What if rather than viewing learning disabilities as deficits, we viewed them as part of the natural variations of the human genome? Sometimes called the social model of disability or neurodiversity, this view holds that dyslexia or specific learning disability, for example, is merely but one component of identity and functioning, not its totality, and is best defined as the “gap between a person’s capacities and the demands of the environment” (Wehmeyer, 2020). An example of this framework is a student who struggles with reading and is presented only with print curricular resources. By providing one means to access the curriculum, the student is hampered in how much he or she is able to learn. However, this same student, presented with speech-to-text technology or audiobooks, now has access to learn more substantially. The person is still the same, the environment shifted. At The Craig School, we believe that a strengths-based approach primes students for learning and that with the right environment, all students can and will succeed.

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