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Diagnosed with Learning Disability? Examples of Positive and Negative Aspects

Learning disabilities involve a series of nervous deficit disorders that influence how a brain computes information. These disorders can alter one’s reading, writing, speaking, recalling, and ratiocination abilities.

If you study every side of the history of artists, CEOs, and famous ingenious thinkers who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, you will notice that their disabilities have good sides, alongside the bad aspects.

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Before introducing special education schemes introduced by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), people discriminated against individuals with learning disabilities. They were either tagged as dull-witted, mentally invalid, or slothful. It was a widespread phenomenon for them to be denied education. Many of them were not allowed to complete or further their education in secondary schools or colleges of education.

A lot of individuals with mental disabilities did not undergo early diagnosis. As a result of the late diagnosis, they were not offered assistance to help their condition. This, in turn, has affected different areas of their lives. Many of them have been hindered from acquiring skills and believing in themselves. There is no avenue for them to showcase their talents, optimise their worth, and increase productivity.

While learning disabilities have adverse effects on people’s lives, there are good aspects. One of the reasons to focus on the positive aspects is to reduce the stigma. It also helps to increase their confidence and self-pride.

Examples Of Positive Aspects

People experience learning disabilities in various ways. The way each person experiences the learning disability depends on the type of disability. A study has revealed that children who have learning disabilities often grow up to acquire skills that people without the condition rarely have. Most of them learn how to handle their troubles. They make intelligent inquiries about their conditions and develop ways to hit their goals. Some positive aspects of learning disabilities are highlighted below.

  • Some of them often have descriptive intelligence. They are skilled at describing events, writing poems, writing engaging essays, having retentive solid memory, and authoring books. Some prominent people in this category are Philip Schultz and John Irving.
  • They have more strengths in specific areas compared to people without learning difficulties. These areas include deep thinking, big picture reasoning, and empathy. As deep thinkers, they know how to proffer solutions to problems.
  • They are often creative. They know how to study, understand, and use resources and techniques effectively.
  • Although their goals and strengths may differ, many of them become business coaches and promising entrepreneurs. They often prosper in the business world. They love to think out of the box, and they are masters at creating sellable ideas and products. They also excel in professional fields. They know how to adapt and override sudden changes in plans and circumstances.
  • Some are geniuses in making extraordinary scientific discoveries and great theoretical postulates. Examples of people in this category are Jack Horner and Albert Einstein.
  • Many of them are remarkable in photography, design, filmmaking, and engineering. They usually have strong abilities to handle issues related to identifying objects, colours, faces, and scenes. Examples of people in this category are Ansel Adams and Steven Spielberg.
  • They have the mental ability to solve puzzles, make investigations, join seemingly disjointed ideas, find the relationship between two or more phenomena, etc. For instance, Paul Orfalea of Kinko’s revealed that his learning technique has helped him understand concepts from a wide angle, so he does not get affected by minor details.

Examples of Negative Aspects

Having any form of inability can generate difficulties, and learning disabilities can be specifically disturbing because they are not usually noticed. Symptoms of inabilities that start in childhood can continue to reflect in adulthood.

Explained below are some opposing sides of learning disabilities.

  • Employers are not usually patient and understand people with learning disabilities. So they do not get enough support and access to growth.
  • Some of them get to miss opportunities that will lead to their promotion and advancement.
  • Many of them are faced with the fate of being given low-income jobs.
  • It is difficult for them to access aiding technology or adaptive work tools.
  • Some people with learning difficulties do not have access to technologies that provide education and resources.
  • Studies have shown that young people with learning difficulties usually find it difficult to ask for help when they have issues related to their peers.
  • Some of them are often faced with the challenge of handling peer pressure.
  • There are reports of bullying from their peers. For them to cope with their feelings, some of them result in bullying others.
  • One negative aspect of learning disabilities is the difficulty in interacting with employers, peers, teachers, and others.
  • Learning difficulties often come with social challenges. They find it hard to pick jokes and social cues.

Finding The Balance

Practically almost everything in life has its advantages and disadvantages. With every pro comes a con. Though, in some cases, the pro might outweigh the con. But either way, the key thing is to find a balance between the pros and the cons.

When it comes to learning disabilities, you need to look at the big picture. Finding a balance will help you tap into the endless potentials that the positive aspects offer, while focusing less on the negative aspects.

Everyone needs love, support, and encouragement. Those with learning disabilities and learning difficulties are not left out. Infact, such positive reinforcement of love can help them emerge with a strong sense of determination, confidence, and self worth.

So as a guardian, your responsibility is not to try and cure the disability but to equip them with the right emotional and social tools that they will need to scale through life’s challenges.

Also, you should teach them to leverage their strengths, and be cautious not to damage their confidence. Reiterating the negative aspects more than the positive aspects can damage their confidence and make them feel less of themselves. So, you want to keep things in perspective. Focus on what works for them and give them the emotional and moral support that they need.

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