Because confidence should start to grow long before Year 7
Every strength begins quietly - sometimes all it needs to grow.
So many children with disabilities grow up hearing more about their challenges than their strengths. Reports, meetings, assessments, and casual conversations often focus on what they struggle with — not who they are, what they enjoy, or what they are capable of learning with the right support.
Before they even arrive in Year 7, many students already believe their limitations matter more than their potential. And when strengths go unnamed, they slowly fade from a child’s identity.
When children aren’t seen, their strengths stay silent.
Personal Story
My parents were always honest with me about my disability. They helped me understand my limitations from a young age, but they never allowed those limitations to define me. Still, conversations about what I couldn’t do were always louder than conversations about what I could.
In primary school, I was often told I wasn’t smart enough. I was compared to other students, and independence was pushed as my main goal. Staff spoke openly about students with disabilities in front of us, as if we weren’t present. Even today, I can list my limitations far more easily than my strengths — because that’s what the system taught me to look for.
High school didn’t change that. Many students focused more on my weaknesses because they couldn’t understand how a kid in a wheelchair could have strengths. Even some teachers struggled to see past my disability. I knew I could have earned better grades in certain subjects, but I often felt they held back — not wanting to be seen as giving me “special treatment.” It was easier for everyone to assume I couldn’t rather than consider that I could.
And in society, it often feels like the only time disabled people are celebrated is when we’re turned into “inspirations.” Everyday achievements get framed as extraordinary instead of being recognised as genuine strengths and skills.
People with disabilities shouldn’t have to be, “inspiring” just to be valued.
Three Types of Strengths Students Need to Notice
Students need more than academic strengths. They need strengths that help them understand their identity.
1. Identify strengths
Kind, funny, patient, creative, determined.
2. Learning Strengths
Visual learner, detail-focused, imaginative thinker, problem-solver.
3. Connection strengths
Good listener, loyal friend, supportive peer.
These three areas help students enter high school with clarity and confidence.
Strengths aren’t labels - they’re foundations.
My journey shaped why I believe so strongly in strength-based support
The Problem: A Deficit-First Culture
For many students with disabilities, the world is built around what they can’t do.
Not always intentionally, and not always unkindly — but consistently enough that it becomes the story children believe about themselves.
Schools measure gaps, not growth.
Systems prioritise needs, not strengths.
Adults talk about challenges because they’re more visible and urgent.
But when this becomes the dominant narrative, something essential gets lost.
Children start viewing themselves through a deficit lens.
They assume they’re behind.
They enter high school believing they are already less capable, less included, or less likely to succeed.
When we only measure deficits, we miss the whole child.
When systems focus more on deficits, children lose sight of their potential.
What Happens When Students Know Their Strengths
When children understand their strengths, everything shifts.
They enter high school with confidence.
They take small risks they would never have taken before.
They form friendships more easily because they feel they have something to offer.
They ask for help without shame because support no longer threatens their identity.
They begin to believe in what is possible — not only what is difficult.
Strengths give students emotional safety, social grounding, and a sense of belonging.
Strengths don’t erase challenges - the empower children to face them.
Confidence grows when students know what they can do - not just what they struggle with.
What Happens When Students Know Their Strengths
When children understand their strengths, everything shifts.
They enter high school with confidence.
They take small risks they would never have taken before.
They form friendships more easily because they feel they have something to offer.
They ask for help without shame because support no longer threatens their identity.
They begin to believe in what is possible — not only what is difficult.
Strengths give students emotional safety, social grounding, and a sense of belonging.
Strengths don’t erase challenges - they empower children to face them.
How Families Can Support Strengths
Families shape how children see themselves.
You can support your child by:
- Naming the strengths you notice
- Talking about what lights them up
- Celebrating effort rather than perfection
- Encouraging interests that help them feel capable
- Giving space to explore new skills
- Reminding them that strengths grow over time
Daily conversations matter more than people realise.
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When families notice strengths, children start to believe in them.
Families play a powerful role in helping children recognise their strengths.
How Teachers Can Support Year 7 Students
Teachers can completely reshape a student’s high-school experience.
Strengths-based practices make a huge difference:
- Notice strengths early
- Ask what brings the student confidence
- Give roles that help them succeed
- Recognise effort publicly
- Build belonging before independence
- Avoid assumptions about ability
- Provide safe opportunities to grow.
Belonging grows faster when teachers lead with strengths.
Belonging grows in classrooms where teachers lead with strengths.
Why Strength Awareness Matters Socially
Strengths shape how students connect with others.
Students who understand their strengths:
- Make friends more naturally
- Join activities with more confidence
- Cope better with social challenges
- Are less affected by comparison
- Recover from setbacks quickly
- Feel a deeper sense of belonging
Confidence begins with knowing what you bring to the table.
Every child deserves to be seen for who they are, not what they can’t do.
A Gentle Reminder
Students with disabilities deserve more than independence-based goals.
They deserve identities rooted in strengths, not deficits.
They deserve adults who notice what they can do, not just what they can’t.
They deserve to enter high school feeling capable, valued, and understood.
Children thrive when their strengths are seen before their struggles
Closing Message
Every student deserves to walk into high school with a sense of value — not defined by reports, assumptions, or the limits others place on them.
Because strengths aren’t just characteristics.
They are anchors.
They help students feel grounded, confident, and connected.
They remind children that they are more than their disability and more than what the world expects from them.
If this message resonates with you, I share more stories, conversations, and insights on Instagram, where I talk about inclusion, belonging, and the realities of transition.
You’re welcome to join me there — we’re building a community that sees children as whole, capable, and deserving of support that matches their potential.
Strengths grow where understanding brings.
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