Learning Difficulties Through Three Lenses

Joe Palombo inspired and mentored many educators and clinicians who are expanding and extending his work for people dealing with learning differences. In this article, three clinicians provide three different perspectives to address their clients as whole people. In addition to struggling with their learning challenges, people with learning differences often experience much trauma and shame in many areas of their lives. They frequently benefit from special educational services and additional support for their learning differences. However, the traumatic aspects of navigating life with learning differences both during childhood and as adults are often unrecognized and untreated. In this article, three clinicians discuss their work with individuals with learning differences through their separate lenses—as an educational therapist, a clinician working with adult-diagnosed learning differences, and a clinician specializing in the treatment of trauma in children and adults. Their discussions lead to transformative work with their clients as they incorporate the different vantage points learned from each other. The result, as described in case illustrations, is the development of increased resiliency in their clients, enabling them to navigate their life challenges with learning differences more effectively.