Advisement

 

The advisor’s primary role is to understand and support advisees from a holistic perspective, taking into account their academic, social, and emotional characteristics. The advisor becomes a specialist on them, knowing their history, diagnoses, disabilities, likes, dislikes, strengths, abilities, recommendations from other professionals, and so on. The advisor takes time to get to know the student beyond the testing and paperwork and advocates for the student in various contexts. A detailed and deep knowledge of the advisee helps the entire program conduct behavior analysis-type problem solving; the advisor may be aware of antecedents causing issues for a student who may not yet be able to self-advocate.