Misunderstood Minds Searching for Success in School
November 20, 2009 by 11 Forgotten Laws
Filed under Success
Hey thank you for coming back! Please do leave your comment on any post as we would like to know your view! Have you subscribed to my RSS feed and follow me on John Lee's Tweet yet?
Misunderstood Minds Searching for Success in School
You feel like the luckiest person alive: your seven-year-old is a bright, social, athletic child with countless friends. His potential seems unlimited, his future success unquestionable. Then one day a teacher calls you to tell you that your child can’t read.
That is one scenario presented in Misunderstood Minds, a deeply moving and personal look into the lives of five children and their families as they deal with the puzzling mysteries presented by their unique learning differences. See how bright, articulate Nathan masked his inability to read by memorizing. Find out why Lauren’s social isolation provided experts with vital clues about her learning problem. See how undiagnosed learning problems led Adam on a downward spiral towards drugs, alcohol, and crime.
As many as one in five families are coping with children who struggle to learn. Many of these children don’t fit any clinical diagnosis, but for some reason, they aren’t learning. Though these children may be suffering from debilitating learning problems, they are often mistakenly called “lazy” or “stupid” by teachers, classmates, and even by their families. But learning specialists believe that they now possess a key that will ultimately help struggling students, their parents, and teachers better identify and manage learning problems — each mind works differently and has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Misunderstood Minds illustrates the emerging view that specific identification and customized management of learning problems is the key to success for the millions of children struggling in school. Misunderstood Minds features leading experts in the field of learning problems, including Mel Levine, M.D., G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D., Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and Richard D. Lavoie, M.A. M.Ed.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Not the best use of your money
No doubt this WGBH documentary can be an eye-opener for people who have not had a chance to hear about the last 20 years of brain research, but as a teacher who works with children with learning differences, my advice is to spend your money on one of Mel Levine’s books (One Mind at a Time or The Myth of Laziness). That way you’ll actually get some concrete advice instead of just hearing about how bad it’s been for other families. And you won’t have to watch a doctor tell distraught parents that if they don’t put their 11 year old daughter on Ritalin she’ll probably grow up to be a drug addict.
5 Stars FOR ANY PARENT WHO’S CHILD HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ADD OR ADHD OR ANY PARENT SUSPECTING HIS CHILD HAS A LEARNINGDISABILITY
I’M A MOTHER OF A 7 YEAR OLD ADD DAUGHTER I LIVE IN CANCUN-MEXICO WHERE INFORMATION OTHER THAN PSICOLOGIST’S VIEW OF “THE PROBLEM” IS VERY HARD TO COME BY, MY DAUGHTER SPENT 3 YEARS IN OCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND EVERYWHERE I WENT I WAS TOLD TO MEDICATE HER, HOWEVER SOME INSTINCT TOLD ME NOT TO….IT DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SPEND A FORTUNE ON BOOKS LIKE I DID I’LL RECOMMEND 3 BOOKS THAT WILL GET YOU STARTED AND WELL ON YOUR WAY IN FINDING OUT WHAT’S GOING ON AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT AND HOW TO HELP; NO MORE RITALIN, NO MORE ADHD - RIGHT BRAINED CHILDREN IN A LEFT BRAINED WORLD - THE ADD AND ADHD DIET, UPDATED VERSION. GOOD LUCK, HELENA
5 Stars Misunderstood Students
I am a high school teacher and I found this video both interesting and informative. We simply cannot give up on the youth of this country-they are out future and they deserve all the aid necessary to meet their needs. Every student is unique and should be treated as such.
3 Stars Good, But Expected More
I purchased this DVD, because I am a special education teacher. I enjoyed the stories of the five students and I think it was a bit of an eye opener for me to intervene some more with a few of mine. Wtih names like Mel Levine and Rick Lavoie I expected to hear about more strategies and ways to intervene.
If you have children with special needs or are a member of the general public interested in this area, this is a great documentary. If you are already in the special education field, don’t expect more than stories. I wish there was more ways to intervene with these students with special needs. Overall, it was a good DVD, but not what I expected and did not give any knowledge beyond what I already knew.
I would suggest going to the PBS website, they have some great simulations of what it is like to be a student with special needs.
4 Stars Interesting / Teachers & Students should see
I feel this program should be seen by teachers and students who themselves have a misunderstanding of what life is like for students who need extra help. We all learn differently, and whose place is it to judge others ? Bottom line is I have seen too many times, students who will not seek help, due to stigma placed on them by peers, teachers, and family. Maybe we have lost sight of education and its purpose … isn’t getting an education the goal ? Great program for classes who cannot understand we are all not the same, we are individuals, learn differently, etc. The goal I had when purchasing was to show students who are rude and or cruel to other students in hope they will will have no misunderstandings why we all need help.
