Accommodating Special Needs

Accommodations for clients with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders

In recent years, John Spiegel and his wife, clinical psychologist Judith Glasser, Ph.D., have worked together to raise awareness in the mediation community of the need to provide accommodations in the mediation process for people with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. In a series of presentations at major professional conferences around the United States and Canada, John and Judi have trained mediators to understand the causes and effects of these conditions and have offered practical suggestions for helping people with learning disabilities and/or ADHD to be successful in mediation.

Donna Duquette also brings special experience and sensitivity to working with families in which a parent and/or a child has learning disabilities or ADHD. In particular, Donna earned a Bachelor of Science degree in special education from the University of Michigan, and she has extensive experience working with special-needs children.

Based on our experience working with clients with learning disabilities and/or ADHD, we have adopted a number of important accommodations in our mediation practice. First, we take the initiative in helping clients to stay organized as they advance along the mediation process. For example, we provide clients with a customized binder during the orientation session, to make it easier for clients to keep track of the paperwork (financial disclosure document, etc.) that accumulates during mediation. Second, we are attentive to different learning styles, asking clients how they learn best—visually, through hearing things explained, kinesthetically, etc.—and making it our business to communicate in a manner that responds to these needs and preferences. Third, we aim to do the work of mediation at a pace that fits with clients’ special needs. Finally, there is no shaming in our office. We are aware that people with learning disabilities or ADHD probably were often criticized as children by those who did not understand the true nature and impact of these conditions. That experience will not be repeated here.

In our mediation practice, we have also helped many separating and divorcing couples to develop effective parenting plans for children with learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger's syndrome, or Autism Spectrum Disorders. We think that it is important for a family mediator to have familiarity with the challenges that parents of such special-needs children face, as well as with the terminology related to their conditions.

Accommodations for clients with mobility disabilities
Our office building is wheelchair accessible from both the street and from the underground parking garage. If wheelchair accessibility is an issue for you, please let us know that when you schedule your initial appointment. We will explain to you how to reach the wheelchair accessible parking spaces and how to comfortably reach our suite.