Accepting the New Me: A Group for High School Students with Newly Diagnosed Learning

Disabilities

Introduction
A group counseling process provides students with the opportunity to grow, maximize
potential, and develop a sense of understanding when it comes to who they are and why they are
the way that they are. Group counseling is a process which can help students feel a sense of
normalization and feel as though they are not alone in their issues and be able to relate to others.
Group processes also help students by providing them with the opportunity to help other students
grow and maximize the potential of the other group members as well.

Purpose
The purpose of this group will be to provide support and education to students with newly
diagnosed learning disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines an
individual with a disability as a person who: (1) has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities; Or (2) has a record of such an impairment;
Or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. The population for this group will consist of
individuals who have been recently diagnosed with a learning disability within the last 12
months. The objective of this group is to help group members adapt to their official diagnosis
and to know how to reach levels of achievement that they desire. Having a group that is cohesive
will help steer the group members down the path of acceptance and help them to embrace their
full potential as an individual with a learning disability. The role of the group members will be to
actively listen to each other and show their understanding while also sharing their stories and
troubles/successes. The role of the group leader will be to facilitate a warm and welcoming
environment and provide an open place for individuals to share their thoughts, feelings, and
experiences, as well as using a transtheoretical theoretical orientation and work with the group
on developing this acceptance. The group members will be emotionally supported and will be
taught skills to cope with the label of being a person with a learning disability. Students will
learn how to be a self-advocate and achieve success. Group members will be referred to the
group leader by the school counselor, school social worker, and any outside mental health
professionals. Confidentiality is of vital importance in any group setting and will be equally
important for this group. Confidentiality will be discussed with each group member in their
individual intake sessions. It will also be discussed in the first session (and briefly stated in each
session) and the group members will each sign a confidentiality contract that they will create
themselves as a group during the first session.

Rationale
This group will be a process group for individuals with newly diagnosed learning disabilities. A
learning disability is a condition which causes difficulties with acquiring skills and knowledge.
There are many issues that students with disabilities or special needs face when they develop a
learning disability. For students with newly diagnosed disabilities, there may be a state of
confusion or mixed emotions about being identified as an individual with a disability. These
difficulties may include distractibility, hyperactivity, emotional complications, low self-esteem,
aggressive behavior, and other socially unacceptable behaviors (Stephens et al., 2010). A
students self-perception can be impacted based on the emotional difficulties and interpersonal
difficulties that others perceive them to have. Students with learning disabilities are more likely
to experience social failures and struggle with their peer relationships than students without
learning disabilities. If a student has recently been diagnosed and identified as a person with a
learning disability, it may lead to these behaviors where they may act out, become socially
stigmatized, or feel emotionally down.
According to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, children with disabilities
must have an individualized education plan (IEP). The IEP calls for support services, when
appropriate, including counseling (Bragg, & Brown, 1992, p. 292). Each students with any type
of disability with an IEP has the right to have counseling services provided to them. School
counselors (or social workers) have the responsibility of working with these students and be a
supportive source for these students to confide in about any issues in their lives and also related
to their disabilities. Unfortunately with the schedules that students have being mostly full (in
many cases) other than a students lunch period, there are not many times available for a school
counselor to pull a student in for individual counseling to help them with these issues. Group
counseling is beneficial for this issue because groups help counselors meet the needs of larger
numbers of students. Group counseling provides school counselors accommodate and meet the
needs of more students because they would be providing counseling services to more students at
once (Stephens, Jain, & Kim, 2010). This ensures that school counselors are really being able to
make sure that each student gets the support they they need and are not neglected by the
limitations of school schedules. School counselors can use the group time to work with each
student and to have the students work with and help each other develop a sense of normality.
Placing students who have recently been diagnosed with a learning disability into a group
could be beneficial in many ways. Prater, Serna, & Nakamura (1999) discuss how students with
disabilities can be very effective peer teachers while at the same time learning from other
students. According to Orzek (1984), a group for students with learning disabilities could show
other students that they are not alone and that they have problems that other students are also
experiencing. A process group for these students may act as an opportunity for students to
compare and contrast their experiences with each other and help each other through the process
of learning about themselves as an individual with a learning disability. Students with learning
disabilities can work together as a group and be role models for each other so that each students
knows that he or she is not alone with having this disability. For students who may be in denial
about having a learning disability, groups may help them to come to the realization that the
disability does exist in their lives. A group containing members who are students with learning
disabilities may increase self-awareness by providing the chance for students to give and receive
feedback while also testing their own perceptions on other students with learning disabilities
(Berg, & Wages, 1982). The ability for students to become aware of their disability and any
issues that the disability has on their lives is important for the students. Group counseling
provides students with feeling cared and receiving the help that they want or need but may not
otherwise have the opportunity to have. Groups provide students with learning disabilities to take
on the role of a helper and find ways to help other students with any issues that they may have in
relation to their disability. With every disability, there is potential stigma that surrounds it. There
is always the chance of there being potential stigma that these students have with being learning
disabled. Some students may be apprehensive to be in such a group with others with learning
disabilities because of this stigma.
Overall, students with learning disabilities, especially newly diagnosed learning
disabilities are required to have access to counseling services in the school system with their
individualized education plan (IEP). School counselors unfortunately do not have many
opportunities throughout any given week to work with a high amount of students individually.
Students with newly diagnosed learning disabilities may have behavioral or emotional issues
related to the label of having a disability and may feel a bit lost or confused about who they are
due to this disability label. Students may act as helpers and provide insight to other students
within a process group. In a group setting, students with learning disabilities can confide in each
other, see that they are not alone while learning from each other, and feel comfortable in a
friendly environment. This group setting allows for the students to learn from each other while
also helping the school counselor in meeting more students needs and to help the school
counselor accommodate more students with counseling services.

