Michigan Branch
International Dyslexia Association
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Book Review: The Mislabeled Child |
The Mislabeled Child: Looking Beyond Behavior to Find the True Sources--and Solutions--for Children’s Learning Challenges
Brock Eide, MD, MA and Fernette Eide, MD
2006. NY:Hyperion
I first picked this book up at a learning disabilities conference, and found myself sucked in immediately. The authors, who have a Neurolearning Clinic and write a blog, have set themselves a large task: to present the full span of learning needs and overviews of interventions. The result is an excellent resource, written in plain language, for teachers, parents and therapists.
Why the title? The authors argue that the many labels students are often diagnosed with, from ADHD to learning disabilities to autism, etc, are, in and of themselves, not helpful. What is needed is a close examination of the underlying brain processes, and a student’s strengths and weaknesses. “We shouldn’t see children with learning challenges as diseased, disordered, or deficient in various brain function or chemicals, but rather as needing new experiences that can help them develop their capacities to learn and function better” (pg. 6). This is a vital point, because it leads us-- the therapists, teachers and parents--away from just a label or seeing the problem within the child towards a plan for how to strengthen weaknesses and celebrate strengths.
One of the biggest strengths of the book is how it is organized. There is even a chapter, “How to Get the Most from this Book,” that describes the components of each chapter. Similar to a thorough assessment typically done by a psychologist or multidisciplinary team, this chapter outlines three steps the authors give the reader the tools to complete.
Step 1: Obtain a complete assessment of a child’s brain-based learning systems, including strengths and weaknesses in each of the following four areas of nervous-system function:
Information input
Pattern processing
Output for action
Attention
Step 2: Use the information obtained from the assessment to create a complete learning profile of the child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Step 3: Use this profile of strengths and weaknesses to design a program of education, therapy, and play that will increase a child’s capacities to think and learn more productively.
All of the successive chapters describe areas in which learning problems can occur:
Memory Strengths and Weaknesses
Visual Problems
Auditory Problems
Language Problems
Autism and Autism-like Disorders
Sensory Processing Disorder
Dyslexia
Dysgraphia
Math Problems
How Giftedness can cause Learning Challenges in Children
After a short overview of the topic of that chapter, there are sections on Behaviors, Causes, Evaluating and Helping. The causes portion is a clear description of the brain processes that cause problems in that area. But the real gems of this book are the sections on Helping. They are wonderful sections that give the spectrum of options that are suitable for that problem area. It is often so difficult to know what to do to help a child’s learning weakness, and here are clear explanations. Also, they describe the difference between remediations (“develop new functions and areas of strength by ‘rewiring’ the brian”), compensations (“use...mental and physical strengths to work around problems caused by areas of weakness”) and accommodations (“minimize the negative consequences of learning challenges that cannot be [or have not yet been] entirely eliminated by remediations or compensations”). These differences are very important, especially in writing IEP goals.
I find myself referring to and re-reading these dense chapters often as I work with different children. It has proven useful time and again, and I have written notes all over my copy. I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself.
