OcTOBER 12, 2006
THE CADRE @ 9
CAMPUS
Learning disabilities common among Canadians, but few are diagnosed
Stacey Murray Advertising Manager
Cutline: Sarah Love works with a reading program at Student Accesibility Services. She was diagnosed with several learning disabilities in 2000, including dyslexia.
Learning disabilities common among Canadians, but few are diagnosed
Living with a learning disability can be a frustrating experience, and many people aren’t aware they have one, says the Adaptive Technology Assistant at Student Accesibility Services.
Erin MacGregor said students with learning disabilities face many hurdles and her department is there to help. About 10 per cent of all Canadians have a learning disability, but it can take years to be diagnosed by a pschologist.
MacGtegor also said most people with a learning disability don’t know it. That’s why October is Learning Disablilites Awareness Month. It gives organizations a chance to get the word out about learning disabilities, which is just what MacGregor is doing.
The department is a bustle of activities, with students continuously coming and going. The phone is always ringing. MacGregor accounts this to the department reaching out to students across campus through posters and information sessions. Over the past year, the amount of students who visit the department has increased to over 100.
For the month of October, MacGregor and her colleagues are putting on a number of information sessions for education students, nursing students, as well as first years.
The Learning Disabilities Association of PEI is also planning Blind Date with a Star, where local celebrities are auctioned off to raise money for learning disabilities.
MacGregor encourages anyone, with or without a learning disability, to take advantage of the department.
It offers many resources, including a Mentoring program for students who want to get organized. While mentoring is popular, the Kurzeil Program is used most often.
Kurzeil is a reading program in which documents are scanned and a computer generated voice reads them to students.
MacGregor wants to stress the difference between the Student Accessibility Service department and the A.C.E. program, which deals with intellectual disabilities. Learning disabilities can affect anyone, people with average or above-average intelligence. They stem from
even
learning
comprension difficulties, including problems retaining information in class or while reading.
Stacey Murray
Sarah Love works with a reading program at Student Accesibility Services. She was diagnosed with several learning disabilities in 2000, including dyslexia.
Sarah Love, who is in her final year at UPEI, has a number of learning disabilities, including dyslexia, as well as reading, writing, and math problems. These all link with a general learning comprehension problem. Love said school was always frustrating, but when she came to UPEI, ii was struggle to grasp the information she was learning.
“Tt’s like you’re thrown a whole lot of information and you just try to grab on to what you think you might understand, and then you do your best to simplify it.”
Love, who began a psychology major in 1997, was diagnosed in 2000 after meeting with Joanne McCabe, who coordinates the department.
After struggling for another year, Love
took a break from school, but returned
in 2004 to complete a sociology
degree.
She says the student accessibility
services really helped her through
university.
“Tf it wasn’t for this department, I would not have come back to school.”
Love now works in the department as
a student assistant. She said working
there has helped her even more
because she is learning new ways to help others.
Love will graduate in December with a degree in Sociology, and a sense of independence because of the department.
“The disability itself doesn’t go away,
but the difficulties go away.”
Student Accesibilty Services is located in the Robertson Library, room 214. Anryonewho Joanne McCabe, the coordinator. Also, check
out www.upel.ca/disabilities for further