Motivation In Students Who Have Learning Differences

Students who have learning differences are often very aware of what tasks are difficult for them. They may experience frustration which can result in a lack of confidence and eventually low self-esteem. Students often make a decision about themselves early on as to whether they are good at something and about their intelligence. Historically, there is not a big window of time that students give themselves to determine whether they are good at something or whether they are capable of learning something. The other data point that has a big impact is what others tell them about their intelligence. Further, students often evaluate themselves not on whether they are able to learn but rather on whether they are able to perform and on their performance compared to others.

I recently read an update by Carol Dweck to her ‘Growth Mindset’ theory. The premise of Dweck’s theory is that the way that students view their capabilities directly impacts their motivation and their success. Dweck suggests that if students believed that they can develop their skills and improve their ability to learn, then they will be more successful in achieving their goals. Dweck’s theory posits that having a static perception of one’s abilities and intelligence sharply decreases the likelihood that a student will persevere through tasks and learn. According to the Growth Mindset theory, students who believe that they can improve their skills by trying various key strategies are able to learn, to grow their intelligence and to achieve.

What does the Growth Mindset theory mean for students who have learning differences? After all, students with learning differences by definition start out at a disadvantage because they have an identified weakness in one or more areas. In my experience working with students who have learning differences, motivation is largely dependent on 1) how students perceive their intelligence and abilities 2) how much success or failure they have encountered thus far and 3) whether they have access to and encouragement for learning strategies that would help them solve problems and complete tasks.  

When working with students who have learning differences, I often have them ask themselves, “What do I need to do to figure this out? What strategies can I use that will help me learn this skill and be successful at it?” I agree with Dweck’s premise that the perception of ability and intelligence is key to motivation, and I understand why Dweck revisited her theory to emphasize the importance of not merely acknowledging the effort a student makes but teaching students the right strategies and encouraging them to continually seek out and use those strategies to achieve success. What I have seen in my practice is that students who develop the value and the skill of finding and using the best possible learning strategies are the same students who develop perseverance, who stay engaged in learning long-term and who achieve their goals. We have developed a culture in education and in parenting of praising effort and validating intelligence when, in reality, our students need better strategies and encouragement to work their way through the learning process to reach their goals. As a society, we are so focused on the results that we lose the value of the process of learning. For students with learning differences, being able to continue to learn, to access and digest information on a regular basis in and out of the classroom, and to apply what they have learned has long-term implications.  Students’ static perception of their abilities and their engagement in the learning process can impact them far beyond school.

How many times have you heard a person say, “In school I was never able to write well” or “I’m not a math person.” While it is true that students with learning differences inherently have a harder time with the learning process, it is equally true, one could argue, that it is more critical for those students to learn the importance of the learning process, to value the strategies that can help them digest the material taught and to develop the habit of perseverance which they will likely take with them beyond school and into other areas of their life like their career and parenting role.

What if a parent or teacher wants to reward a student who has learning differences for his or her success? I agree with Carol Dweck that praising a student’s effort in finding the right strategies and in practicing those strategies until the skill is learned and the student becomes proficient is the best possible way to encourage a student who had learning differences and to increase that student’s motivation. Students learn to push through difficult material and trust in the learning process that they will be able to improve their understanding of the task and to eventually master it. The belief that they are able to grow their ability and that they are actually increasing their intelligence as they problem-solve their way through tasks is what fuels their motivation. Simply put, believing they are capable of growth means that they are more likely to encounter success.

In addition to Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset theory, much has been said about the relationship between a set of characteristics known as grit and academic success. Grit can be defined broadly as perseverance, passion for long term goals, and resiliency. Angela Lee Duckworth’s research suggests that students with these qualities perform better than fellow students who may have higher intelligence, more talent, and more money.  Duckworth’s research concludes that those students who continue their effort and maintain their motivation over the years despite obstacles are more likely to succeed in their long term goals.

Does having grit predict success for students who have learning differences? I would argue that students who have learning differences first need to understand exactly what their academic, social and emotional needs are, how and when their learning differences manifest, and which learning strategies are best suited for their learning style. After students understand all or most of these factors, I believe that the characteristics of perseverance, resiliency, and maintaining consistent effort and motivation throughout school will provide students with the right combination for academic success. It is true that a student with grit may be more likely to figure out what his/her needs are and which strategies work best, but, in my opinion, grit alone does not predict academic success for students who have learning differences.

