Detour to Education // Story by Amber Hyland

©This story is property of The CyBurr, the online version of The Burr, Kent State’s student magazine. Spring 2004.

Detour to Education

Educational roadblocks hinder and help learning-disabled students

Story by Amber Hyland

Once someone says you are special, you are treated as if you are special.

Brandon Walker, a senior graphic design major, is what some might call a "special case," but he wouldn't want to be treated differently because of it.

Walker is the kind of guy who will get you into trouble for coming to class late. When that door opens, he’s the first one to turn around and look, Walker says. He doesn't do it intentionally; he just has trouble concentrating.

"'Oooo, shiny object,'" Walker says, darting his head over his shoulder. "It's something my family members say to me because I am easily distracted."

He says his family and friends have this light-hearted attitude about his disability, Attention Deficit Disorder. Although more focus has been given to this disability in recent years, Walker says he is a special case because he receives state support for college.

He also says he feels his situation is rare because he took himself off of his medication during college.

It took a lot of motivation and training, but he taught himself how to concentrate without depending on his medicine, Walker says.

Part of his self-control means being independent from services offered at Student Disability Services.

"I don't go to SDS to get testing outside of the classroom. It wouldn't be beneficial to isolate myself from my peers."

He stresses the importance for people to see students with learning disabilities the same way they would see anyone else.

"If they really think we are different, we are not,” Walker says. “They probably know someone with a disability. We're all over the place.”

While Walker is open about having his disorder, there are many students with learning disabilities who go unnoticed.

"Unless they say something, no one knows (they have a disability)," Anne Jannarone, Student Disability Services director, says. "It is their responsibility to notify us of their needs."

Jannarone adds that the transition from high school to college is difficult for these students, and it becomes a place for them to reinvent themselves. Often this means shedding memories from high school that make a student with a learning disability feel different from their peers. Walker remembers in high school when he had to go to the office before lunch to take his medicine.

"I didn't care that people knew about my disability,” Walker says. “I just cared that I had to do something different in my day."

Jannarone says the biggest service the university provides for students is to build their confidence.

"School usually isn't on the list of things they are good at," Jannarone says.

The numbers

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, 9 percent

of students nationally, aged 6 to 21, receive special educational assistance. In

1978, 2.6 percent of college freshman had a documented disability.

The percentage of freshmen with learning disabilities has increased to 9 percent, according to HEATH Resource Center. This increase may be a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which has helped colleges to make their services more accessible. Yet, American and British professionals have different ways to label disorders, such as ADD. In the United States, 20 percent of the entire population is said to have ADD. In Britain, the incidence of ADD is 1.6 percent. According to Ruth Mark, a writer for Pagewise Inc., this is because of different labels for the disorder.

But it is not always the case that disabilities hinder a student. In fact, some students say their disability has helped them learn from a different perspective.

"My friends call me 'the alphabet,'" Brittany Vonderau, a cultural anthropology major, says. "In a region of about 300 thousand people, I have the rarest case."

Vonderau, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder, says although her brain is "basically miswired" and she has "no inner compass," her disabilities give her a unique perspective.

"People with ADHD have active brains, but are also active people. A lot of energy helps," Vonderau says, while reaching into her book bag for the fourth time to get a bottle of water.

She adds that everyone has a different learning style, whether they have a learning disability or not.

"My disabilities have allowed me to do a lot of artsy things,” she says, “For my Pacific Island cultures class, I had to draw a big map on the wall to remember where the islands in Micronesia were. I used a lot of colors to help me."

Walker says ADD has helped him with graphic design.

"The randomness of my thoughts allows me to be more creative,” he says. “Ideas happen sporadically."

Walker describes a man who has ADD and dyslexia that he works with at a bar in Akron as having the same advantage.

Walker says the man can see someone in the bar and remember his or her face and can draw them perfectly detailed two years later. It is just a different way of thinking and he remembers things in a different way, Walker says.

