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Rick Lavoie

Designing A Dossier -- An Instruction Book For Your Child

November 2007

A father of a special needs child once said to me, "You know, when you buy a new cell phone, computer, or
lawn mower, you are given an instruction booklet to help you prevent and solve problems. It's too bad that kids
don't come with instructions."

Well, maybe they should. If you are the parent of a child with learning problems, you realize that there are
innumerable adults who pass through your child's life-babysitters, coaches, teachers, church personnel, bus
drivers, school support staff, dentists, barbers, neighbors, and relatives. Most of these people are unfamiliar with
learning disorders and, certainly, are not aware of your child's unique pattern of strengths, affinities, needs, and
limitations. It is in the best interest of the child to provide those adults with some basic information that will help
them better understand the child and his behavior. Further, this information can be used to generate techniques
and strategies to monitor and improve the child's behavior and performance in a variety of settings. It also
serves to shorten the amount of time that the adult will need to get to know your child.

President Ronald Reagan was governor of California for many years before entering the White House. As a result
he had developed a number of very effective management strategies. He often cautioned his cabinet members
and their subordinates: "Don't bring me problems… bring me solutions."

Instead of entering the Oval Office and announcing, "Mr. President, we have a problem with House Bill number
96-182," they would simultaneously identify the problem and present several possible solutions that could be
applied to the situation. "Mr. President, we have a problem with House Bill number 96-182. We could withdraw
the bill from consideration, attach the substance of the bill to House Bill number 96-189, or assist the House
leadership in amending the bill and resubmitting it. Which solution do you think we should try?"

As parents of children with learning problems, you would be well advised to apply Reagan's problem-solving
strategy when dealing with the many adults who cross your child's path. Rather than bombarding them with
information related solely to the child's weaknesses and needs, also provide them with strategies and
approaches that have been shown to be effective for your child. Believe me, this input will be welcomed and
much appreciated.

One of the most effective ways to provide this information is to develop and distribute a dossier. This is similar
to the packet of information that a newly arriving diplomat presents to the leaders of the government of his host
country. This brief (one to three pages) document provides data on the child's disorder but also offers
suggestions that the adult can use to enhance the child's progress and performance. This document may even
be helpful for the teachers who deal with your child every day, because it provides useful information that may
not appear in the child's school records.

A well-designed dossier consists of seven sections:

• Introduction

• Diagnostic data

• Weaknesses

• Strengths

• Interests

• Supplemental personal information

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• Suggested strategies

The introduction section should include some very basic data about your child and an expression of your
appreciation and your willingness to assist the adult in any way. Include contact information and other basic
data.

The diagnostic data should include a layman's overview of the child's diagnosis, with a brief explanation of the
nature and needs of children with that particular problem. You will also want to address any common
misconceptions that may exist regarding the disorder.

The section on weaknesses should list specific skills and activities that will present difficulty for the child. A brief
explanation of the connection between the child's difficulty and her diagnosis may be helpful.

The section outlining strengths should emphasize the behavioral, social, and academic areas in which the child is
successful. Be careful not to overstate her strengths, and remind the reader that these areas are "relative
strengths" when compared and contrasted to her needs and areas of weakness.

In the section about the child's interests, outline the child's affinities and hobbies. This information enables the
adult to view your child as multidimensional, and may enable him to use your child's interests in the activities
that he conducts.

I refer to the supplemental personal information as the "You oughta know . . ." section. Every child has had
positive or negative life experiences that may impact upon his day-to-day performance. In order for an adult to
fully understand the child and her behavior, it is useful that he have this information that will enable him to view
her behavior within a different context.

To help parents better understand the form and function of a dossier, I have designed one for a fictitious child.

The suggested strategies section should provide specific techniques that have been proven to be effective with
the child in the past. The strategies should be explained in easy-to-understand language.

Introduction
Good day!
Drew is a ten-year-old student who has recently enrolled in your program. Although I am obviously biased, I feel
that you will find him to be quite cooperative and eager to please. He is a diligent worker and is always willing to
assist others whenever possible. His family and I greatly appreciate your working with him and are particularly
grateful for your willingness to read this letter.

