tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post863482267446806174..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: The Worrying StudentBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-86862813582999540602016-09-18T08:00:22.270-07:002016-09-18T08:00:22.270-07:00Thanks, Adiamondinsunlight; that's a good poin...Thanks, Adiamondinsunlight; that's a good point.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-64744552893537116862016-09-18T02:51:04.318-07:002016-09-18T02:51:04.318-07:00just chiming in here to say that of people I know ...just chiming in here to say that of people I know who have been diagnosed with ADHD or dyslexia (family members, friends, and some colleagues), all have said something about the diagnosis being a relief. the burden of being stupid / lazy / whatever other externally- or internally-applied epithet the person had been laboring under was replaced by relief: the challenges the person had faced were not, as had been assumed, their own fault, and there was help. adiamondinsunlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089116748477140050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-72065820086355628392016-09-15T14:40:06.572-07:002016-09-15T14:40:06.572-07:00I was thinking that there might be a disability (p...I was thinking that there might be a disability (perceiving/processing) issue, too. <br /><br />I've never been told that "have you thought about being tested?" is out of bounds (then again, I've never been told it is in bounds, either). I've certainly said to students who were saying things out loud that sounded like depression "I'm no expert, but I understand that thoughts like that can be a sign of depression. Have you thought about talking to a counselor?" The most common reply to that kind of query, in my experience, is something along the lines of "yes; I know; I probably shouldn't have stopped taking my meds; I should make an appointment with my doctor." <br /><br />Of course that's a slightly different situation -- the student has already been diagnosed, and in fact is familiar enough with the signs and vocabulary of the condition to say things that even I recognize as symptoms (and, I think it's fair to say, is probably saying them in part to have a responsible adult confirm what the student already knows -- it's time to get back in treatment). But saying something along the lines of "I see you're having difficulty, and it doesn't look quite like the kinds of difficulty with which I'm already familiar, so it would probably be a good idea to talk to someone who might be better at helping you figure out what's going on, and how to address it" seems appropriate. After all, the student may not know that hir experience is unusual/atypical until someone (gently) points it out, and it seems unkind to do that without also pointing out that there might be a solution, especially if there's reason to think that the student might be unaware of how to go about seeking a solution. <br /><br />P.S. I wonder whether, for whatever reason, the student can only recognize words by sight (i.e. isn't able to "do" phonics). That might explain the substitutions. Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-22192397597020174222016-09-15T07:01:11.833-07:002016-09-15T07:01:11.833-07:00FWIW, our ADHD guy specifically told me -- because...FWIW, our ADHD guy specifically told me -- because I specifically asked -- that we are not allowed to suggest to students that they get tested for disabilities like dyslexia. <br /><br />"We can't even say, hey, have you thought about being tested?" I asked incredulously. "Because, you know, the way you're mixing up words and the patterns of misspellings here, that suggests to me..."<br /><br />"No," he said, with a certain amount of force. "They can ask to be referred. You can't suggest it."<br /><br />IDK if this is correct. But he seemed pretty certain, and he is our disability guy.<br />delagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18197857250240640822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-44264042411027245782016-09-15T06:37:23.247-07:002016-09-15T06:37:23.247-07:00Thanks for your feedback, folks; it hadn't occ...Thanks for your feedback, folks; it hadn't occurred to me that there might be a reading disability. (The student has the same problem verbally; they can't say what some pretty common words mean; but I'm the wrong kind of doctor for this!)Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-86626732269377734752016-09-14T12:48:30.088-07:002016-09-14T12:48:30.088-07:00"I notice that you're reading a significa..."I notice that you're reading a significant number of the words here incorrectly. Now, this could be stress or exhaustion or such but it could also be a factor of visual acuity - do you need to have your vision checked? - or even something such as dyslexia [insert brief explanation].<br /><br />Do any of these sound likely? I can put you in touch with our counselling, accessibility, student support services? I know you're working hard and that's great. Let's make it so that you don't have to work extra-hard on your reading."<br /><br />Honestly, it might be so many things. I'd suspect that bringing in someone from the central advising could open doors to at least figuring out what's the issue, whether it's unfamiliarity with the words or a medical concern. Kudos to the student for seeking out some help and to you for thinking deeply on how to provide some.Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093558563358431804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-18819677096614465292016-09-14T12:27:21.503-07:002016-09-14T12:27:21.503-07:00I wish I knew. (I see a fair bit of this with our...I wish I knew. (I see a fair bit of this with our student population, and I think in most cases it's not dyslexia-related, but a consequence of systematic poverty and educational neglect.) I've never been able to work out a really good strategy for dealing with it.Fretful Porpentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-64254293226476245882016-09-14T12:18:40.315-07:002016-09-14T12:18:40.315-07:00I would send them to disability services. This so...I would send them to disability services. This sounds like a language impairment/possible undiagnosed dyslexia to me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com