Theoretical Orientation
The transtheoretical model of change is a theoretical approach which articulates
principles which are applicable across many different theoretical boundaries (Prochaska &
Velicer, 1997). This approach believes that change in behavior is a complex transition and no
single theoretical approach could begin to address all of the complexities that facilitate change.
The transtheoretical approach is composed of five stages of change including Precontemplation,
Contemplation, Preparation, Action, and Maintenance (Parsons, 2009). A central construct of the
transtheoretical model is that of the concept of change as following predictable and consecutive
stages. Parsons (2009) mentions that counselors who utilize the transtheoretical model tend to
see changes in student behavior progress gradually. Students may start out uninterested, unaware
of any issue, or unwilling to work with a counselor and make change to a position where he or
she starts to consider the need of change. Only after this will the student be able to decided to
make the change and start to prepare for the change. This theoretical approach is ideal for this
process group because each student may be in a different stage of change.

Goals and Objectives
The overall goals and objective for this group consist of providing a supportive,
judgment-free, confidential environment for the students with newly diagnosed learning
disabilities to share their experiences and feelings. The environment will be open for the students
to be able to freely express their feelings and thoughts and express emotions in a healthy way.
The students will learn how to stay on the path to achieve academic, personal/social, career
success and learn how to cope with their disability and be successful. In achieving these goals,
students will be able to develop self-awareness, self-acceptance, and social interactions that they
may not otherwise be able to develop. Students will learn that the term disability does not label
who they are as a person and does not impact their ability to be successful and happy. Students
will explore their experience of what it means to be an individual with a learning disability and
the other emotions they experience when it comes to their disability. Students will also learn and
practice ways to cope with their diagnosis and identifying as an individual with a learning
disability. The group will also explore relaxation techniques to use when they feel themselves
becoming anxious or upset.

Practical Considerations
The group will consist of 4-10 students including both males and females. If more than
10 students are identified as good candidates for the group, a second group will be developed.
The group will meet one day per week for two marking periods. The group will meet in the
school counselors conference room in the guidance office of the school. Due to the restricted
amount of time that students have in their schedules, this group will meet during lunch and will
be approximately 35-40 minutes for each group session. This group will be an open group where
students can become a member of the group at any time and not just in the beginning of the
process group. This group will also be homogeneous in that all group members will be students
who have been diagnosed with a learning disability within the last 12 months.The group will
have one facilitator (a school counselor). If a second (or third) group needs to be developed,
another school counselor will be available for that group.
Students will be recruited for this group by the school psychologist, school counselor,
and outside mental health professionals. After a student has been tested and classified as an
individual with a learning disability, the school psychologist will refer the students to the
facilitator of the group or the students school counselor. These students will be interviewed to
determine if they are a good candidate for the group. Parents or guardians of the students will
then be contacted to inform them of the group and its goals and to obtain consent to their child
participating in the group. Students will not be included in the group is they have continually
shown that they are unable to work appropriately in a group setting. The school counselor with
consult with teachers, staff, and parents to consult about behavior to see if the student would be a
good candidate for the group. Students will be excluded from the group if they have had violent
outbursts with other students or faculty in the past two years.

