To succeed in the workplace in spite of having LD, it's important that you work at a job that is a good fit for you. You can determine if a job is a good fit by looking at the responsibilities of the job and making sure they match your strengths. For example, if you are good at working with people but not good at writing reports, you may enjoy being a tour guide, a physical therapist, or a receptionist. If you have artistic talents but have trouble counting money and making change, you might consider a career in graphic arts.


Over time, successful adults made three internal decisions that helped them take control, and they transformed these decisions into four behaviours or external manifestations. These seven factors comprise the model:

Internal Decisions
  1. A powerful desire to succeed
  2. A clear sense of goal orientation
  3. Reframing of the LD experience: accepting the disability, understanding their strengths/weaknesses, and taking action toward goals
External Manifestations
  1. Persistence
  2. Goodness of fit - finding work that maximizes their strengths and minimizes weaknesses
  3. Learned creativity - unique individual ways to accomplish tasks and compensatory strategies for weaknesses
  4. A social network that provides support rather than encouraging dependence