I was sitting in the bath, reading Leigh Ryan’s The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, when I came across a section that made me put down the book, rush my bath, and hurry to my blog. For the most part, I’ve been pretty satisfied with the discussion in the book and with the guidelines presented, but I just read a part that I thought was too simplistic to be ignored. On pages 49-50, Ryan discusses students with learning disabilities. It is important to include (and something that is often overlooked; in fact, I might not have even considered this topic if she had not brought it up), but I feel that her discussion is lacking in a few ways:
1. She does not fully explain the variety of learning disabilities. She offers a few examples of problems writers with learning disabilities might have, but I think it would have been more helpful to be more inclusive by discussing the major types of learning disabilities and then stressing that just because two writers have the same disability does not mean they will have the same problems. Two ADD students can look and act completely different. I’m not asking for an exhaustive explanation, but it would be nice to see terms and a more substantive discussion, rather than this gloss.
2. The suggested tip #2 — “Find a quiet place to work — one that minimizes distractions” — is misleading. This falsely implies that distractions are a problem for all (or even most) learning disability writers. Actually, I have some friends diagnosed with ADHD who need an environment full of distractions in order to work. One of my friends in Ames used to seek out the busiest coffee shop so that he could work and focus.
3. The suggestion for #5 — compose on a computer, not on a typewriter or on paper — is a little insultive, as that should be a suggestion for everyone.
4. I do not feel that this portion focuses enough on dispelling myths. I like how suggestion #4 states “Do not assume that he or she is lazy or has not been paying attention.” I would have liked a little more focus on the stigmata and myths surrounding learning disabilities.
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that rant out, I’ve looked back and re-read the section. I think I might be a bit overblown in my assessment; there are a lot of strengths to this discussion (emphasis on patience and on understanding; stressing different learning styles; the story of the student embarrassed to see a tutor).
In conclusion, it would be nice if this section was a bit more detailed, especially in regards to the variety of learning disabilities students cope with.
It’s been quite a while since I read Ryan’s book, Michael, so I can only comment generally here. My guess is that she was under pressure to keep the book as brief as possible and had to make some hard calls about how much to develop certain points.
You obviously know a good deal about this (maybe from your teaching training and experience?), so assuming you work in the center for credit next term perhaps you could do a presentation on the topic of working with learning disabled students. (My experience suggests, by the way, that some ADHD students do need noise to focus.) You could do some reading and also interview Tracy Bentley-?. (I’ve just forgotten the second half of her hyphenated name.) She’s the head of disabilities services here.
It would also be very interesting–and in the tradition of Wayne’s film–to see if some learning disabled students would be willing to talk with you and give their perspective. This might be tricky to pull off, though.
I’m certainly enjoying reading your journal, which is (just as I’d expect) very thoughtful.
Lisa