Years of work by M.P. blossoms with bill

Press, 31 July 1986, Page 6

Years of work by M.P. blossoms with bill

PA Wellington Years of work for the National member of Parliament for Waipa, Mrs Katherine O’Regan, turned to delight last evening when her private member’s bill seeking special education recognition for children with dyslexia and perceptual handicaps was introduced in Parliament. Mrs O’Regan, whose son, aged 17, has a specific learning disability, said the problem was totally misunderstood by educators and parents alike. “I have had personal experience of this condition, so I speak with the knowledge of 17 years of anguish and trial and error,” she said. Speaking on the bill, the Labour member for Tongariro, Mr Noel Scott, said he had a daughter who had been diagnosed as having mild asphasia. However, the condition had had a considerable impact on her life. The Government agreed to the bill’s being given a first reading and it has been referred to a

select committee. “Specific learning disabled people have been denied their opportunity to reach their full potential in the education system. As consumers of education these people have not had a fair go,” Mrs O’Regan said. Her bill amends the Education Act by including specific learning disabilities in the definition of special education. She told Parliament it would highlight disorders in basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, including perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental asphasia. Such disabilities could be confused with other problems that caused illiteracy and did not include children with learning problems, which were mainly due to visual, hearing or motor handicaps, mental retardation or cultural or economic disadvantages. "Children with specific learning disabilities have serious problems with manipulation of language,

either heard or seen, written or spoken, that are not explained by low intelligence, poor teaching or lack of socio-cultural opportunity.” Mrs O’Regan said the disability affected far more boys than girls, in a ratio of four-to-one. While there were no definite figures, one former officer of special education had produced a figure of 14,300 children at risk of leaving school intelligent but illiterate after 10 or more years of education. Such children were often berated as a “dummy” and having “no brains.” “They are dismissed as unco-operative, difficult and lazy because there seems no other explanation.” Parents were disappointed in them, their friends thought they were “dumb" and when they left school, job prospects were few. The child’s frustration could be reflected in truancy and lead to delinquency. Mrs O’Regan said she wanted specific learning

difficulties included in all teacher training and a post-graduate course established to train specialist teachers. The Labour member for Hamilton West, Mr Trevor Mallard, said the Government would allow the bill to be introduced and referred to a select committee. It believed it important that the issues raised should be discussed. There were children, for one reason or another, who were not succeeding in the school system. “We think, as a Government, this is a good opportunity to hear a range of opinion on this question,” he said. “It could, de facto, serve as a review of Government policy in the reading area.” Mr Mallard also said the Government was expecting to receive a review of special education by October 1. He hoped members would then be able to tie that review together with the bill and decide if it was appropriate to proceed with Mrs O’Regan’s legislation.