Overall attitude and motivation:

Tom tends to minimize the importance of spelling and writing, given that he really hasn't had to use these skills a lot in his job; his verbal skills have compensated for these areas. He feels that teachers are picky and don't know what you really need to survive. He is motivated to get his Grade 12 diploma but tends to want immediate action. He appears to know when he has a problem, but hasn't ever thought of why and how he can fix it.

Transition planning and possible accommodations to consider

As noted earlier, it appears that Tom has difficulty processing auditory information. He typically learns best with visual information. However, if Tom wishes to pursue his high school diploma he will be exposed to information that is presented orally. It will be important for him to understand his strengths and weaknesses so that he can ask for the appropriate information or accommodations as needed. For example, if a teacher is providing the material on a subject orally, he may ask if he could tape the lesson and possibly receive a copy of the teacher's lecture notes. The following ideas will help with Tom's current learning in the literacy program, as well as when he is back in the adult learning center and, eventually, in a manufacturing employment setting.

Areas to focus on to support his transition plans:

• Encourage Tom to ask that verbal instruction be repeated.
• Help Tom learn to advocate for himself and ask for important information to be drawn or written on the board.
• Allow Tom extra time if needed, for reading and writing tests and assignments.
• Encourage Tom to sit near the front of the class to maintain auditory attention and minimize visual distractions.
• Provide Tom with visual information (pictures, videos, graphs, charts, etc.) to help him understand verbal information and teach him to explain to other teachers and potential managers why he could benefit from information being presented in this manner.
• Provide a clear and simple overview or summary of what will be learned before each lesson so that he can make more sense of some of the auditory information that confuses him.