<p>You say confront them about their coping mechanisms as if those mechanisms are bad. &nbsp;They are often ingenious methods of adjusting how they receive information so that they can have it in a usable form. &nbsp;The question should be how can we help them adjust those mechanisms to be more useful with the types of information we are providing. &nbsp;The question is whether these adjustments will hold up in a job situation. &nbsp;I have found nearly all students with these issues are willing to talk with me if they sense my empathy for them and my desire to help them extend their skills without judging them on what they need to do to succeed. &nbsp;They need to perceive my involvement as teaming with them to help them solve the problem. We all use a variety of coping mechanisms to help us accomplish tasks that do not fall into our personal strengths. Just help them to do the same.</p>