I have an acquaintance that recently purchased a small resort and restaurant. I do not know him well enough to say if he has a Learning Disability or not, but the first time we met, I noticed that he seemed to have a difficult time with social perception and social interaction. I puzzled over his career choice, making a mental checklist of what I perceive characteristics of someone successfully working in the tourism and hospitality industry might have…

A recent restaurant review for his establishment reads, “…(the owner) was simply unaware of the social cues that we repeatedly applied to give us some privacy. He was completely awkward, and made us rather uncomfortable as he would look over our table and join in our conversation…” Unfortunately, there are more reviews similar to this one.

I sincerely wish this person all the best in his chosen field. It is unlikely at his age and stage that he will develop the characteristics to be successful as the front man of a business in the tourism and hospitality industry. My hope is that he will recognize that his strengths do not match his chosen “activity” (he does have many strengths, but more for the back end of running a business) and that he will implement strategies to compensate for his weaknesses, for example, by hiring someone who has strong social perception and social interactions skills to manage the front end of his business.

What resources are available to you to help your child recognize and accept their talents along with their limitations?

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