Self-Esteem Fact Sheet

For individuals with and without learning disabilities (LD), self-esteem is a powerful predictor of success. It has been said that positive self-esteem is as important to success in school and on the job as the mastery of individual skills. Learning disabilities, however, often pose formidable hurdles to positive self-esteem, and in turn contribute to a hard-to-break cycle of self-doubt, frustration and failure.

What is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem can be described as how we view ourselves in the context of our surroundings. It is shaped by how well we get along with peers and family members, and by how we judge ourselves in comparison to those around us. Whether at home, school or the work place, self-esteem also is shaped by how well we understand and respond to ever-changing interpersonal demands. But it is precisely this area – the area of interpersonal relationships - in which individuals with LD may have the greatest difficulty, thus contributing to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. 

Not all people with LD have problems with social competence and self-esteem, but many do, and struggling daily with the challenges posed by a learning disability can erode enthusiasm and confidence. Knowing one’s assets and liabilities and feeling good about one’s self can be invaluable in negotiating the sometimes tumultuous path to achievement in school, success in the workplace, and acceptance at home and in the community at large.

How Does Social Competence Affect Self-Esteem?

Building social competence is an important step in becoming a self-reliant and confident person.  Socially competent people know how to easily move from person to person, or group to group, seemingly relaxed and at ease, regardless of whether they are talking or listening. They also know how to:

• Initiate and maintain positive relationships with peers and others
• Interpret social situations, judging how to interact
• Interact without drawing negative attention to themselves
• Sustain attention on the speaker
• Contribute to conversations
• Control their impulses to draw attention to themselves, even in well-intended ways.

Once again, it is these traits that often pose the greatest challenges to individuals with LD. 

What Are the Threats to Self-Esteem for Individuals With LD?

Research has shown that being classified as having specific LD does not, in and of itself, negatively impact self-esteem. However, there are a number of characteristics, frequently observed in people with LD, that contribute to feelings of low self-worth.

Communication style and social awareness

• May appear to be overly egocentric and disinterested in the opinions of other speakers (when nothing could be father from the truth)
• Has difficulty judging when it is his or her turn to participate in a conversation
• May misinterpret others' feelings
• Is unaware of when his or her behaviors are bothersome or annoying
• May have problems with visual-spatial planning and self-regulation, resulting in difficulties in judgment: they may misjudge how close to stand to someone during conversation, how to assume and maintain a relaxed posture or when it might be appropriate to touch.

Self knowledge

• Is unsure how to understand his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, or how to explain them to others
• Has trouble evaluating and reflecting on his or her behavior in social interactions

Language

• Has limited vocabulary, or has difficulty retrieving the right words for the situation
• Has trouble with topic selection
• Talks around a topic, providing extraneous, less critical information in response to a question
• When asked to expand on something, is more likely to repeat rather than clarify his or her point
• In conversation, is more likely than peers to rely on gestures
• Is unsure when to end a conversation.

Self-perceived social status

• Has difficulty knowing how he or she fits in to a peer group, which often results in "hanging back," being passive or "sticking out" in a crowd for trying too hard to belong
• Has limited success getting noticed in positive ways within a peer group
• Is perceived as less popular and therefore more frequently rejected or ignored by peers - sometimes resulting in further self-imposed isolation.

Self-perceived ability to effect change

• Believes that outcomes are controlled by external influences (luck, chance, fate) rather than as a result of his or her own efforts
• Assumes a posture of "learned helplessness:" believes that because he or she struggled with something in the past, there is little they can do to change a negative outcome in the future, so they stop trying and hope for the best.

What Role Do Others' Expectations Play in Self-Esteem?

Unfortunately, individuals with LD are commonly confronted with low expectations from others. They are frequently, though not intentionally, the target of spoken and unspoken messages of disappointment from peers, parents, supervisors, etc. Others' low expectations may influence the expectations individuals with LD have of themselves, thereby serving to erode self-esteem.