How can students with learning disabilities and ADHD discover their strengths?

Encourage students to see their “Islands of Competence” where they excel above others (Brooks).

Not even a hop on the Wayback Machine…

Boy, aren’t I clever.  “I’m going to use video games to teach Parabolic Functions.  There are millions of YouTube videos.  What is the probability that I can find the perfect one in less than an hour?”  As it turns out…zero!  

I found the perfect Angry Birds video.  It highlighted the game and had lecture.  I didn’t get it.  Was the goal to hit stuff or jump over it.  Just like my kids, “This is stupid.”  I chose Mario Brothers.  Then I went  back to reading on my Blackberry PlayBook.

I asked a student to explain Angry Birds to me.  It’s still silly, but now I can use the video for next week’s lesson.

Students with learning disabilities and ADHD face many challenges and setbacks that can damage their self-esteem (Gordon).  It is our role as caretakers to harness their strengths to foster their confidence in strengths to equip them to confront challenges.

Did you laugh at me?  Think about it…