Help Your Child Build A Personal Learning Profile

I was sitting in a meeting with my student and the disability services counselor at the college they are going to and the first question the counselor asks is: "how would you describe your disability?" The student was completely stuck for words, stared at me, and shruggingly responded: "I don't know". How would your child answer this same question?

The Truth: Describing your disability requires you to 1.) know that you have a disability, 2.) know what that disability is, 3.) understand how that disability manifests itself in your everyday life, and 4.) what strategies will work to help. This is not easy! I find that most teachers and parents struggle to understand their son/daughter's disability to the level of answering that question from the counselor. 

What I Suggest: Help your child learn about their disability and constantly revisit the discussion as often as you can in order to further clarify their understanding. What I like to do with my students is create what I call a "Personal Learning Profile". This is a place where I have students write about their disability, their strengths and challenges, the accommodations they receive, and how teachers and support staff can help them succeed. Helping your child build a Personal Learning Profile will help them learn more about their disability, and have documentation for themselves, yourself, and their teachers to review as needed. 

Respond to this post if you'd like a sample of a student's "Personal Learning Profile" from a student I worked with who is now in college and doing incredibly!