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Product Review January 1, 2010 |
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by Diane McGuinness published by Basic Books, 1985, 310 pages Available in Hardcover and Paperback Book Review by Paula Perron 
What can parents do when their children struggle in school? Is there an explanation for their school difficulties beyond the labels that have been placed upon them? Diane McGuinness, Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida, takes some controversial yet thoroughly documented positions in her book When Children Don't Learn, published in 1985.
In recent years the words "hyperactive," "dyslexia," and "minimal brain damage" have become parts of everyday vocabulary. An enormous number of parents believe that children so labeled have some irredeemable congenital or pathological disorder: having dyslexia, for example, is like having diabetes. McGuinness says that "this kind of irresponsible labeling can produce symptoms much worse than those that led to the diagnosis in the first place." Her book surveys the learning disabilities field and the ways in which gender differences can explain how children fail to learn what schools seek to teach. I agree with the following particular positions of McGuinness and disagree with others. "All of the research points to the fact that performance in complex tasks, such as reading, writing, and mathematics, is dependent on the adequate development of specific sensory and motor capacities. When these capacities are not developed, the student will fall back on inappropriate strategies that subsequently lead to failure." The behaviors that usually follow include daydreaming, causing distractions, annoying other children, and even becoming highly aggressive. Notice that such behaviors have often been attributed to the "hyperactive child;" notice also that the majority of children labeled as hyperactive are boys. Failure to learn to read, then, does not show lack of intelligence but rather underdeveloped sensorimotor skills. Reading, writing, and spelling are all examples of sensorimotor performances that require complex integration between the visual, verbal, and fine motor systems, a facility that is particularly well-developed in females. McGuinness devotes two chapters to hyperactivity, which may be summarized: "Something should be done to avoid diagnosing perfectly normal children as hyperactive." The last part of her book takes up the issue of remediation and the ways in which parents can help determine how to meet the needs of their children. Although she does not mention the SOI assessment (developed in the early 70's by Dr. Mary Meeker and the only intellectual assessment that provides specific remediation materials), she insists that "What we need are remediation programs that focus on individual strengths and weaknesses." The SOI (Structure of Intellect) remediation materials do just that. Parents of struggling school children will profit from reading this book for two important reasons: 1.) McGuinness offers teaching alternatives based on a wide range of educational perspectives, not least of which is currently out of fashion: writing as a precursor to reading; 2.) She gives a solid understanding of the destructiveness of labels, especially those that are attached to behavior. Attempts to manage behavior with medication particularly bother her. Paula Perron, BSN, MA, is co-owner with her husband of The Brain Workout Center in Denver, CO. They use the SOI (Structure of Intellect) assessment of foundational thinking abilities, to remediate thinking weaknesses, and their own Brain Workout Challenge program of cognitive motor activities to build up underdeveloped sensorimotor skills. The Total Learning Manual of cognitive motor activities, for younger children and especially those who are home schooled, is available on their web site: www.BrainWorkoutCenter.com.
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