Guiding Teens with Learning Disabilities: Navigating the Transition from High School to Adulthood

By Loring C. Brinckerhoff and Arlyn Roffman

Parents of teens with learning disabilities face a wide range of questions and concerns regarding the education of their children. Periods of transition, particularly the movement through high school... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375764968
• ISBN13: 9780375764967
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Princeton Review
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.7" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Guiding teens with learning disabilities

Excellent source for parents of teens transitioning into adulthood and independence. Great tips for school meetings.

A must have for any educator in charge of these special needs students

Learning Disabilities do not have to be a giant neon sign blinking "I can't" over ones head - they can be overcome just like any other disability. "Guiding Teens with Learning Disabilities: Navigating the Transition from High School to Adulthood" is a comprehensive guide for guidance counselors and others responsible for assisting these individuals onto the next stages of their life. Advice on understanding the transition planning process under the IDEA of 2004, how to accept these individuals more, and how to prepare them for their life long careers. "Guiding Teens with Learning Disabilities: Navigating the Transition from High School to Adulthood" is a must have for any educator in charge of these special needs students and for community library education shelves.

A clear roadmap for supporting your ld teen

Dr. Roffman has thankfully written exactly the guide book I needed as my Down Syndrome son turned 16. As a parent, I had no training in how to think about transitioning my son to adulthood. He has been in an inclusion school environment all his life, from infant day care to high school. But the transition to the wide-open space of adulthood, when the structures of schooling were gone, was a complete mystery to me. How could I prepare? How could my son be best prepared during his final few years of secondary education? Roffman's guide is a step-by-step roadmap for parents, of what to do, what to ask, who to ask, and when to ask. It is also useful for anyone on the service side of transitioning learning disabled teens. The book seems most specifically addressed to the parents and service providers of children with more common learning disabilities than Down Syndrome. Yet it helped me to raise my hopes and standards of what to expect for outcomes of my son's transition as well. For example, with proper preparation, perhaps my son could attend a community college or build a more advanced skill set toward future employment than I was thinking previously. When I attended his 10th grade IEP review meeting, I felt completely prepared, and for the first time, I knew what I wanted to have happen during the meeting, and it did! This book made the difference. I have recommended Roffman's book to everyone in our school district's SPED PAC, to those who work with my son in the high school, and to members of the school committee. I no longer feel like "the blind leading the blind." Instead, I feel confident that I will be able to support my son's transition with confidence, even if I don't know all the answers yet. Now I know how to ask the questions, of both my son and his service providers, in time for us to figure out the best answers together. If you are parenting a learning disabled teen, or providing services for ld teens, I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. You'll be glad that you did.

Well Organized, Practical, a Reference, not a story book.

This book is organized well. It explains what you need to do in a step by step fashion. It has tables, and checklists. It pulls in essential information that you need in reference like style that is easy to go back to. Other books on this topic, which I've obtained, review, and returned because they read like a story book because they were difficult to reference later on. This one is not a story book, by an emotional author. Its written with facts, objective recommendation and suggestions that you can apply to your own situation as you see fit or as you need.

A valuable contribution!

This is a concise, well-written, very understandable guidebook for parents and teens with LD facing a challenging time in their lives. Most delightfully, this book is very positive (while realistic) in its tone and suggestions. For a small book, it is simply packed with practical strategies (with emphatic finger-pointing bullets!) and guidance. The timetable is an easy to use resource for those with attention challenges! Dr. Roffman intersperses case vignettes to show the human side of these issues, and she shows what the individuals can and did do to deal with the challenges. Very good role models for success! All in all, an excellent book. I'll keep this copy on hand to show parents and will certainly recommend it to staff and patients. It's a must read roadmap for families who find themselves at this intersection. Jerome J. Schultz, Ph.D. Clinical Neuropsychologist Director, Center for Child and Adolescent Development Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School