In my previous piece, I discuss how it appears that the vast majority of students with an NVLD and other disabilities still struggle to form friendships and mentors. Understandingly this greatly affects these students, their families, and their service providers as being connected is so important for their self-worth and overall happiness. However, it doesn’t need to be this way as discussed in Part A there are several ways they can and do from friends and mentors. It‘s just that IEP teams and the parents still hesitate to expand inclusion of the classroom. In addition, these students are still not taking the appropriate level of courses and despite popular belief, this really does limit the opportunities to form meaningful friends. So now I will add to my examples of how these students can and do form mentors and friendships.
Another example is having these students join a community service at their school. For my high school, it was called the Key Club which I was an active member of all through high school. One of the great things about joining an activity is that they meet pretty regularly so it does give the opportunity to not only give back to your community but from friends and mentors by joining. Given how each project/activity is done as a group and often for at least of couple hours there is a sense of togetherness formed. Also, in my personal opinion in community service clubs, you also find more caring and kinder teenagers which makes it easier for the individual with disabilities to be completely accepted. So this would be a great starting point to expand inclusion outside of the classroom as regardless of what the situation is being with the right group of people does bring stronger and more positive results.
The next example is to make sure you place students with an NVLD and other disabilities in the highest level of courses they can be in. One of the first reasons is these sections often include a better group of role models which often increases the student’s overall motivation levels. In addition, having a better group of role models often brings stronger peer support as they have a deeper understanding of your disability and can see who you truly are. For me personally this meant the students wanted to work with me for group projects and connect with me in class. For example, I always joined the discussions about sports as they could see it was a huge interest of mine. Also, having more opportunities to be challenged provides you with greater opportunities to form stronger connections with your teachers. I feel this way as the majority of my teachers who challenged me noticed my great work ethic and in turn, became mentors to me.
Personally I saw the negative effects of placing students with learning disabilities in all lowest-level classes during my high school years. Math was the only course I was placed in the lowest level which unfortunately I needed however our class was overall weak in Math so many of the students I was in the higher level courses were in it too. As a result, it was clear to me I had a stronger level of peer support and more opportunities to form mentors. A big reason this happened was that I was more included with my non-disabled friends in the higher-level courses. Regrettably, at my high school, the lowest level courses for English and History were just for resource room students and the student’s resource teacher taught these classes so students had fewer regular Ed teachers so they were more isolated which limited their opportunity to form friends and mentors. In addition, they took General science rather than BIology so their science courses included less of their classmates so it did make it harder to maintain friendships. That being said, the student has to put forth the effort to form friendships and mentors through their own dedication as it just doesn’t happen by showing up.
Overall it is my hope that more students with an NVLD and similar disabilities will be given more opportunities to form mentors and friendships. Through my observation and personal experience, the choices many make now aren’t the right ones for students with NVLD and similar disabilities so it is truly important for them to be part of a school and community activity(s) and to take courses with a great group of role models so they are able to form meaningful friendships and mentors. Without a doubt, I know it made a huge difference for me so I believe the same thing can happen for today’s youth with an NVLD and other disabilities.
Eileen
Eileen is a Project Social Ambassador and blogger for The NVLD Project. She loves helping others understand they can achieve their goals and dreams through hard work and dedication.
