What Is A Learning Disability

Admin | February 05, 2012 | Comments Off

What Is A Learning Disability

What Is A Learning Disability

Among those that grew up in the 80s, few will dispute that one of the most popular and influential shows was the Cosby Show. For the few not familiar with the sitcom, it was primarily about an affluent African-American family from Brooklyn, dealing with a variety of family matters, resulting in problem-solution scenarios provided within a 30 minute time span. The show had far too many classic moments to pinpoint just one, but one topic covered by the Cosby show which has always stood out with me was when parents Clifford and Claire Huxtable discovered their son Theo was diagnosed with dyslexia.

What was most brilliant about delving into this subject matter was; one, the lack of exposure dyslexia was getting at the time, and two, the way the Huxtables came to find out about Theo's learning disability. For much of the first few seasons, Theo was often dismissed as just your typical teen who wasn't really applying himself when it came to his studies. However, as defined by Webster's, dyslexia is a variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing. Hence Theo's academic struggles.

I would be remiss if I didn't come clean and admit prior to being informed by the show, I thought dyslexia simply meant you read things backwards. So what are we talking about here, the influence of the Cosby Show on American culture? Not exactly. If you receive nothing else from this article, please leave realizing the importance of learning disorder awareness within our society.