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Introduction
The Frostig Center in Pasadena, California conducted a twenty-year longitudinal study into attributes that might predict life success for children with learning disabilities. Their fundamental question was “What factors contribute to success for individuals with learning disabilities?” Success was broadly defined to include quality friendships, healthy family relations, positive self-esteem, job satisfaction, physical and mental health, financial independence, spiritual fulfillment, and an overall sense of meaning in life. Their research revealed six life success attributes: 1) self-awareness, 2) proactivity, 3) perseverance, 4) goal-setting, 5) presence and use of support systems, and 6) emotional coping strategies. The research also indicated these six attributes might have a greater influence on life success than even such factors as academic achievement, socio-economic status, gender, and even intelligence quotient (IQ). This “information sheet” explores the attributes of Proactivity and Perseverance and suggests strategies for development.
What is Proactivity?
Proactive adults with learning disabilities are actively engaged in the world - socially, vocationally, and politically. They are able to self-advocate. They take initiative and are sound decision-makers. In as much, they are willing to consult others in the decision-making process and are flexible when considering options.
What is Perseverance?
Persevering adults with learning disabilities pursue goals despite difficulties and setbacks. They have learned how to benefit from failures and mistakes. They know a change of tactics is sometimes critical to a solution and quitting is occasionally the “best” option.
What are Some Strategies for Developing Proactivity and Perseverance?
1. Teach your children to structure environments for success. Start with physical environments like the bedroom closet or schoolroom desk. Use checklists, pictures, and diagrams. Rick Lavoie, renown expert on learning disabilities, suggests taking a picture of your child’s clean room, enlarge it to an 11” by 14” glossy, and then give it to your child with the simple instruction, “Can you make your room look like this?” Once your child is successfully structuring physical environments for success, then move to social and cognitive tasks.
2. One key to a clean room or desk is the principle, “Less is more.” The less “stuff” a child has to organize, the simpler the organization process. Host a semi-annual cleaning of the closet or toy box with your child choosing 8 or 15 toys for delivery to the charity of their choice. Similarly, encourage a weekly purging of the classroom desk. Be careful, though, it is amazing what you might find!
3. Teach your child how to assess an environment for distractions. This is a two-step process. First, help your child understand his or her own “flavors of distractibility.” Are they distracted by any of the following stimuli: auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, hunger, stress / emotions, or weariness? If so, what are appropriate interventions to such distractions? Once the “flavors” and interventions are identified, then encourage active assessment and modifications of the environment with the goal of “staying on task.” You know this is working when your visually-distracted child tells you they asked the teacher to change his or her seating in the classroom because they were sitting next to the window and there was to much cool stuff going on outside.
4. The first step to sound decision-making is learning to make good choices. This is a learned skill and only accomplished through practice. Begin by presenting a menu of choices from which your child can pick. Then offer “option (e) none of the above” and allow your child to suggest his or her own “like” alternative. Similarly, involve them in setting guidelines, limits, and consequences. Parents often find children set stricter guidelines than adults.
5. Consider developing and utilizing a Family Constitution containing the following:
Preamble:
Article I:
Article II:
Article III:
Article IV:
Article V:
Article VI:
Signers |
Family Mission Statement
The Non-Negotiables (items related to safety, respect, etc.)
Duties and Responsibilities (for EACH family member and chore)
Family Meetings (how often, how to convene, etc.)
The Treasury (allowance, etc.)
Use of Behavioral Contracts (purpose, format, consequences, etc.)
The Amendment Process
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This type of document puts all of the family guidelines in writing and creates a structure under which many children with learning disabilities can thrive.
6. Teach problem-solving strategies in the area of social skills. Lavoie suggests conducting “social autopsies” at a meal-time reflecting on social interactions that went well and those that went poorly during the day. Likewise, he suggests utilizing the IDEA model for generating solutions to problems:
I
D
E
A
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Identify problem
Develop solutions
Establish best solution
Action plan
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7. Explore career options with your child including job shadowing and service learning. One of the realizations along the way is the adult workplace offers far more variety than the child’s workplace - school. It provides one more incentive to perseverance in a classroom environment that might not always be the “best fit.”
8. Fill the house with perseverance-related thoughts for the week such as:
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“The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it is open.”
“When the going gets tough, the tough KEEP going.”
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
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9. Learn to reframe key words or phrases in your own vocabulary. Then, encourage your child to do the same. In your vocabulary, reframe “just try harder” to “work smarter” and “problems” to “challenges” and “should have” to “next time I will.” In their vocabulary, “can’t” to “can” and “I’ll try” to “I will.”
LDA of America Mental Health Committee 2009
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