To See Adam Smile: Raising a Child With a "Learning Disability"

Adam’s eyes are chocolate brown, like coffee beans. He is tall and handsome, and his heart is as sweet and as beautiful as can be. He was born 31 years ago and was received with joy and excitement by his father and me, as well as by all the extended family.

As he grew, day by day, year by year, our love for him grew, and, as it is with parents, we watched with delight as all the wonderful aspects of Adam’s personality developed. He was bright and outgoing, he was sweet and loving, and not at all shy.

When Adam was five years old and ready for kindergarten, we enrolled him in a Montesorri school. The “Montesorri” concept was new to us and we thought the open classroom would be a wonderful place for our talented little guy to develop all the gifts that we knew he possessed. We couldn’t have been more wrong! In the “open” classroom, Adam became lost and confused. There was little structure (which was the way this classroom was planned so that children could be freely expressive) and our son could not function without it. Adam’s teacher called us in time after time during that school year to discuss the fact that there was obviously “something wrong with him”. We were told to take him to a neurologist to be sure his brain was in tact. Being young and inexperienced, we took this advice. Of course, Adam’s brain was found to be perfectly fine.

My husband and I felt lost. We didn’t know where to turn for help. Adam was struggling terribly and the teachers at the Montesorri school offered no assistance, or even hope. We had never even heard of a “learning disability” at that point in our lives; therefore we had no idea what to do or who to turn to for help.