More research is needed on the subject of academic success and students with learning differences. While Carol Dweck and Angela Lee Duckworth offer important research and theories about the relationship between motivation and academic success, students who have inherent difficulties with the learning process should not be overlooked. In addition to having grit or a growth mindset, it is essential for students with learning disabilities to understand how they learn and to find and regularly use the learning strategies that will help them understand what is being taught so that they can learn.

The College Interview: Guidelines for Students with Learning Differences

College interviews for students with learning differences or ADHD can be a valuable part of the application process. An interview gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your interest in a particular school and to make a positive impression on an admissions counselor. For students who apply directly to LD programs within a college, a formal interview is usually required and students are expected to discuss their learning issues and learning support.  

Students who possess strong verbal skills and the ability to describe their learning style have an advantage during an interview. The ability to articulate your learning issues and learning style demonstrates that you’ve achieved a desirable level of self-knowledge and maturity. These factors help the admissions staff to determine whether you’re ready for the school’s curriculum and college life.

To Disclose or Not To Disclose

Before you can prepare for a college interview, you need to decide whether to disclose your learning differences to admissions personnel.  Making that determination is a personal decision that hinges on your situation. For example, if you do not need a formal LD program and can manage with minimal support, you may not wish to disclose.

On the other hand, if you’ve struggled academically, socially, or emotionally, you may choose to briefly describe your learning issues and how you’ve dealt with them. Describing a learning disability often helps to explain why grades have suffered in a particular area, or why grades are stronger than standardized test scores. For those who elect not to disclose their learning difference, it is helpful to talk about learning issues in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

If you do decide to reveal your learning difference, make sure you learn about your diagnosis and how it affects you. Disclosing allows you the opportunity to demonstrate how you’ve succeeded despite your learning challenges. Describing academic obstacles that you’ve faced and overcome demonstrates that you have the determination and the tools to succeed.

Regardless of whether you disclose your learning difference, you should be prepared to discuss specific learning strategies that help you. While you do not need to make your learning issues the centerpiece of the interview, you should be prepared to talk about your learning issues intelligently.

Interview Preparation

Prepare for your interview by learning as much as you can about the school. Research should include areas of study that you’re interested in, study abroad opportunities, internships, and campus activities. If a school has a unique program or cutting-edge technology that distinguishes it, and you have an interest, then inquire about those programs. Asking about programs that you would not consider is not advised. Admissions counselors are trying to learn what is unique about each applicant, so generalized questions and answers are not helpful.

In addition to researching prospective schools, you should prepare answers for common questions, such as why a particular school is a good fit, or what specific programs or aspects of campus life are well suited to you. Be prepared to give reasons for your statements.

Additionally, be prepared to answer questions about your interests, strengths and weaknesses, personal values, likes and dislikes, and personal experiences. An interview is an opportunity to highlight achievements but also to point out challenges faced and overcome.

If you choose to talk about your learning differences, also discuss academic support that has been helpful.

Disability Services Interview

Those who disclose their learning differences should inquire about support services offered, and let the admissions interviewer know if you’re planning to meet with Disability Services. Sharing that information signals that you are invested in meeting your academic needs.

An interview with Disability Services will likely be more informational than evaluative, but it is important to fully understand what each school offers and to determine whether the support offered meets your particular learning needs.

In addition to preparing carefully crafted questions and answers, it is helpful to do mock interviews. When interviewing, remember basic etiquette: make eye contact, don’t fidget, don’t interrupt when the interviewer is speaking, try to relax, dress business casual, turn off your cell phone and send a thank you note afterwards.

When students follow these guidelines and prepare thoughtfully for their meetings, college interviews can become a valuable addition to an application.

Understanding Our Kids’ Social Functioning And Teaching Them The Skills They Need For Life

“It’s not just academics. We have a responsibility to teach our kids social skills and to do it right”.  Last night I heard those words from Rick Lavoie who spoke at Eagle Hill in Greenwich, CT. Having worked his whole career in residential and independent day schools with students who have learning differences, Mr. Lavoie knows firsthand about the importance of kids being able to understand their world and to be liked by others. Students with learning differences do not automatically understand the meaning of social interactions. They may not read or interpret another child’s verbal or nonverbal cues accurately. Students with learning differences may or may not understand the social expectations that exist in any given situation.

