{"id":801,"date":"2017-01-02T18:37:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T18:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vividolearning.com\/?p=801"},"modified":"2023-01-25T17:24:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T17:24:38","slug":"taking-issue-with-the-word-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vividolearning.com\/taking-issue-with-the-word-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking issue with the word “issues”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m noticing a new language trend lately that is, admittedly, driving me slightly batty: use of the word \u201cissues\u201d as a substitute for the word disorder <\/em>or disability<\/em> \u2013 as in, \u201creading issues\u201d or \u201clanguage issues\u201d or \u201cattention issues.\u201d  Hello\u2026these are not ISSUES!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to www.dictionary.com<\/a>, the word \u201cissue\u201d (used as a noun) means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. a point in question or matter that is in dispute, as between contending parties in an action at law (the defendant\u2019s motive is the <\/em>issue<\/em> at hand)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. a point, matter, or dispute, the decision of which is of special or public importance (a political or public health <\/em>issue<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. a point, the decision of which determines a matter (the <\/em>issue<\/em> at hand is the right to bargain collectively).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synonyms for the word \u201cissue\u201d include: argument, point, problem (to be debated or discussed), question, concern, subject, affair, matter, and point of departure, and controversy (www.thesaurus.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t help but scratch my head and wonder, why are people describing kids with disabilities as having \u201cissues?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it just sounds more palatable \u2013 indeed softer \u2013 to say that a child has \u201creading issues\u201d or \u201clanguage issues\u201d than to use a seemingly harsh label like \u201creading disability\u201d or \u201dlanguage disorder.\u201d Those other words might give the impression that someone is permanently broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it sounds much more optimistic and positive to suggest that someone has a little issue they\u2019re currently grappling with rather than a life-long disability. I guess many people would prefer to have an \u201cissue\u201d than a neurological variation that results in atypical development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless, however, they DID have a neurological variation that caused them to experience very real challenges when it comes to being able to listen, speak, read, write, calculate, or regulate their attention \u2014 challenges they couldn\u2019t overcome without the help of highly trained professionals who knew how to help them understand their disability, compensate for it, and navigate through school and life successfully. Then they might really wish that others would not downplay their disability by calling it an \u201cissue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to be careful with our language if we are to help people understand the nature of developmental disabilities. We have long known that variations in neurological organization and brain circuitry result in difficulty with acquiring language and literacy and with regulating behavior, emotions, and attention. Research continues to shed light on how to help children with all kinds of disabilities learn, grow, and flourish in school and in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We owe it to children to help them understand their disabilities and the fact that their disabilities may challenge and shape them but do not define them. I was reminded of this very recently when I got an email out of the blue from a student I worked with over 20 years ago. He wrote to say \u201cthank you\u201d for helping his parents understand that he had Dyslexia and what to do about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a lovely exchange. I acknowledged the dedication and hard work it took for him to learn to read and write and recalled telling his parents, \u201cYour child is going to be an AWESOME adult. Truly awesome. We just have to get him through school, and that\u2019s going to be hard. But he has everything he needs to be incredibly successful and truly happy in life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He replied: (Spelling and punctuation are unchanged from his original note)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI heard that mantra many times growing up. I still remember it when things are hard, and life just won\u2019t cooperate. I gave up every summer vacation to tutoring and summer school. Saturdays were never a day off. Story book craft time, recesses and electives were spent in speech and Sped classes. I didn\u2019t own a video game console untill I was in my 20s and bought myself a X-box. but thats what it takes. Other kids got three hours a night to play video games, in my case that three hours was spoken for. Other kids get three months of summer vacation I got one week to go to riding or scout camp (eventually I earned the rank of Eagle Scout). And while missing the kick ball game because I had to go to tutoring did hurt I do not regret it for one moment. I want you to know that those sacrifices are worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am now 28. I graduated Mass Maritime class of 2011 with a Bachelor\u2019s in Marine Engineering. I scored highly on my USCG coast guard [exams] (which were taken with no accommodations)\u2026.I have worked as an officer for the Merchant Marine for the past five years. I make six figures a year. I have done and seen amazing things. I have been around the world more than once, sailed every ocean on the map, I am respected by my shipmates, those who I work for and those who work for me. I have read all those books I dreamed of reading as a kid. I actually have had to delete books from my kindle to make room\u2026Because you told my parents that 20 years ago and because they believed it, and because they taught me to believe it, I now have that incredibly successful and truly happy life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My goodness\u2026 hand me a tissue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This boy did not have reading and attention \u201cissues.\u201d He had a type of reading disability called Dyslexia and he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, both of which challenged him in very real ways as he grew up and still challenge him from time to time as an adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet neither his reading nor his attention disabilities have stopped him from becoming a truly remarkable young man who now reads voraciously for pleasure and who has a long and promising career ahead of him as a Merchant Marine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we as educators are to empower the young people in our care, we need to help them understand the fullness of themselves \u2013 which includes the neurodevelopmental nature of their disabilities and challenges those pose for them as well as the innate strengths and talents they can draw on thrive in life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m noticing a new language trend lately that is, admittedly, driving me slightly batty: use of the word \u201cissues\u201d as a substitute for the word disorder or disability \u2013 as in, \u201creading issues\u201d or \u201clanguage issues\u201d or \u201cattention issues.\u201d Hello\u2026these are not ISSUES!…","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTaking issue with the word "issues" - 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