What does it mean to “learn differently”? Honestly, doesn’t everybody learn a little differently than the next person? Sure, there are many common teaching/learning approaches that speak to most people, but every human is uniquely designed, with their own mix of learning strengths and weaknesses. Education is definitely not a one-size-fits-all kind of package.
A clinical definition of a Learning Disability (LD), is when a person struggles significantly to grow in one or more of the main academic categories: reading, writing, spelling, math, or using their native language. Also, this difficulty is due to a weakness in one or more psychological processes such as auditory or visual perception, short term memory, long term memory, or working memory, fine motor skills or gross motor skills, reasoning, sequencing or organizing, receptive language or expressive language. An official diagnosis usually involves a team of professionals including an educational psychologist or a clinical neuropsychologist, a special education teacher, and sometimes an additional expert such as a speech and language pathologist or an occupational therapist.
Having a diagnosed specific LD is not a death sentence. It is very valuable to be aware of how we each uniquely learn best…..and how we each don’t. I remember running IEP meetings in the public school system and thinking that it would be wonderful if each and every student could be privileged to go through such an examination which helped them to discover their own strengths and weaknesses, and that this process would not be reserved for only the special education candidates.
Life is all about growth, and for people, part of that growth means learning. We learn from both our strengths and our weaknesses. Acknowledging flaws can be healthy; it should bring about the realization that we all have them, but we don’t all have the same ones. It should bring about permission to give ourselves grace, as well as grace to others because we all need grace. It should also bring us to a place of promoting challenge to grow and improve, rather than just being complacent or giving up. We should also be about making the most of our strengths, gifts, and talents….and to not be afraid to learn new skills. Recognizing our own personal learning strengths doesn’t have to be seen as arrogance, but rather a set of tools to reach our learning goals. Stretching and challenging ourselves and others can yield growth. Practicing the building up of people around us will only be a win for all.
In my private practice, I have met with many people of all ages to help them identify their own personal learning strengths and weaknesses. There are many factors that can be considered when defining learning strengths and weaknesses, but a classic academic approach is to look at the three main learning modalities. We all take in information through one or more modality: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), and kinesthetic (touching and movement). We also each memorize information using one or more of those modalities. Some people use all three modalities in a relatively balanced way, while other people have striking discrepancies between modalities that are truly helpful and ones that seem to get in the way of learning or remembering information. Here are some ideas to ponder while trying to identify how often or infrequently a person naturally relies on each of the three modalities:
Are you primarily a visual learner? If you have to memorize a 10-digit phone number, is it easiest if you see it? Do you retain more details from a story or lecture if you read it for yourself as opposed to hearing it read to you? Do you enjoy work that lets you read or think of visual imagery more often than not? Do you “picture” things in your head naturally?
Are you primarily an auditory learner? If you have to memorize a 10-digit phone number, is it easiest if you hear it being told to you? Do you retain more details from a story or lecture if you solely listen to it, without visual prompts, as opposed to reading it on your own? Do you enjoy work that involves or allows you to be listening to something most of the time? Do you remember sound tracks or lines from movies easily?
Are you primarily a kinesthetic learner? If you have to memorize a 10-digit phone number, is it easiest if you write it down? Do you find it hard to concentrate if you have to sit still past a certain length of time that doesn’t seem to bother other people around you? Is it easier for you to focus if you get to move around? Do you enjoy work that involves using your hands, standing, or getting to walk around a lot?
Fun fact: If you or a student you are thinking about seems to have a significantly weaker availability to use a particular modality, it is absolutely possible to strengthen that gate of learning through therapeutic exercises. Our brains are malleable and can be trained and/or retrained. Yes, it is true that sometimes we have limits that cannot be changed. In those instances, it is important to accept what cannot be changed and make the most of what we have been given.
