My thoughts and past experiences on learning disabilities

Having spent my whole primary and secondary level education in remedial help for Maths and English. I was under the illusion that remedial help was still such a stigma for myself as a pupil when I was in school and that it was still an issue in today's classroom environment.

I have vivid memories 3 times a week being called out for 'remedial help' along with another 3 pupils in Primary school. At first I was ok and happy to get away from the classroom for 30 minutes or so to catch up on reading and maths, but soon through out my years in school I noticed that I was missing out on more interesting and exciting subject matter and was going at a much slower pace in comparison to my peers.

By 6th year and 1st year of secondary education I hated this 'remedial help' that involved me leaving the class room knowing fully aware that my fellow peers knew I needed extra concentrated help pupils would be aware of my learning difficulty and I was very unhappy with them knowing I had issues with English and Maths.

I was diagnosed being 'borderline dyslexic' in English and Numerically dyslexic in Maths in 2001 after several tests and assessments. I struggled with simple math problems and couldn't understand problem solving mathematic equations. I progressed in reading and comprehensions and poetry slowly but i still and to this day struggle with learning numbers and equations and reading problem solving dealing with figures.

By 2004 things had changed for me when I was sitting my leaving cert our classes had become a different learning environment, gone were the days I had to walk out of class and be separated from my peers, this time the teachers came to me and my fellow learning challenged peers, gone were the days of classmates asking where were we going  and why ? and separation from my class.

Instead the helpers came to the class and assisted us and other pupils that were then identified as having issues and difficulties in other subjects. The stigma of 'remedial help' was gone from the classroom and now I remember how happier and more at ease I was not having to leave the classroom with questions from all my fellow pupils and also I was happier to be part of the class once again.

This I suppose is my past experience with needing extra tuition and being diagnosed with some form of dyslexia.  I will look at now look at the current facilities within my school that I am currently teaching in and will delve further into further examination how they deal with disabilities and special needs pupils that i will encounter through out my Hdip teaching placement.