Taking Control into your own Hands

By: Marlie Cappel

Agenda

• Who am I• What is my disability• How was it diagnosed• Future plans with a learning disability• Job experience• Difficulties experienced in primary school and high

school• What I did as a result of my experiences• Prosthetics and orthotics program • Chiropody• Strategies for job search

Who am I?

• 24 year old female in my final year of chiropody

• I have always had difficulties in school and as a result I have had to work harder and for more hours then my peers

• Throughout the presentation I will explain how I got to know myself and where my strengths would fit in the working world

My disability

• I was tested in April of 1992 at my parent’s request

• My test results fell within the average range in:– Intelligence– Visual memory– Fine motor– Expressive and receptive language

My disability

• My Strengths– Perceptual

organizational abilities

• My weaknesses– Distractibility

– Short attention span

– Weak memory

– Poor auditory analytic skills

– Over-focusing perfectionist stile

– Processing speed skills

How was I diagnosed

• The first signs of my disability were seen only by my parents. My teachers did not agree with my parents’ observations but my parents persisted in their search for answers and support– Signs included not being able to read at age appropriate

stages

• In grade two I was transferred from a French immersion to an English school

• My parents had me tested by a psychologist who diagnosed me with a learning disability

Future plans with a Learning disability

• People with learning disabilities usually have extreme strengths and extreme weaknesses

• The key to success is to learn to use the extreme strengths to your advantage and find a career that fits – Ex. Teaching skiing & swimming

Job experience

• Working has always been very important to me– Improved my self esteem

• My jobs included working with children with disabilities, teaching alpine skiing and swimming– While looking for jobs it was important for me to

find something that was always changing and had a lot of interaction and that was very hands on

Difficulties experienced in primary school and high school

• There were many experiences that made me feel isolated and undermined my confidence – Going for help and being told that my work is

at a level 5 grades under where I was– Being told not to bother trying because I was

not going to get through high school

What I did as a result of my experiences

• All the discouraging comments caused me to work harder and prove to everyone that I could do it

• I went to many after school tutors to help me with reading and comprehension

• I learned that repetition, having many breaks and having people test me are the most successful ways for me to study– This makes it very time consuming, making me have to

work harder then many of my peers

• Most importantly I learned how to ask for help

Prosthetics and Orthotics Technical Program

• After being at university for 2 weeks both my parents and I saw that it was not a good fit– I transferred into a program that was hands-on

and visual– It focused a lot on anatomy and physics

• There was a small class and a lot of individual time

Chiropody

• I heard about this profession after working for a year

• My background in O & P would end up being a great asset– Anatomy and biomechanics

• This profession would include a great hands-on future and ability to help people

Chiropody

• Allows for many different areas of work– This is helpful for students with learning disabilities

• There are jobs working in hospitals, private clinics and a lot of emphasis is placed on opening your own business

• Opening my own business will provide me with a strong sense of personal achievement and independence

Chiropody

• I am currently in my 3rd year of school studying to become a Chiropodist

• Chiropody (the science of foot care) is an excellent career choice for individuals with strong interpersonal, verbal, and hands-on abilities

• In the final year of the program, we work as interns which allows us to develop practical, hands on skills including incorporating what we have learned in the formal academic setting

Strategies for job search

• As a person with a learning disability you have to work harder to get where you want to go– But you get to know your strengths and weaknesses and

use those to your advantage

• Persistence is a very important quality to emphasize when having a learning disability– When applying to a job you have to stress your ability

to work hard, your strengths and your passion for what you are doing

Strategies for job search

• Don’t think that something that is tough in the beginning, won’t be rewarding in the end– Make sure it is something that you enjoy

• I have been shot down in the past and will probably be shot down in the future, but most important is that I have to continue to pursue my dreams to get where I want to go

THANK YOU

Questions???