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To the Editor:
I found the letter from Mr. Bill FitzSimons, Sept. 23, to be very misleading.
Mr. FitzSimons states that in the eighth grade he “had what today is known as a learning disability, that is, I was lazy and indifferent.”
Children fail in school for a wide variety of reasons, including emotional problems, subnormal intelligence, physical disabilities (hearing and vision defects, illness), and an inability to adapt to the social and/or cultural demands of the school system.
An estimated five million American children, however, manifest learning disabilities attributed to a minimal brain dysfunction not related to these factors. Minimal brain dysfunctions are minor errors of the central nervous system that may be inherited or develop from injury before, during or shortly after birth.
Generally speaking, these disorders involve perception, language use, conceptualizaton, learning styles, attention, impulsivity, and motor development.
At least seven percent and possibly as much as 15 to 20 percent of all elementary school children evidence some degree of learning and/or behavior problems attributed to minimal brain dysfunction.
I feel that a great injustice was done to learning disabled children when Mr. FitzSimons generalized them as “lazy and indifferent.” As a mother who happens to know and love several ‘LD children and adults, I feel Mr. FitzSimons should know more about the subjects he uses in his letters and/or be more careful on whose toes he chooses to step.
ELLEN B.JOBACK
Flint Hill
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