| MYTH: |
Learning disabilities are not real disabilities. |
| TRUTH: |
Learning disabilities are well established as legitimate disorders in the scientific, medical, and educational communities. |
| |
| MYTH: |
Learning disabilities can go away. |
| TRUTH: |
Learning disabilities do not disappear although they may range in expression and severity at different life stages. |
| |
| MYTH: |
Students with LD have low intelligence or are slow learners. |
| TRUTH: |
By the DSM-IV definition a student with an LD has average to high average intelligence. |
| |
| MYTH: |
If students with LD would just study harder or be exposed to more educational opportunities they would not have problems with learning.
|
| TRUTH: |
Learning disabilities are neurological in origin. They do not arise from lack of exposure to life experiences, and, in fact, many LD students work harder than a non-LD student to meet the same expectations. |
| |
| MYTH: |
All students with LD have the same learning problems. |
| TRUTH: |
There are many different learning disabilities; each requires different strategies for accommodation and management. A student can have more than one learning disability. |
| |
| MYTH: |
Learning disabilities can be cured.
|
| TRUTH: |
Learning disabilities are permanent conditions, but there are many methods for students to cope with these conditions. |
| |
| MYTH: |
Making accommodations means lowering standards for students with disabilities. |
| TRUTH: |
Accommodations are designed to enable students with learning disabilities to meet existing standards and compensate for processing deficits. |