Vonderau says people sometimes don't understand her different ways of thinking.

"People will say, ‘Why don't you just use a mirror to read?’ I wish it were that easy, but it doesn't work that way," she says as she looks down at her shirt.

"I almost forgot! My boyfriend in England bought this shirt for me because he said it reminded him of how I look at things."

Voderau pulls on her black shirt that has the word "Shortys" spelled backwards on it.

"He also wrote me a letter in mirror image. I thought that was sweet."

Getting the ‘A’

While students with learning disabilities may have different learning styles, Jannarone says they are often smarter than average students are.

In order to receive documentation for a learning disability, Jannarone says students must take a test that measures IQ and achievement.

"There has to be a 30-point difference between the two (areas)," she says. "If you think about it, their IQs have to be up there."

This doesn't mean students with learning disabilities don't work hard for their grades. In fact, according to Jannarone, they work even harder which is reflected in their studying habits.

For Walker and Vonderau, a great deal of studying time focuses on getting organized.

"Everything has to be in the right place when I begin a project," Walker says. "If it isn't, I get lost and say something like, "Where's my pencil?'"

He adds it would take him hours to get started if he wasn't organized.

"I give myself a lot of time to study and more extra time for when I get distracted," Vonderau says.

She explains how difficult it is for her to focus since she notices everything. She uses the example of talking to someone when others are conversing around her.

"The hardest thing for me to do is talk while hearing someone else. It is like a pile of mush going on. You know how you can pick and choose voices in a crowd to listen to? I can't pick. All I hear is wah-wah-wah."

Aside from different learning styles and studying habits, Vonderau says no two individuals experience the same type of effects.

"I met someone my freshmen year who had a learning disability. He said that when he looks at words the rest of the page moves. That would make me want to throw up," Vonderau says, laughing.

"Everyone is different in their disability. No two people are the same."

Individuals may vary in how a disability affects them, but this does not mean there are striking differences between them and the rest of society. Differences in learning styles and studying habits can differ by the individual.

This is the reason why Vonderau loves to talk about learning disabilities. She wants students to understand her perspective. Talking about it is her way of erasing common misconceptions.

Jannarone says students are not the only ones with misconceptions about students with learning disabilities.

"I had a discussion one day with a professor about a high-achieving graduate,” Jannarone says. “The student had a 4.0, and the professor said he did not understand why she needed to take her tests separately. Not everyone is bad at school, she just knew what she needed to do."

Vonderau says she believes teachers outside of college do not always understand students with learning disabilities. She adds that professors might not even believe disabilities like ADHD exist.

"When a student is getting bad grades and not paying attention, they (teachers) think the child is bratty,” she says, “If I ruled the world I would make sure every teacher goes through a class to learn about learning styles, and then teaching styles. This way, teachers can catch them (disabilities) and realize what to do."

Vonderau adds she has seen teachers who segregate students with learning disabilities in classrooms.

"I've seen situations where teachers treat everyone the same, but then I've seen teachers say, 'All the LD kids come over here.' It doesn't make a kid feel too great."

Vonderau says she believes education can change the ways students with learning disabilities are treated.

"Our society has some growing up to do,” she says. “It will take a while. We are all judgmental. It's a part of human nature.”

Walker says he has some advice for people who hold on to misconceptions.

"Come hang out with me and my friends. My disability is not a secret with them. It is kind of a joke. We just give each other a hard time like everyone else."

Stopping the medication

Q&A with Brandon Heath Walker

Q: When did you take yourself off of your medicine?
A: I took myself off my medication about halfway through spring semester 2002.

Q: What medicine were you on?
A: Adderall. I was taking 20mg twice a day, which is a fairly high dosage.

Q: Did you consult of doctor or someone else before taking yourself off of the medication?
A: Yes I was advised that it would not be the best solution to my case.

E-mail: ahyland@kent.edu