This book, also available on audiocassette, is written for preadolescents and adolescents with learning disorders, and offers them empowering suggestions for overcoming their problems in school. The first chapter deals with basic concepts related to learning disorders and brain function. It emphasizes that there are many types of learning disorders and that students with these problems need to understand themselves and be understood by the adults in their lives. Chapters 2 through 5 cover specific developmental functions such as language, attention, and memory. Chapter 6 relates these functions to performance in reading, spelling, writing, and math. Chapter 7 deals specifically with social skills and coping with social stress. Chapter 8 contains answers to questions often asked by students about learning disorders in the areas of labeling, diagnostic procedures, and services. The final chapter looks toward the student's future and attempts to instill lasting optimism by offering a sampling of possible actions that a student can take in order to minimize the long-range effects of learning disorders. (PB)