Other essential factors include positive self-esteem, emotional intelligence, knowledge of one's civil rights regarding disability, awareness of accommodations, and skills for self-advocacy and disclosure. Several of these factors build upon the experience of disability and reinforce each other. For example, effective self-advocacy requires positive self-esteem. "Simply enduring in the face of the many obstacles that learning disabilities present may be a building block of emotional intelligence" (Reiff 1998, p. 323). ⁸These success factors and the career-related research cited in the previous section suggest practices that should be the focus of career development for persons with LD. Retrieved from: http://www.calpro-online.org/ERIC/docgen.asp?tbl=pab&ID=110

Strengths are based upon interests. Individuals will spend more time doing things that interest them, and, as a result will strengthen their skills in those areas. To gain a better understanding of strengths, one can think about things they enjoy doing. To help learners with learning disabilities get a better picture of their interests, practitioners can use the following questionnaire.

Interests & Strengths Questionnaire

My Interests & Strengths:

1. What did you do when you were young that was fun?
2. What do you do now that's fun for you?
3. What did you do when you were young that you were proud of?
4. What do you do now that you are proud of?
5. What did your parents and teachers always praise you for?
6. What do you do now that makes your family members and friends proud of you?
7. What are you good at now?
8. What have you achieved?
9. What kinds of jobs have you had so far that you have enjoyed?
10. What volunteer work did you do that was successful?
11. What skills are you currently trying to develop?