Once a young person with learning disabilities (LD) leaves school and enters the world of employment, he/she faces a new set of challenges. No longer can the young person count on the relative comfort of school settings where LD is understood and the necessary services planned for. Beyond the friendly confines of elementary and secondary school is a world in which the term "learning disabilities" may be familiar, but is not necessarily well understood.
Because employers often don’t understand LD and relevant laws, an individual with LD must understand and be able to articulate a number of issues related to his/her concept of "self." Such awareness is consistent with the expectations of adulthood, when one is supposed to become more independent and autonomous in thoughts and actions. To explain effectively the impact of her disability in an employment setting, a young person must understand and act on these three main competencies that relate to self: self-knowledge, self-disclosure, and self-advocacy.
