Why do so many with Learning Disability go on to do so well?

Why do so many with Learning Disability go on to do so well?

Looking at some of the key people of our time… founders of multimillion-dollar companies, famous actors, and people from all walks of life also have some type of learning disability… why is that?  I could write a book about this, but I’ll keep it short.  I think it comes down to one simple statement; an expert is someone who has made all the mistakes there are to make in a field.

For example, you have two kids in school; one is an A student, and one is a C and D student with a learning disability.  The child who only gets A’s in school has not had many opportunities to fail and most likely has not been told that they have made a mistake.  I remember a child in my 3rd-grade class who cried for hours because he got a B on a test.  I remember thinking, wow, if I cried each time I got lower than an A, I would cry all the time.   The point is, for a child with a learning disability, they learn to make mistakes, and some of those people learn to be ok with that and try again.  So later in life, the child with a learning disability is not scared at the thought of failing when trying to start a business because they are used to failure; if their first attempt does not work, they’ll just try a new way because they understand that failure is part of life… if you fail, you move on and try again.

So my advice to all parents of children with learning disabilities… let the child fail at some things that do not matter so they can have the opportunity to correct themselves and find a way to do it the right way.  The key words here are ‘on their own’.  Also, let the child know you did not do it perfectly the 1st time either.    Give positive words on what they did do correctly, not negative words on how you would have done it, or what they did wrong. Just tell them you are proud of them for trying, thank them for working so hard, and suggest trying to work on it again.  I think that is why kids love computer games so much…  no one sees them fail, and they can improve their skills without harsh words.   They keep trying without judgment.   We are all too fast to judge or correct; we just let them learn by learning to fail and to go on after failing.  I hope this helps.

 The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

Here is a list of 

Famous Dyslexics and famous people with Learning Disabilities. 

http://dyslexiamylife.org/who_els.html

Hope this helps... G. Sagmiller