There are many unwritten and unspoken social expectations that exist. Most of us participate in these interactions without a second thought whether that means waiting our turn in line, making room on the sidewalk for other people to pass or simply making eye contact with people when they speak to us. If social skills are so critical to our children’s success and happiness, why don’t we teach them? According to Mr. Lavoie, the answer is simple: we don’t teach social skills because we don’t test for them. Social competence is not highly measurable. Yet almost all of our kids’ waking hours involve some sort of social contact that requires social skills. Without a degree of competence, children are left confused and without the critical friendships that they want and deserve. Our schools do not view social skills as critical, but rather supplementary to a child’s education. In reality, it is just as important that kids understand how to navigate their world and feel liked by others as it is for them to gain knowledge from the curriculum. When looking at a child’s life over time, skills trump knowledge every time.

One might wonder why kids with learning differences can’t learn social skills from their parents just by being around them, similar to the way many children learn manners from their parents. The answer is that the thinking that is required in social cognition is not something that can be mimicked. To understand the meaning behind social interactions, kids need to be able to understand that establishing and maintaining a friendship is a sequential process. Friendships do not happen instantly because kids want them to. They require a getting to know period by both parties during which each person shares some of their likes and interests. Similarly, kids say things to their peers and refrain from making other types of comments that would be offensive. How do some children know ahead of time that a comment might be offensive? Students who have social skills are able to predict how the other person might feel about a particular comment and will decide that the comment is not appropriate or would not be well received.

The question remains, how can we help kids who do not have the social cognition to understand the unspoken/unwritten expectations, who don’t know how to initiate and navigate friendships and who have difficulty inhibiting inappropriate comments?

According to Mr. Lavoie, students benefit the most from practicing skills in the real world. Specifically, he outlines a multi-step strategy that aims to take apart social interactions to determine what went wrong and then teach the right response.

The process works like this:

Step 1: Have the child explain what happened in the situation.

Step 2: Ask the child to identify what their mistake was. If they are unable to do that, tell them what the mistake was. Help the child to examine what caused the mistake.

Step 3:  Evaluate how much damage was done. Was an interaction so offensive that a friendship cannot be repaired? Has a child earned a reputation that they will have a very difficult time negating? What can be done?

Step 4: Teach the child a large amount of background information that can help prevent misinterpretation of interactions. When a child refers to prior knowledge or experiences, they are more likely to correctly interpret the current interaction that they are experiencing.

Step 5: Have a child practice these skills in real interactions as part of their homework. Practice will help a child gain confidence and get better at developing these skills.

Finally, parents are encouraged to use every opportunity to teach their children background information and to have their children practice their social skills in real interactions. Teaching our children social skills needs to become a priority in schools and at home. For students with learning differences, having social skills can mean the difference between a lonely childhood and happy one. Parents who take the time to understand their child’s social functioning and to help them acquire critical social skills are giving their child a gift for life.

School and Anxiety for Students who have Learning Differences

One of the most common concerns parents have after their child’s difficulty with doing school work is the anxiety their children feel while at school. For students with learning differences, academic work by definition is a struggle. Students understand what is expected of them but have difficulty performing. As they look around the room at their classmates, they can become increasingly uncomfortable and anxious. For some students their anxiety comes from not understanding why they are not performing and just feeling lost. They are not sure what exactly they are unable to do or do well but they know that doing schoolwork in general or a particular academic subject causes them anxiety. To a lesser extent, students who understand their needs may also feel anxious because it is necessary for them to identify and use learning strategies to be able to get through their work and be successful. Using learning strategies is essential for students who have learning differences but needing them in the first place and remembering which strategy to use for a specific task can be stressful.

How can parents be helpful to their child who is experiencing anxiety at school?

