Life plans of young people with special educational needs as an area of work of a school counselor

Abstract

Nowadays, young people face the challenge of constant change resulting from the need to adapt to the transformations of the surrounding life environment. The article discusses the life plans of young people with special educational needs as the area of ​​work of a school counselor. Its purpose is to explain the basic concepts determining the planning of the future, such as: development potential, health, educational environment. The article presents the results of diagnosis of these plans by students with mild intellectual disability completing the eighth grade of primary school and third grade of lower secondary school (school year 2018/2019). The estimation method, positive orientation scale technique, and technique of unfinished sentences were used. Research has shown that adolescents with special educational needs are limited in perceiving the importance of the good aspects of their lives, their own experiences and self-appreciation. It may also hinder the adaptive functioning of the respondents and the setting of life goals by them. It is therefore important to employ specialists, mainly a school counselor who, through systematic help in discovering abilities, and compensating for developmental deficits, can help the students shape their life plans.