Procedures
This group will be an open group where students can join as members at any point in
time. The group will have 20 sessions over the course of two school marking periods. Each
group meeting will be structured in a similar manner, but will vary based on the activities and
discussions and based on the development of the group. The first session of the group will
consist of introductions to help the students to feel acquainted with each other. The group
facilitator will first introduce his/herself to the group and will take some time to explain the
groups purpose. There will be an icebreaker activity to help the students feel a little more
comfortable in talking about themselves with the other students feel a little more comfortable in
talking about themselves with the other students. After the icebreaker activity, the group will
work together with the facilitator to come up with rules of the group, and expectations and roles
of the group members.
The following sessions will be similarly structured. The group will begin with the
facilitator providing the students with information about learning disabilities and hearing any
questions that the students may have. This should take around 12-15 minutes. Following this will
be a very short activity that makes them start to think about and process their emotions regarding
the topic.This activity should take about 5 minutes. The group will then be open to hearing about
experiences or concerns that the group members have. The group will work together for around
15 minutes to help each other find coping strategies for their discomfort in being labeled as an
individual with a learning disability. There will then be a three to five minute closing to the
session where discussions and progress of the group will be wrapped up.
Half way through the first marking period, students who were diagnosed with a learning
disability in previous years and have been successful in accepting it will come to speak to the
group members and answer any questions that they may have. In terms of confidentiality, the
students who come to speak to the group will be given the same contract that enforces and
appreciates confidentiality and will be asked to keep everything that is said in the group
confidential. The students who speak with the group will meet with the group facilitator
individually prior to working with the group so that the facilitator may briefly train the individual
on how to work with and speak to the students in the group. In this particular group session
where a student will come to speak to the group about adjusting to life as an individual who is
diagnosed with a learning disability, the first five minutes of the session will consist of
introductions where the students introduce themselves and the individual who is visiting the
group will introduce his or herself as well. The next 10 minutes of the session will be the guest
speaker discussing with the group his or her own personal experiences in being diagnosed with a
learning disability and how he or she came to cope with the label of being learning disabled. The
remaining time of the group will consist of discussion amongst the group members and the
speaker and showing the students in the group how they may relate to the guest speaker and
share their own experiences. This will help the students to see how other students accept their
disability and how they strive forward in life. This process will be repeated again half way
through the second marking period as well.
As this group will only meet for 20 sessions, it is important to discuss the idea of
termination with the students prior to the last group session. Termination will be discussed
during the individual intake sessions with each student, during the first meeting, and during the
tenth group session. Students will be reminded of this to explore the progress they have made
towards accepting their disability and coping with this. The school counselor will need to remain
aware of the effects that termination may have on each student and also the group as a whole.

Means of Evaluation

For this group, students will complete a questionnaire during the individual intake session
(as a pretest) before the group begins. This questionnaire will consist of questions asking each
student about personal experiences as being an individual who was diagnosed with a learning
disability. There will also be questions that will show each students understanding of what it
means to have a learning disability. A few examples of questions on this questionnaire are What
was your initial reaction when you were told that you had been diagnosed with a learning
disability? and What does it mean to have a learning disability?. These questions will help the
school counselor to develop an understanding of how the students view themselves and their
feelings while also getting them to start brainstorming how they feel about their disability. This
will allow the school counselor to have a baseline for the students emotions and thoughts on
being an individual who is diagnosed with a learning disability. Having the students fill out the
questionnaire before the group process begins and again after the group will allow the school
counselor to see what changes have occurred within the students and what each student has taken
from the group. This will also allow the school counselor to see how effective the group has been
in the students lives and if most of the students have seen a positive change in their lives. This
will also allow the school counselor to see if the group is something that should be conducted
again in the future and what potential changes should be made to it. During the process group,
the students will be asked to share with the group what they are getting out of the group (or not
getting out of the group). The students will fill out a few open ended questions anonymously.
These questions will ask the students if they believe they are gaining anything from the group
and what they are learning. These open ended questions will allow the students to maybe feel
more comfortable in sharing their feelings and opinions on the group because they will remain
anonymous. These questions will then be verbally asked by the school counselor one-on-one
with each student outside of the group so that the students feel more comfortable in disclosing
how the group has helped (or not helped) them. Hopefully the students will have a better grasp
on their emotions related to their learning disability and will be aware of effective coping
strategies for dealing with their emotions in this matter. If the students do not reach their
individual or group goals that were established prior to the group they will be able to continue
counseling with the school counselor and/or be provided additional services that may help them
such as working with special ed or integrated classroom teachers or learning academic skills that
could help with their learning disability.








References
Berg, R. C. (1982). Group Counseling with the Adolescent Learning Disabled. Journal Of
Learning Disabilities, 15.

Bragg, R. L. (1992). The impact of congenital and acquired disabilities on the family system:
Implications for school.. School Counselor, 39(4), 292.

Orzek, A. M. (1984). Special Needs of the Learning Disabled College Student: Implications for
Interventions Through Peer Support Groups. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 62(7), 404

Parsons, R. D. (2009). Thinking and acting like an eclectic school counselor. Thousand Oaks,
California: Corwin.

Prater, M. K. (1999). Impact of peer teaching on the acquisition of social skills by adolescents
with learning disabilities.Education & Treatment Of Children (ETC), 22(1), 19.

Prochaska, J. O., & Velicer, W. F. (1997). The transtheoretical model of health behavior change.
American Journal of Health Promotion, 12, 38-48.

Stephens, D. (2010). GROUP COUNSELING: TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING SOCIAL
SKILLS TO STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. Education, 130(3), 509-512.