1. Acknowledge the problem. Let your child know that their feelings are valid and that you will help them understand what is causing the stress and come up with ways to address it.
2. Talk to your child and their teacher(s) about what subjects or tasks are difficult and why. Use those conversations as a starting point to better understand what your child struggles with whether it is an academic, social or emotional issue.
3. Get your child evaluated by the school or an outside professional (psychologist/psychiatrist) so that you and the school can understand what exactly are your child’s strengths and weaknesses. While an evaluation is only a snapshot in time, it can help establish a baseline for what to expect in the areas of academic, social and emotional functioning. A good evaluation will highlight which issues your child needs to work on and in what circumstances those issues are likely to arise. Finally, a good evaluation should provide you with recommendations that you can use at school and at home. Recommendations should let you know if your child needs support in or out of school, what kind of support they need and who might be the best person to deliver those services. Once the need for services is identified, begin the process of contacting your child’s school and requesting those services formally.
4. Establish a regular check in with your child about school. Talking about these issues can be difficult but do your best to put your child at ease and perhaps pair your conversation with some kind of ritual that you both enjoy like taking a walk, etc. By establishing this ritual, your child will know that the lines of communication are always open. Let your child know that they don’t have to wait for the regular check ins, they can talk to you at any time.  At the very least your child will know that they can depend on the ritual as a time and place to open up about a stressful part of their life. Try to listen and be open to what your child is describing to you. If your child thinks that talking to you is a safe thing to do, they will learn to come to you and let you know when they are struggling. When speaking to your child, do your best to not criticize or judge. what they are telling you. This can be hard to do, as we all want our children to do well and to us the solution may seem simple. Remember that learning differences are not just a matter of trying harder to get the answers right.
5. For some students, role playing can be very helpful. This is particularly true for students who have a hard time with social and emotional issues. Role playing in a safe environment and without criticism allows your child to understand what might be expected in any given situation and what an appropriate response might be. It gives your child the opportunity to problem solve without feeling the pressure of being in the actual situation.
6. Help your child relieve some of their stress by encouraging them to get involved in activities that they enjoy. All students need a release valve from the pressure of school. Finding and doing fun activities offers your child the opportunity to be successful. Because school is a struggle, students with learning differences need other ways to express themselves, to feel grounded and to gain confidence. Making sure that your child has some areas of their life where they are successful and do not need to struggle helps contribute to their overall happiness and lets them know that it is important to have balance in life.

Students with learning differences are increasingly having to manage their learning issues as well as the resulting anxiety. Taking steps to help your child understand their needs, getting the support that they need and keeping an ongoing dialogue open with them are all important ways that you can help your child be successful and manage their worry.

Concussions and Learning Differences: New Concussion Legislation Requires Better Reporting and Accountability

Yesterday was an important day for children in Connecticut. I watched as Governor Malloy signed Public Act 14-66 concussion legislation into law making it harder for kids to go undetected when an injury occurs and for students and their families to get the help that they need in the classroom after experiencing concussions. The new law follows a trend. Currently all 50 states  have enacted legislation and many of those are updating their laws to reflect what is happening in the classroom and on the field. The pattern is clear; it's time to put more stringent measures in place to protect our children.

What the law now requires according to the Connecticut General Assembly’s website:

• State Board of Education to develop or approve a concussion education plan
• Operators of youth athletic activities to provide information on concussions to youth athletes and their parents and guardians
• Youth athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion will provide written clearance from a medical professional prior to returning to the athletic activity
• Full contact practices limited to ninety minutes per week
• Local and regional boards of education to compile and report all instances of concussions suffered by children in school.

Ann Sherwood, Pippa Bell Ader and Diana Coyne all of Westport, CT worked tirelessly to make this law a reality and proved that it can be done. Together these women formed the Parents Concussion Coalition. Each of their sons has experienced significant consequences from suffering concussions, some of which are permanent.  After speaking with Diana Coyne at the signing of the legislation yesterday, it is clear that the coalition will continue to press for better safety measures for children; their work is not done. 

Many families do not make the connection between concussions, playing contact sports, and learning disabilities. It is important to remember that learning disabilities can occur for several reasons, one of which is the direct result of sustaining concussions or a traumatic brain injury. Students who are deemed able to return to play or to return to school may have residual learning issues that continue well after a concussion has healed. Many of these learning issues involve executive functions such as problem solving, working memory, sustained attention and emotional control. It is essential that all students with learning disabilities understand their needs and get the right support when returning to school or to sports. It’s important to remember that each students’ needs are different and that when an educational plan is put in place for a student who has experienced a concussion or traumatic brain injury, it needs to be individualized and based on the student’s current level of academic, social and emotional functioning. This legislation is the first step in recognizing that students must get their needs met. So much more needs to be done, but this was a great first step towards protecting our kids.

Dr. Berg with Governor Malloy and Smart Kids With LD Executive Director Jane Ross