Diagnostic Data
Drew has been diagnosed with nonverbal learning disabilities and auditory processing deficits. Although neither
of these disorders affects his outward physical appearance, they will impact upon his ability to participate in your
program, follow oral direction, and interact with others. In order to better understand and interpret Drew's
behavior, it is important that you have some knowledge of these disorders.

A nonverbal learning disability can be a puzzling and complex disorder. The label is, as you will see when you
meet Drew, a bit of a misnomer. Drew is highly verbal with a wide, expansive vocabulary. The disorder does not
impact his ability to communicate verbally, but it will have a marked effect on his ability to function in your
program. In fact, his ability to converse and discuss with adults often masks his confusion in social and academic
settings. He has great difficulty with situations involving spatial skills, will often misjudge distances, and has a
poor sense of direction.

The auditory processing disorder will also serve to complicate and compromise his involvement. It is important to
recognize that Drew does not suffer from a hearing loss, per se. Rather, the message that enters his ears gets
scrambled in some way, and as a result, there are subtle differences between what is said and what he actually
hears. For example, he might hear the sentence "Matt and Drew went to town" as "Matt, Andrew went down."
Of course, this makes it difficult for him to understand and follow verbal directions.

This disorder makes it difficult for Drew to process verbal language. In order to better explain Drew's difficulties,
an analogy might be useful.

Have you ever gone into a restaurant or store where the waiter or clerk has a heavy foreign accent? As you
attempt to converse with him, you frequently miss words that he says, and must interpret his meaning. You find

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this difficult, frustrating . . . and exhausting. This is very similar to the experience that Drew has with every
conversation with his peers, family, and teachers.

Weaknesses

• Moderate difficulty with balance and coordination

• Difficulty understanding and following directions

• Difficulty reading facial expressions, body language, and moods of others

• Very naive; gullible; easily manipulated by peers

• Works slowly and deliberately

• Easily distracted by background noise

• May have high startle response to loud or unexpected noise

Strengths

• Excellent reader (but may not comprehend all that he reads)

• Excellent rote memory (again, may have some difficulty understanding the material)

• Rich, expansive vocabulary and verbal skills

• Very kind and empathetic; generous

• Eager to please adults

Interests

• Major League Baseball (Red Sox)

• Board games involving trivia and strategy

• Music (his uncle plays keyboards in a seventies nostalgia band, and Drew has a particular interest in
music from that era)

• Collects sports memorabilia

Supplemental Personal Information

• Drew was bullied and rejected at his previous school and is easily intimidated by others. He becomes very
quiet and withdrawn when he is fearful.

• His grandfather died suddenly last month. They were very close and Drew continues to have difficulty
dealing with this. He may try to engage you in conversation about his grandfather.

• Drew recently began horseback riding lessons and he is very proud of his progress in this area.

• Drew is the youngest of three brothers. His siblings are very athletic and accomplished in sports. Drew
feels very inferior in this area.

Suggested Strategies
Drew responds well to a signal or a gesture as a cue to modify or adjust his behavior. For example, when he
needs to lower the volume of his voice, I get his attention and wink at him. This signal tells him to lower his
voice but is not embarrassing for him in front of others. You may want to arrange some signals to use with him
if he begins to behave inappropriately or manifest an annoying behavior.

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Drew has difficulty making transitions from one location to another, or even from one activity to another. He
handles these transitions far more effectively if he is provided with a warning or a heads-up a few minutes
before the transition is to occur. ("Drew, you have about five minutes to work on your project and then we are
all going outside for a demonstration.") Because of past negative relationships with teachers, Drew is particularly
sensitive to scolding or reprimanding and often shuts down when scolded in public. We find it helpful to
emphasize that we are upset with his behavior-not upset with him. The behavior is bad-not Drew.

Drew has become quite adept at acting like he understands directions or instructions when, in actuality, he does
not. He may make eye contact with you and nod knowingly. We find it useful to have Drew repeat the
instruction back to us before he begins the task, in order to ensure that he truly understands.

Drew's verbal responses to others are often curt and can be interpreted as rude or dismissive. When he does
this, please intervene and provide him with a more appropriate response.

Again, many thanks for your help. We greatly appreciate your assistance.

Best,
Drew's Dad

From THE MOTIVATION BREAKTHROUGH by Richard Lavoie. Copyright © 2007 by Richard Lavoie. Reprinted by
permission of Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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©2008 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

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