When learning is difficult

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September 26, 2011 — When learning is difficult for children, there is a tendency for them to shutdown and turn away from what’s hard. While basic skills of reading, writing, and spelling come easily to many, about a third of the population experiences mild to severe problems. These kids feel different. Some experience shame or ostracism, yet they may be quite gifted. With support, they can find creative ways to cope, ultimately experiencing academic success and personal fulfillment.

Dr. Dan Gottlieb examines learning disabilities and how we cope with them — by way of sheer determination, family support, and professional guidance. Dan’s guests are poet Philip Schultz and Dr. Richard Selznick.

Philip Shultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of My Dyslexia, a memoir about his inner life with dyslexia. He’s the founder and director of The Writers Studio in New York where he teaches writing.

Richard Selznick is a psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, graduate school professor, and university professor of pediatrics. He is the author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child. He directs the Cooper Learning Center in Voorhees.