Subject: Neville
Author:
Posted on: 2015-02-18 07:10:00 UTC
I don't see it as very problematic for Neville to have a learning disability, actually.
A lot of his trouble definitely comes from lack of confidence, but that isn't incompatible with a learning disability.
Neville's got the typical jagged skill profile of someone with a specific learning disability--he's way better at some subjects than others, as you can see when you see Neville in Herbology vs. Charms, for example. That kind of skill gap is common for real-life people with things like dyslexia or dyscalculia.
Neville definitely blossoms by the end of his schooling, especially since he learns to concentrate on his strengths. It becomes obvious that he's not universally a slow learner; he has weaknesses that he has to work around, like his lack of confidence and the trouble he has with paying attention to details and keeping track of complex things in his mind. I don't think he would have a learning disability in a Muggle school; maybe he'd lean toward inattentive-type ADHD, but that'd be about it.
Anyways, that doesn't really justify the way this fic treats Neville. The writer gives Neville this old magical injury, an old curse that suppressed his magic and gave him this learning disability. And then, once Rose Potter is in the picture, she essentially cured him all at once, just like that. There's no personal growth for Neville learning how to cope with his problems and his lack of confidence. There's no working around weaknesses. They're just taken away. Neville with a disability is unacceptable to Rose Potter, so Rose Potter takes the disability away. Shy, clumsy Neville just isn't good enough for her, even though he was plenty good enough for Harry Potter. Unfortunate implications much?