Students with Disabilities

Strengths

What are my strengths? What do I do well? These can be skills or traits. (For example, loyal friend, good athlete, thorough, good with numbers, artistic, computers.)

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Keep in mind that it is possible that you have a strength, but because your disabilities were not accommodated in the past, you don’t know it is there. (For example, you can’t spell, so you think you can’t write.) On the other hand, you need to be realistic. If you were always given lots of praise by those around you, you may believe you have a strength that you really do not possess.

Challenges

What challenges me? What do I find difficult and/or frustrating? What would I consider a “weakness”? (For example, waiting in line, using the phone, remembering things, reading, organizing things, writing, spelling, being neat, focusing, talking to people.)

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You can deal with these challenges in a number of ways. You can overcome them, or you can overlook them. To “overcome” them you must develop a plan and change your behavior. This takes a great deal of self-discipline and willpower. (Keep in mind that there are situations where your disability prevents you from overcoming a weakness.) If you “overlook” these areas, you accept yourself the way you are and find ways to use your strengths instead.

Diagnosis/Assessing the Disability

What is my disability? What does that mean? What impact could/does it have on my academic, career, or social life?

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