Academic and social-emotional development Essay

Academic development is associated with the educational growth of the student. Social-emotional development is another aspect of a student that allows children to interact with their peers. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the academic and social-emotional development of students with and without disability in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. Comparison between Students with and without Learning Disability Learning disability is considered to be disorder which affects the learning processes of verbal communication, speaking, grasping new things, writing, mathematics, etc. It is caused by the failure of brain to execute its function systematically and by emotional or behavioral disorders. A research was conducted at various school levels where more than one hundred students were analyzed. Academic results of students with and with out learning disability were analyzed. It was concluded that disabled students got lower class rank as compared to their peers (Grites & Gordon, 2000). Academic Development Students with LD have found academic difficulties in various areas as compared to their abled counterparts. They have academic problems in math, reading and writing, and language, poor performance on timed test, theoretical reasoning and learning. Grites and Gordon studied performance of college students with and without LD and came to the conclusion that students with LD perform lower on all measures (Grites & Gordon, 2000). They find it difficult to understand and process information from diverse and several perspectives which often cause complicatedness and complexity in their academic development. These students have different pattern of learning which comes with strengths and weaknesses that differ from others. Their disability can create difficulties in academic field because they may have problems in basic skills such as reading, writing, art, etc (Jordan, 2000). It is essential that teachers and parents play a pivotal role in their academic development. However, most of the times they do not understand their problems and assume these students are lazy and unmotivated. Gunther-Mohr conducted a research and found out that students identified with LD have greater academic difficulties. They are more likely to struggle on timed tasked as compared to other students. In the same study, it was concluded that these special students showed no improvement as compared to their peers (Gunther-Mohr, 2003). Social-emotional development Several students with learning disabilities have some social and emotional problem associated with their learning difficulty. Experiential facts and figures suggests that more than sixty percent of students with LD under the age of eighteen committed suicide in Los Angeles (Bender & Wall, 2000). Literature suggest that students without LD are socially accepted if they are helpful, accommodating, communicate, exchange pleasant greetings, have positive interactions with peers and make conversation(Bender & Wall, 2000). It is true that not all students with LD have social-emotional problems. However, they are most likely to develop these problems than their non-disabled peers. In their early school life, they are often rejected by their fellow classmates and suffer from poor self-concepts. As teenagers, the wounds of scorn and rejection can be agonizing and not forgotten without difficulty. After assessing more than one hundred different studies, Jordan came to the conclusion that more than seventy percent of the students with LD display deficits in social skills (Jordan, 2000). Social skills deficits include recognition by classmates, trouble making friends, viewed as overly dependent, incapable of being leaders, managing conflicts, starting a conversation, showing empathy and maintaining companionship. Harwell discovered that students with LD suffer from depression because of social skills deficits. Kadison & DiGeronimo suggests that social-emotional develop of students with LD is the result of lacking social ability to understand (Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2004). It has been revealed that students with LD when compared to students without LD are less accepted by class mates, have poor self-concepts and are more likely to feel lonely. Students with LD are most likely to experience frustration more than students without LD because of negative behaviors from their classmates, inadequate services and programs and physical barriers. Studies suggest that students without LD interact with students with learning disabilities based on outlook and fixed typecast. Attempts to Cope with Learning Disability When coping with students who have LD, the teacher should employ such teaching strategies which effectively cater different learning styles. Special education involvement to handle LD should be applied. For example, Karmen recommends that using pictorial representation has constructive and helpful effect on students who have learning disabilities to comprehend new theories and concepts (Karmen, 2003). Teachers should give special attention to the student and discuss his or her anxiety or depression. They should also encourage and support them and boost their confidence. They should also allow them to participate in classroom activities so that they can show and reveal their talent and competencies. A study conducted at University of California selected thirty students (Mercer &Mercer, 1997). These students had taken reading comprehension and reading rate test. Sixteen students had learning disabilities and the rest were without LD (Harwell, 1996). Extra time condition was applied and students with LD performed at same level as normal students. In another study, eighty college students were selected. Forty students with learning disability and other forty without learning disability took math test under extended time conditions. The study demonstrated that the scores of students with learning disability improved under extended time condition. Conclusion This study has compared academic and social-emotional development of students with and without learning disability. Students without learning disability are more likely to be successful than their disabled counterparts. Students who have LD are most likely to suffer from academic and social-emotional deficits because of their disorder. They are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, etc. However, these special students can learn to perform better at school with the help of parents and teachers. It is essential for teachers to encourage and support them and devise innovative methods in order to help them in their learning processes. They should also be given extra time because they grasp concepts slowly. In the lights of information provided in this essay, it can be concluded that students with LD need special attention so that they become competent. References Grites, T. , & Gordon, V (2000). Developmental academic advising revisited. NACADA Journal, 20(1), 12-15. Gunther-Mohr, S. (2003). Counseling college students with learning disabilities. (pp. 77-106). Putney, VT: Landmark College. Jordan, P. (2000). Academic advising in the 21st century. NACADA Journal, 20(2),21-30. Kadison, R. , & DiGeronimo, T. (2004). College of the overwhelmed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Karmen, K. (2003). Advising students with learning disabilities: A developmental approach. (pp. 133-60). Putney, VT: Landmark College. Harwell, J. (1996). Ready to use tools and materials for remediating specific learning disabilities. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Mercer, C. D. , & Mercer, A. R. (1997). Teaching students with learning problems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bender, W N. , & Wall, M. E. (2000). Socialemotional development of students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 17, 323-341.