Two recent private female clients of mine, both historically considered “misfits” by their schools and parents, took the SOI-ALA computer test. I was struck by the similarities in profiles: high creativity (DFU & DMU) and low evaluation.
My mother, Mary Meeker, identified years ago a pattern of the struggling creatively gifted. Both of these girls have had difficulty keeping jobs and finding work that was meaningful. Both had creativity scores above the 98th percentile. Evaluation scores were below the 10th percentile. They both reported that they not only cannot make good decisions about the jobs they choose, but that they are indecisive on the job and often get criticized or fired because of indecision. They also have both chosen poorly in their social lives with boyfriends and friends.
While it is never easy to deliver the news to a client that they have a severe learning disability, if done in the right way, it can be very helpful, as it was with each of my clients. Remember to use the “sandwich approach,” which is positive-negative-positive.
“So, Jayne, the SOI test confirms that you are gifted in creative writing, and you should finish that book proposal! However, were you aware that making decisions is not your strength? It is probably something you have struggled with your whole life. We can help you develop those abilities. In our philosophy, a disability is simply an opportunity to develop a true learning ability. We can do this together. We also found that your creative drawing ability is fantastic!”
And so we began to train intellectual abilities that support the psychotherapy.
written by: Valerie Maxwell, Ph.D., Psychologist
