By Dale S. Brown
Adapted from an article that originally appeared in LDA's "Newsbriefs."
Someday your learning disabled child will have to find a job if
he is to become self-supporting. Hopefully, this work will challenge
him and contribute to the economy. It's hard for parents to focus
on their child's future work when simply to get him an education
is such a struggle. Yet, school years usually make up less than
a third of his life. He will "make it or break it" according
to his ability to work. And many people are successful in the "real
world" who have failed in school.
This article will discuss how you can help your child become a
satisfied and valuable employee by teaching him to:
- Develop the values and skills of a good worker.
- Avoid the common pitfalls of learning disabled youth.
- Learn job-related skills at home.
Teach Your Child to Become a Successful Worker
Teach your child to feel good about work. As your child achieves
in school, at play, and at home, praise him. Let him brag. When
he produces something or finishes a task, encourage him to take
a moment and feel pride. Inner pride in a job well done should become
its own reward.
Make him a productive part of the household. Don't relegate him
to traditional children's chores of washing dishes and taking out
the garbage. Give him more challenging tasks, such as cooking simple
meals, folding laundry, shopping, or helping with simple repairs.
Of course, be sure the jobs are not too difficult for him.
Show pride in your own job. Your children should understand that
you are earning the money the family needs for survival. Let them
know what you do. If possible, let them visit you. One cashier always
has her husband bring the children shopping and is sure to ring
up their groceries. A lawyer took his son to his office one weekend
and showed his diplomas and awards. A computer programmer sat his
daughter down at the computer and showed her how he "told the
computer what to do." A political activist regularly takes
his children to speeches. If a visit is impossible, consider bringing
home samples of what you do. Work should be a frequent topic of
conversation in your house. Discuss your job at dinner and ask your
children to talk about their daily achievements. Bring your own
work home and do it while your child is doing homework.
Teach them that all work is important. No job is below them or
above them; provided they find it challenging and can do it well.
Point out other people working. Arrange for your family to tour
a factory. As you pass a home or office being constructed, let them
watch the builders. Also, let them be aware of the lawyers, doctors,
teachers, plumbers, repair people and other workers the family contacts.
When you are inconvenienced by sloppy work, let your child know.
For example, one father had to take his new car in to the shop to
be repaired. The transmission was built in a shoddy way. "I
don't even know the person who made it," he told his daughter,
"but someone can put a screw in wrong, and now we can't use
the car for a week." These relationships are not obvious to
your child, because most of our goods are produced by strangers.
As you show your child the world of work, explain how what he learns
in school will help him someday. For example, when you eat in a
restaurant, show him how the waitress has to add up the check. Point
out the cash registers, which require elementary math to operate.
Point to the people on the bus who are reading papers which they
will probably use on the job. Tell him that doctors, lawyers, policemen,
and other professional workers have to go to school for a long time
and usually need to be able to read.
Here are some areas where learning-disabled children
need particular help:
Remediation of Specific Disabilities
Ameliorate their disabilities as much as possible. Provide therapy
to help them see and hear more accurately, move efficiently, feel
comfortable in their space, and use their minds in an organized
way. Educational therapy, sensory-integrative therapy, and other
treatments may not immediately improve academic performance. But
if the disabilities themselves become less severe, your child will
have an easier future. Most therapies are more efficient at an early
age. Although no one "outgrows" these disabilities, they
can be overcome through hard work and help from others.
Education: Help your child go as far as possible
in school. Today, jobs require more and more credentials. You may
help your child choose courses and prioritize homework according
to the knowledge that is most necessary in the work world. For example,
memorizing the times tables is more important than learning the
capitals of each state. Computer literacy is essential. Get your
child a computer if possible. If it is not possible, most libraries
allow Internet access.
Social Skills are a symptom of learning disabilities
for many children. Help your child interpret social situations and
get along with others.
Time is important in the world of work. Many learning
disabled children don't feel the passage of time in a normal way.
Talk about the time of day in your conversations. Ask her if it's
morning, afternoon, or evening. Give her ten minutes' warning before
going somewhere and then give five minutes' warning. Ask her to
tell you when half an hour is up so you know when to turn off the
roast beef. Teach awareness of various rates of speed. When is she
walking quickly? When is she walking slowly? As she grows older,
have her take more responsibility for finishing tasks and getting
to places on time. High school students should be able to awaken
independently with an alarm clock. Getting to work on time is essential
for almost every job
Transportation. Ability to get from home to work
is important in most jobs. Encourage your child to use public transportation
if it's available. Teach him to drive, but keep in mind that it
takes many learning disabled people extra time and effort to learn.
If there is no public transportation and your child cannot drive,
consider moving to a location where your child can be independent.
Encouragement of abilities: The most important and
most neglected areas for learning disabled children is their abilities.
Help your child find his strengths. What is he really good at? What
does he enjoy doing?
When you and your child find an interesting talent, support your
child in developing it. Encourage her to feel inner pride about
that talent. It's worth the same time and effort to encourage the
strengths as it is to remediate the handicaps. For instance, one
learning disabled boy became very interested in riding horses. His
parents let him take riding lessons and helped him to enter horseshows.
A learning disabled teenager was interested in science and electronics.
The parent went to a local technical school and recruited a student
to help their son develop a "robot" that he showed at
the science fair. The match-up was successful, and the boy won an
honorable mention.
Some parents have encouraged their children to give speeches about
overcoming their learning disabilities. Public recognition reinforces
the strengths and helps your child develop social skills because
people will reach out to a successful girl or boy.
In short, there are three important steps to helping children get
ready for work. First, teach them about the working world and the
skills they will need there. Second, help them overcome any areas
of weakness that are presented by their learning disabilities. And
third, encourage their strengths, for it is their strengths that
they will use for their future occupation.
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