This is an audio recording by Dan Hanks, founder of Northwest College Support. The discussion if focused on a recent parent question "what's the most important thing I should know?". That question led to a discussion that has happened hundreds of times previously. That discussion is about the concept that the "gap gets bigger", which means that the experiential and developmental difference between young people with mental health or learning needs and their chronological peers tends to get bigger over time.
This audio recording tells a theoretical story of a young person who when in grade school has only slight difficulties as compared to her chronological peers, then as junior high and high school happen, the young person has more challenges as compared to the other students her age. The final step is college and how the differences in experiences between a student with emotional or learning differences starts to really have a significant gap open up between themselves and the other students. Patterns like this may emerge for students with anxiety, depression, ADHD, high functioning autism, and persons with learning disabilities.
Dan Hanks encourages families, parents, and providers to challenge students as early as possible in the process, and that while "closing the gap" might be impossible, it is possible to keep the gap from growing wider. The key is to ensure that students continue to experience social, emotional, academic, and overall life growth.
This audio is not about any specific student, but better represents a long term perspective of students who have struggled once they reach secondary or post-secondary levels of education.
