We’ve all been there. As school psychologists, we know all too well the feeling right before we have to tell a child that she has a learning disability.
I recently had an interesting experience with a student that made me pause and reflect on the best way to talk to kids and families about what a learning disability is.
I know deep down that we can empower students with learning disabilities with the language we use and the way we teach and guide them. But I wanted science to back me up…
So…I dove into the research on strength-based language and reducing stigma in using labels with kids with disabilities.
And then, I got to cross a vision-board item off my vision board.
I got to write a guest post for The Greater Good Science Center’s newsletter! If you don’t already know them, get ready to be a Superfan, because they are at the forefront of making positive psychology science accessible to everyone. Real talk? I am having a real nerdy fangirl moment over here about sharing what we school psychologists do to support our students with learning disabilities.
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Check out the article “How to Help Students with Learning Disabilities Focus on their Strengths” here to read about the surprising reaction I got to telling a girl she had Dyslexia, and learn 3 research-based strategies for tapping into our students’ potential.
Oh, and be sure to see the shameless plug for our fine profession of school psychology! I’m starting School Psychology Awareness Week 2 months early. 🙂
I’d love to hear from you all as well…how do you explain learning disabilities to students and parents with a strength-based lens?