4th class

Today we shared our interview about what ordinary people and supervisors in work place know about LD. It is really amazing that people know about LD in various level and they can very different ideas about people with LD. Most of what they know is derived from what they have experienced personally. There are people who had really bad experience interacting with people with LD, therefore have negative impression about LD, such as my first interviewee. However, in Joyce’s presentation, her interviewees knows her son, who has autism, so that they know people with LD do not necessarily have low IQ. There are several supervisors that know about ADHD or ADD because they have employer with one of them. Just as Holly said, people’s perceptions, to some degree, are determined by their personal experience. We learn a lot from what we have been through. However, we cannot expect that everyone have the positive interaction with people with LD and learn the right information. As I said in my paper, “people are not ‘ having no idea about it’. They have some wrong idea about it.” Therefore, it is important to promote understanding through education and training.

This also connects with the “Self Lecture”, especially self-disclosure and self-advocacy. People with LD are usually the best source for others to learning about LD. Therefore, the more knowledgeable and honest they are about their situation, the more understanding and supportive others around them can be. During the lecture, I realized that how important it is to disclose with further explanation about one’s specific issue. Those terms about LD can be confusing, misleading and daunting. And because of the deficit model, people may go extreme and only think about what one cannot do. However, if one can articulate both his strength and weakness, and how he will deal with it, it builds up his credibility and give others reason to trust him. Just as Carol’s example, her colleague asks others to look direct into her eyes when talking with her to help her concentrate. It is always assuring to deal with someone who understand herself and can handle her problems.

As a Chinese and a non-native speaker in America, I understand the importance of self-advocacy. In many cases, I an misunderstood because of stereotypes, just like people with LD. My American friend may ask me questions that I find very naïve or strange. But those moments are opportunities for me to advocate for myself. For example, some people believe that Asians have funny eyes, which I find very superficial. I explained to some of my friends the different looks of people from different areas in Asia, and how their eye shapes vary. Also, as an English learner, I will let other know that although I do not have the intuition of English, I have learned the grammar systematically and can names the rules. Also, I have been trained to translate and interpret. These are my “niche” when compared with native speakers.

I really enjoy the class, and one of the reasons is that I can connect well with the topic we have discussed in several detentions. I think it will help me a lot if I choose to be an ESL teacher.