Page 134 - Keys to College Success

your major in a workplace setting. You might even discover you don’t have an interest
in a career in that area and need to switch majors.

Key 4.7 links majors and internships to the eight intelligences. This list is by no

means complete; rather, it represents only a fraction of the available opportunities.
Use what you see here to inspire thought and spur investigation. If something from
this list or elsewhere interests you, consider looking for an opportunity to “shadow”
someone (follow the individual for a day to see what he or she does) to see if you
might want to commit to an internship or major.
Although all students have areas of strength and weakness, some challenges are
more significant and are diagnosed as learning disabilities. Focused assistance can
help students with learning disabilities to manage their conditions and succeed Personality and Learning Preferences
in school.

HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY AND
manage learning disabilities?

Some learning disabilities cause reading problems, some produce difficulties in
math, some cause issues that arise when working with others, and some make it diffi-
cult for students to process the language they hear. The following will help you under-
stand learning disabilities as well as the tools people use to manage them.

Identifying a Learning Disability

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) states that learning disabilities:
7
■ Are neurological disorders that interfere with one’s ability to store, process, and
produce information
■ Do not including mental retardation, autism, behavioral disorders, impaired vision,

hearing loss, or other physical disabilities
■ Do not include attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disor-

der, although these problems may accompany learning disabilities 8
■ Often run in families and are lifelong conditions, although specific strategies
can help people with learning disabilities manage and even overcome areas
of challenge
How can you determine whether you should be evaluated for a learning disability?
According to the NCLD, persistent problems in any of the following areas may indicate
a problem: 9

■ Reading or reading comprehension

■ Math calculations or understanding language and abstract concepts

■ Social skills or interpreting social cues

■ Following a schedule, being on time, meeting deadlines

■ Reading or following maps
■ Balancing a checkbook

■ Following directions, especially on multistep tasks

■ Understanding spoken language
■ Writing, sentence structure, spelling, and organizing written work

.

Details on specific learning disabilities appear in Key 4.8 For an evaluation, contact

your school’s learning center, disability office, or student health center for a referral to a
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