What is a learning disability really like?

This semester I'm taking a class titled Education of Exceptional Children. Why the class has this name, I have no idea. Essentially the class is about teaching students with special needs that have them performing below what is expected or far above.

A professor of early literacy asked the class if they had any memories of learning how to read. I have very few. I remember my mom and dad reading to me, I remember writing books in kindergarten, first and second grade. But I have no recollection of how I learned that letters represent sounds, and that letters make up words. Those in the class who did share mostly shared moments of difficulty, what they remember about not being able to do well. For those of us that learned to read without much difficulty and for whom learning was not a challenge, understanding what a child goes through with a learning disability is hard. In general we teach (or parent) how we were taught (or parented). If a student does not learn what we are teaching them, we tend to blame the student. Consciously or subconsciously, we think "I was able to learn this, so you should too."

I am extremely grateful for a set of videos that my professor showed us on Thursday that simulate what it's like to have a learning disability. If you're a teacher, or a parent, or a reading tutor, or have a young person in the family that is learning to read, or know someone with a learning disability, watch this! You'll see reading through a whole new set of eyes.