Live It, Learn It: The Academic Club Methodology For Students With Learning Disabilities And ADHD - Softcover

Excerpted from Chapter 2 of Live It, Learn It: The Academic Club Methodology for Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD, by Sally L. Smith.

Copyright © 2005 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Charles hated school. He had been to four of them. Although he felt good about himself at home and in the neighborhood, he felt bad about himself at school. Charles didn't feel stupid when he was in the Cave Club learning about hominids. At dinner at home, he discovered he knew more about Paleolithic man than his older brother.

Marie wanted to hide in the back row in class and not be called on to speak. However, she felt important and needed as Assistant Manager of the Storekeepers Club.

Norman had what they called a motor mouth; he talked all of the time, and his body moved relentlessly. This perpetual chatterbox was the Barker in the Carnival Club who kept spinning the big bicycle wheel and luring visitors into the carnival with promises of prizes and wondrous sights within.

Alexandra said whatever popped into her mind without thinking. Then, she became Secret Agent 005 in the summer school Secret Agent Club. The teacher, Captain 007, reminded the agents to think before they spoke and not to give away secrets. Alexandra demonstrated more control of what came out of her mouth.

Kim was disorganized, could not read or write at age 9, and had a poor memory for facts. As Isis, the Goddess of Wisdom, in the Egyptian Gods Club, Kim loved seeing postcards of what her Goddess looked like. She made masks so she could recognize her Goddess, listened to the myths featuring her Goddess, and then made a pop–up book of her own about one of the stories featuring her Goddess.

Joey didn't know his left side from his right or forward from backward, and he frequently got lost in the large school building. But he always felt safe in an assigned seat in the Pirates Club on the main deck in the circle made of red tape. He reveled in the opening ritual holding out his skull and crossbones flag to points of the compass at the Pirate Chief's command, "All pirates north. All pirates south. All pirates east. All pirates west. All pirates stand tall."

Laura learned everything visually. She didn't think in words, but in pictures. In the Knights and Ladies Club, she knew that the feet of her Club Leader, Lord Don, measured exactly 1 foot. In order to visualize the length of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, she took a roll of toilet paper and asked Lord Don to step out exactly 231 feet (heel to toe).

Kevin was unfocused much of the time. All of his report cards said that if he could focus, he would be able to show how smart he was. In the Cave Club, Kevin acted a dramatic role, wore his caveman costume, whispered a password into the teacher's ear, and participated in a ritual opening; he could leave all of the distractions behind him. The ritualistic beginning demanded that he, as part of the group, say, "We slowly rise up likeHomo erectus. We use our hands like Homo habilis (gestures with hands). We speak and communicate likeHomo sapiens, and count one, two, three! Greetings, Wise Elder." This ritual grabbed his attention and held it.

Abigail, who was a visual thinker, could draw ideas better than speak about them. She was talented in art and very original; she loved being a member of the Renaissance Councillors Club. Her role was to be Leonardo da Vinci, which she enjoyed because da Vinci made many ingenious inventions during his life and constantly drew his ideas. Abigail found that she could draw her own ideas, too, and she aimed to invent new contraptions to make life easier for human beings. She studied birds and how they flew and related these concepts to airplanes. Her next project was to look carefully at insects to see what could be invented from studying their movements.

BUILDING SELF–ESTEEM

The preceding examples show how the Academic Club Methodology was successful with children with moderate to severe learning disabilities and/or attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as children at risk for academic failure. The Methodology 1) demanded total involvement, 2) helped them to focus, 3) set clear boundaries for them, 4) taught them in ways that did not rely heavily on language abilities, 5) introduced complex material in an unintimidating manner, and 6) introduced complex material in ways that promoted long–term retention. It helped the children thrive in school and showed them that success was not only possible but also expected. Without such success, though, these children would have experienced devastating consequences.

Traditionally, the biggest battle we face with nonreaders or poor readers is rebuilding their sense of self–worth; these students tend to feel bad about themselves. They are very aware of their academic shortcomings. In fact, adults with reading difficulties often admit that they knew something was wrong with them as early as kindergarten. When children notice that they cannot do what other students do with ease, they taste the bitter herbs of defeat year after year in school. This disappointment leads them to create defense mechanisms to keep others from seeing their inadequacies. They put on "masks" to avoid pain felt from teasing or their own recognition of their failures. As a result, energy does not go toward learning but toward protecting self–worth through various defense mechanisms. Some children become class clowns who make everybody laugh in order to deflect attention from their difficulties. Others become "know it alls" who put everybody else down in an effort to conceal their own flaws. A child may become a Good Samaritan who runs errands so that he or she will not have to do any schoolwork. Nonreaders often pretend that they do not want to read.

Fortunately, many children with learning disabilities and ADHD shine in areas of school where the instruction is not verbal and/or logical–mathematical. Adults with reading difficulties often had childhood experiences of competence and mastery in the arts. For example, 30–year–old Ricardo said, "I hated school except for art and music. I was alive then. Then, people could see the person I was at home, in the summertime, everywhere but at school."

Drama can be especially comforting for children with learning disabilities and ADHD because it allows them to pretend that they are someone else. Children who are withdrawn in traditional classrooms often become extroverts when placed in the dramatic framework of an Academic Club. If they are afraid to say something wrong and risk failure, they feel protected by the Academic Club's dramatic cover, by their Club role, and by the dramatic theme of the Club. They dare to guess or say what they think because their character is the one speaking in the Academic Club. Through "childhood magic," a Club Member becomes a character and can then feel that the character is the one making mistakes. Therefore, a student who comes across as flat or emotionless in a traditional classroom may show animated reactions in the Academic Club.

The arts are also important for students with learning disabilities and ADHD because people who work in the arts often find unorthodox ways to teach youngsters. Ingenuity at problem solving, resourcefulness, and flexibility— all skills that are greatly needed to work with children with learning disabilities— are common traits among artists. Practicing artists usually engage in activities with a contagious enthusiasm. They often become excited by the challenge of trying to reach and teach children who puzzle other adults. Their richness of style, depth, originality, and ability to create things from...