Guest Author - Deborah Pipas
Twenty-nine years ago, my husband and I were blessed with twins, a boy and a girl. Little did we know at their birth all that life would hold for these two beautiful babies. As infants and toddlers they were active, happy children. When time for school arrived things began to change for our twins. Our twin daughter entered elementary school and had no problems at all but our son could not seem to advance through the required curriculum. He began having problems in first grade and we were soon called in by the school staff and told that he was not advancing as quickly as the other children in his grade level.
We did everything that we knew to help him including taking him to the doctor to confirm that there were no health issues that could be at the root of his learning difficulties. By the end of first grade we had to make the choice to hold him back a year as his twin sister advanced on to the second grade. This was a very difficult decision for us as parents, like all parents we wanted the very best for all three of our children. We were told by the Pediatrician that it was not uncommon in the case of twins for one child to be a little slower at achieving academically than the other, and that this was also true in the case of a male twin. We continued to hope and pray for the best, and Shawn continued to have difficulties.
When he finally struggled through to third grade the school staff told us that it was time to have him tested for learning disabilities. We proceeded to do all that we were asked and Shawn was eventually placed in special classes for slow learners. Back then in the mid eighties the big thing seemed to be dyslexia and we were informed that the school testing staff believed Shawn to be dyslexic.
We continued on through the school years with Shawn struggling and our daughters mastering everything they set their minds to accomplish. We knew it was a difficult time for Shawn but really didn’t know how to help him. It remained a complicated struggle all the way through school until the day he graduated although; he was highly skilled in anything requiring imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness. Shawn was always a very artistic and creative child he won various contest for his work and in all other ways was like any other child.
As his mother I can say not only was this situation challenging for Shawn but it was so heartbreaking for his father and I to watch him fight this battle and be unable to help him. Shawn still struggles today with a many things some of which still include reading and math. He has taught himself a great deal as an adult and is very talented and artistic. He is a very skilled fabricator, automotive painter and has the ability to do amazing auto body work.
The other day I decided to talk with him about the past learning difficulties he experienced because I wanted to know how he feels today as an adult having spent his childhood being labeled as learning disabled.
Please watch for my next newsletter to hear Shawn’s responses to my questions concerning his experiences as a child growing up with the label of Learning Disabled.
