Resilience and the Child with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

In this chapter we address how the factors of risk and resilience affect children with learning disabilities. Because learning disabilities encompass varied disorders associated primarily with difficulty learning, and due to the fact that time spent in school is a substantial part of the day, our central focus is upon children attending school. Both positive and negative school experiences shape children's self-perceptions and contribute to their academic self-concepts. Unfortunately, for many children with learning disabilities, their lowered academic self-perceptions are influenced by difficulties in both the academic and social aspects of school (Vaughn & Elbaum, 1999). In the first part of this chapter, we discuss how self-perception and, subsequently, resilience are shaped by school experiences. In the second part, we review various ways to help children with learning disabilities increase their resiliency and preserve their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.