Like Stars on Earth is an unusual Indian movie. It tells the story of how an observant teacher was able to discover the struggles of an eight-year-old boy who was thought to be a lazy trouble-maker. The new art teacher, with patience and compassion, discovered the real problem and was able to transform the child from a reclusive trouble maker to a self-confident and happy child.
What did the teacher find out about the child?
A Learning Disability? What’s That?
The teacher discovered that the child in the movie mentioned above had a learning disability called Dyslexia, and it affected him in a massive way. The boy was unable to read, as letters literally danced before his face whenever he looked in a book.
There are other learning disabilities such as Dysgraphia – difficulty in putting thoughts to paper, and Dyscalculia – difficulty in learning number-related concepts or using symbols and functions to perform mathematical calculations.
A learning disability is a condition that makes the process of learning, or assimilation of knowledge, difficult. Students with learning disabilities cannot take in or process information like most of their peers.
When it comes to basic reading, a reading disorder affects the child’s ability to recognize words, or makes them unable to decode and comprehend the meaning of individual words and passages of text. Problems with math can include difficulties with number sense, memorizing math facts, math calculations, math reasoning and math problem solving. Problems with writing can include difficulties with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and handwriting.
Learning disabilities are not primarily caused by mental retardation, emotional disturbance, cultural difference, or disadvantage. The truth is that most learning disabilities usually occur due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors that alter a student’s brain functioning (this just means that something is going on in the child’s brain; a malfunction somewhere, that scientists don’t know how to explain. Anything that cannot be explained is usually termed a ‘genetic disorder’). This malfunction is what affects the cognitive processes related to the child’s learning ability.
Learning disabilities are not learning problems. Learning problems are caused by visual, hearing, or motor handicaps. They may also be caused by intellectual disability, emotional disturbance and environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages.
In the movie, Like Stars on Earth, Ishan, the child with dyslexia, had a fantastic artistic talent but his parents didn’t know that. They thought all he knew was to play all day, and It didn’t help matters that his elder brother was a smart young man. See pressure for small pikin head.
People who have learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence. The problem is that their actual achievement may not be seen in their academic performance. This is why learning disabilities are referred to as “hidden disabilities”. The ‘disabled’ person looks completely ‘normal’ and sometimes seems to be very bright and intelligent, yet they are found to be incapable of exhibiting the level of skill that is expected from someone of a similar age.
Let’s take a look at some of the impacts of learning disability on a child.
The Impacts of Learning Disabilities on a Child
The learning disability in a child affects different areas of the child’s life. They are significant and cannot be overemphasized.
The first impact is that the child will find it difficult to cope academically. The disability interferes with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or math. Teachers often get to notice the signs and symptoms of the student’s learning disabilities during this time in school. Unfortunately, many students never receive an evaluation or get a formal diagnosis until later in life. In Nigeria, people may never even get evaluated at all.
The child’s inability to excel in school will be blamed on several factors such as, the child being an olodo (dumb), or some diabolic family member casting a spell on the child and taking the child’s star. This leaves the child wondering what the matter is as he/she goes through life. Some go on to hate themselves because they are unable to tell the reason they have difficulties with academics. Continuous school failure leads to rejection and poor self-concept for the child which will in the end lead to an impact on other areas of the child’s development, like his/her social life.
Learning disabilities will affect the child’s social skills, further affecting their relationships with family, friends and in their workplace when they become adults. Since they wouldn’t know why they keep having problems in their jobs or in relationships with family and friends, many may just accept it as part of their fate and move on. All these can affect the child’s quality of life.
Learning disabilities can even go as far as messing with higher level skills such as organization, abstract reasoning, time planning, attention span and long/short term memory. Some kids who have a learning disability may be unable to understand sarcasm or jokes. Because they cannot read, they can’t understand the use of some words and may find it difficult to get the right words to express themselves.
Family members and friends who do not understand may get frustrated or even offended at them. This creates emotional stress for the child; lack of self-esteem sets in, and this can push some into juvenile delinquency. As young adults, their struggles may frustrate them and make them vulnerable to delinquency, luring them into crime and other vices.
Learning Disability is Not a Life Sentence
There is no cure for a learning disability. It is a lifelong challenge. However, with the adequate amount of support and help from family and teachers, students with learning disabilities can achieve a lot in life and can be successful in school, at work, in relationships, and the society at large.
Many celebrities, big names in movies, music, sports, broadcasting, etc. are people who struggled in school with learning and thinking differences. Many of them like Whoopi Goldberg (dyslexia), Daniel Radcliffe (dyspraxia), Justin Timberlake (ADHD), Octavia Spencer (dyslexia), Keira Knightley (dyslexia), Anderson Cooper (dyslexia), Lisa Ling (ADHD), etc. went on to find their passion and overcame their challenges
Some had to drop out of school to pursue their passion and thankfully, they had the support of loved ones to help them sail through.
Do you have a child with a learning disability, or do you know of one around you?
It’s not a sign that they will be failures in life. Go online and get information about learning disabilities. If you are a teacher, you can take training courses and coaching classes that will equip you to support all your students and help them to be the best that they can be.
Don’t hesitate. No child is a failure. They become what you train them to be.
