SEVERE LEARNING
DIFFICULTIES:
female, very shy,
parents have very
high aspirations
Discrimination: In the past, discrimination and prejudice
towards people with disabilities may have been more
prevalent; however, it has also been evident in this
present time that people with disabilities still
experience a hidden or indirect form of discrimination
due to some people’s ignorance and misconceptions of
the needs and characteristics of people with
disabilities. (Discover net; Novita, 2013)
If discriminations is widely prevalent in the
child's school environment , shyness may
increase and result to a lower self-esteem. It
has been found that extremely shy children
often have significant struggles with
participating in classroom and playgroud
situations (American Academy of Pediatrics,
2004). Though her parents may be an effective
support network, if other people involved such
as educators and school leaders do not
respond to these issues promptly and
effectively, the child may eventually experience
emotional distress and anxiety, increasing the
likelihood of the child having further difficulties in
learning (ADCET, 2013).
Difficulty in reading social cues: According to Dr. Gilbert (2011),
shyness may be “born out of learning disabilities that make it hard
for those suffering from disabilities to read social cues”.
Since parents have very high aspirations, they may place very high value on sociability as social
skills are essential for a successful future (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2004). However, most
parents with high aspirations have been found to be supportive of their children's needs (Jacob, M.J,
2010). This child's parents will most like take the necessary response for her social needs to be met.
This is not to say that this would be easy, as anxiety brought about by insecurities from academic
limitations may increase social anxiety depending on the child's resources, support network and
school environment.
Discouragement: school retention rates of those with
disability are known to be lower, especially if the child
is of an Indigenous background (Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare, 2011). This may be attributed to
poor academic outcomes decreasing the child's
self-efficacy and motivation to learn at her personal
best. However, as the child's parents have high
aspirations, the issues surrounding possible feelings of
discourragement may be avoided or significantly
lessened. High parental aspirations will most likely
increase the child's belief in her abilities and result to
positive outcomes if parental aspirations and
expectations are communicated to the child effectively
and in a supportive manner (Jacob, 2010).
Possible feelings of pressure and frustration: Although
some researchers believe that high parental aspirations
for their children’s educational attainment are critical
factors for academic achievement (Jacob, 2010), the
limitations of students with severe learning disabilities are
still clearly evident and known to them (ADCET, 2013).
This may lead to feelings of frustration especially when
these students begin to notice the differences in the
amount of effort they need to exert in processing certain
information and achieving certain tasks compared to other
students without severe learning difficulties.
Anxiety: People with learning difficulties
have "deficiencies in short-term memory
and cognitive processing limitations"
(ADCET, 2013). This means that students
may have difficulties in understanding
assessment outcomes and directions along
with struggling from poor visual memory
and spatial skills. These deficiences may
lead to a lot of possible implications such as
difficulties in reading, in achieving
coherence in writing and in interpreting
abstract mathematical concepts. As a
result, the student may most likely have
experiences of information overload and
confusion from grasping certain concepts
that cant be translated into acceptable
words or structures. Such struggles may
lead to heightened anxieties during class
presentations,performances and
assessments (ADCET, 2013; Novita, 2013)