Life Success
For Students With Learning Disabilities:
A Teacher Guide

Goal-Setting

Successful individuals set goals that are specific, yet flexible so that they can be adjusted to particular circumstances and situations.  These goals cover a number of areas, including education, employment, family, spiritual and personal development. In addition, the goals of successful persons with learning disabilities include a strategy to reach their goals.  That is, they have an understanding of the step-by-step process for obtaining goals.  One successful adult pursuing a career in the entertainment field stated:

“I always look at every move, like this particular move doing the video, as a stepping stone for the next project. That’s how I’m looking at it. As I said, the area I really want to move into is, I want to direct.”

Successful people also appear to have goals that are realistic and attainable.

“I’ll tell you something. I’m very realistic in terms of what I know I can do, what I possibly can do, and what I cannot do. That’s why I knew right off the bat that I was not going to be a doctor.”
31-year-old male

Many successful people with learning disabilities set at least tentative goals in adolescence, that provide direction and meaning to their lives.  A successful adult trained as a social worker said:

“When I was in late high school, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was given the opportunity to baby-sit, and in the twelfth grade I worked at a day camp. I discovered that I was interested in children and that this may turn out to be a profession. So there was kind of a break and something to shoot for; some sort of self-direction.”

While successful individuals with learning disabilities have concrete, realistic, and attainable goals, unsuccessful individuals often have vague, unrealistic, or grandiose goals that are not in line with their strengths, weaknesses, or special abilities.  For example, an unsuccessful person at 35 years of age had a goal to “become vice president of a company, any company,” yet had difficulty holding even entry-level jobs and had no management experience, while another with severe reading, writing, and organization difficulties wanted to become an executive secretary.  Not surprisingly, both have been unsuccessful at their attempts to reach these goals and experience frustration and stress as a result.

Next: Presence and Use of Support Systems