felt that any child that had any type of disability did not need an education. I am glad things have changed, or my daughter would be in the same type of situation that you were in.

Back in the older days, teachers and the school system did not believe or have the knowledge about learning disabilities. They just thought that kids were just being defiant. Today, enough studies have been done on children to realize that this is a real problem. That today kids need alternative education to get them though school. That is where the no child left behind act has come into play. I have been through the ringer with my son and the school system and know that they are trying to make it easier for kids to get a high school diploma.

things would be different today. I dont think people then ( or now much for that matter) understood people with learning delays. My step son is repeating kindergarten this year because his speech and small motor skills (IE writing) are delayed. Other than that he is a pretty normal kid. He has a speech therapist and has improved but needs more attention.

If you were in school today things would NOT be different. Special ed in schools is CORRUPT all over the country.

They did not know what they know now.

they thout it was not normal ang contagious