Affirming Report Language – Part 3

While most psychologists agree that being “strengths-based” is important, many still find it challenging to do.  

The thing is, using strengths-based language is not just about making things sound nice.

Using strengths-based language turns our reports from a document of what’s hard, to an empowering guide for helping the client to thrive.

Still, I often hear questions such as:

• What if all the scores are low?

• How do we use strengths-based language when the tests are deficit-based?

• Will using strengths-based language get in the way of our clients getting services?

Today, we’ll tackle all of these questions. Let’s start with what we mean by “strengths-based” in the first place.

Describe where they thrive

Strength-based report writing is about more than simply pointing out things a client does well.

“Strengths-based” means identifying under what circumstances this client thrives.

As we describe a client’s testing results, we can identify:

• When did this client do best?

• What felt easiest for them?

• What tasks did they most enjoy?

• What does this relate to in real life?

• What barriers need to be removed for this person to thrive?

For example, instead of:

Aaron has deficits in visual-spatial processing, which are connected to his low achievement in math.

A more strengths-based description of Aaron’s skills may sound like:

Aaron has significant difficulties working with purely visual information, which helps explain his challenges in math. He does best when he can talk himself through problems and use his verbal skills to help him solve problems..

This rewrite clearly shows Aaron’s strengths and where he thrives, while also showing that he has difficulties and needs for support.

“But what if all the scores are low?”

When clients struggle throughout testing, I find it helpful to write about:

• How they interacted with the materials

• Where they thrive in daily situations

• What parents and teachers have shared about their strengths

For example, instead of only saying…

Garrett struggled on the puzzle tasks, scoring in the deficit range for his age

…we can describe Garrett’s approach to tasks:

While challenging for him, Garrett enjoyed the puzzle tasks, smiling and asking for more time to complete them. This may be related to his teachers’ reports that he does best in math class, where he is able to persist on tasks more than in other subjects.

“But the tests use deficit based language…”

Often the tests that we use have deficit-focused language.  In these cases, we have the task of translating “test” language into “real-world” language.

For example, many tests use the word “deficit” to describe areas of great difficulty.  Many of us were taught to write up these scores like this:

Asma scored in the deficit range on these tasks. Children who score low on these tests tend to struggle with learning new concepts or routines.

Instead, using a strengths-based, real-world approach, we can describe scores like this:

Asma’s scores on these tests show that she had significant difficulty understanding and completing the tasks. These activities are not presented in a way that works for how she learns.

In the classroom, she is likely to do best when she has multiple examples and repetitions to learn a new concept or activity.

“But will it get in the way of getting services?”

In some contexts, it is important that we emphasize the ways in which our clients are having difficulty so that they can get the services they need.  

However, using strengths-based language does not mean sugar-coating the challenges.  We can still point out where our clients are experiencing significant difficulties and barriers to meeting their goals.

In cases where I am following specific guidelines to identify “deficits,” I tend to keep that specific language contained to the Diagnostic Impressions or Service Recommendations section of the report.  

In this way, I can explain to my clients why specific language is needed, but affirm my clients throughout the rest of the report.

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A How-To Guide for Strengths-Based Reports

Of course, using positive words is not the only change that makes a report truly strengths-based.

If you’d like to learn more about writing reports that empower clients, check out the webinar below to learn practical strategies for making your reports more empowering, easy to read, and easy to write.

After this workshop, you’ll walk away with:

• Specific language for writing affirming reports

• Templates for easy-to-read documents

• Tech and analogue strategies for making your report writing more efficient

I hope it’s helpful to your practice!