__________________________________________Ask the DA
 

I recently received a moving letter from the mother of a second-grade boy who had been diagnosed as dyslexic.  This mother expressed concern about what she viewed as the lack of appropriate supports within the educational system for children like her son.  The writer described how she herself had suffered with this disorder as a young person, and she urged me to underscore the connection between school dropout rates and the lack of appropriate interventions for these learning disabled youngsters. 

While I am in no way qualified to assess the efficacy of tools available to learning disabled youngsters within our school system, as District Attorney I am keenly aware of the role that truancy plays as a precursor to future criminal behavior. Working together with our schools to ensure that our children are getting the education that they deserve is the key to raising healthy adults.   As parents, we must remain attuned to our children’s academic talents, as well as their limitations.  Children who are academically deprived will undoubtedly face severe limitations down the road.

Everyday, social workers who staff my Truancy Centers throughout the borough speak to teenagers who have simply stopped going to school.  Many of these youngsters state that their schools feel overwhelming, and that they feel lost.  A sizeable number of these kids suffer from learning disabilities.  The social workers report that these children in particular exhibit frustration, embarrassment and alienation. Therefore, rather than report daily to school - a place that these kids say makes them feel bad about themselves – they prefer instead to hang out on the streets, sometimes choosing to empower themselves by associations with gangs and involvements in other criminal behaviors. 

I applaud the writer for her efforts to convince the school system to provide additional supports for her dyslexic son and for others like him.  This devoted mom described in her letter that many dyslexics are insightful, creative individuals, but that, unfortunately, many of them turn to criminal behaviors because both “society and the educational system” has failed them.  This mother truly has discovered the right answer.  When parents are involved in their children’s learning, children become involved in their own learning and thus stay in school.

For more information please visit the office’s Web site at www.brooklynda.org. To have your questions answered in a future column, send them to asktheda@brooklynda.org.