NL
Thesis support for learning difficulties, study challenges, and functional limitations
Encountering obstacles during your studies or thesis writing can arise from various challenges, such as fear of failure, procrastination, or disabilities. Whether you are struggling due to high standards, lack of motivation, or difficulty maintaining a structured approach, our customized thesis coaching is designed to assist you in overcoming these obstacles and making significant progress.
Jouw Scriptiecoach can provide you with a thesis coach who will not only help you conduct your research and write your thesis but also offer support in managing study issues or disabilities. Our thesis coaches help you see the bigger picture, allowing you to experience less stress, avoid time pressure, and ultimately complete your thesis on time.
Thesis help and coaching for giftedness
”If you are gifted, you might think that you have no problems,” you would say. However, we have noticed that gifted students also struggle when it comes to writing their thesis. Even if you are gifted, you may experience overstimulation or understimulation. Giftedness can lead to dropping out prematurely due to insufficient motivation, a lack of study skills, and underperformance. It is estimated that approximately 10% of students studying at higher professional and university levels are likely gifted. Besides the fact that the brain processes information differently in this group, one often observes other negative consequences, such as perfectionism, a fear of failure, a fear of success, high sensitivity, loneliness, and sadness due to difficulty connecting with others.
Thesis help and coaching for study problems
Study problems often arise due to the pressure to perform and are increasingly common among students. This is evident from a study conducted by the Trimbos Institute, the RIVM, and GGD GHOR Netherlands focusing on the mental well-being of students. We live in a society that emphasizes achievement above all, creating a real culture of performance. However, a downside to this is that students may develop exam anxiety or a fear of failure. One coping strategy is to procrastinate and avoid studying, which only leads to further delays or even dropping out of studies altogether. Alternatively, some students set unrealistic goals and push themselves even harder, initially experiencing healthy stress but eventually developing concentration issues or even risking burnout.
Study problems can be all kinds of problems that are directly or indirectly related to the study, to studying, or to other factors that play in your life. In any case, they often make studying difficult and writing a thesis a difficult process. While with the right support you can simply make progress. We see for ourselves that study problems do not occur in isolation and are often a combination of factors. We take this into account in our thesis coaching.
Fear of failure
Fear of failure is primarily associated with the way you think in situations where you are required to perform and experience immense pressure. You may hold limiting beliefs, such as “I cannot do it!”, and these thoughts and beliefs lead you into a downward spiral.
Many students who seek our assistance struggle with a fear of failure and experience immense pressure to succeed and avoid failure. The fear of failure is often accompanied by a strong sense of perfectionism. When you strive for perfection in everything, it is common to set unrealistic goals for yourself.
And with your thesis, this could potentially lead to you being overly afraid to put anything on paper because you don’t believe it’s good enough. Therefore, the challenge lies in breaking this cycle. Our thesis coaches collaborate with you to explore the root causes of your fear of failure and explore strategies to overcome it.
Be sure to check out our tips on managing the fear of failure while writing a thesis.
Thesis stress
Having stress is often portrayed as a negative problem, but there can be positive aspects: stress ensures that you meet your deadline and if the stress is short-lived, it can even you an adrenaline boost. However, if stress lasts longer, problems can arise and writing a thesis can suddenly cause extra stress.
Thesis stress is common and everyone deals with it differently: one student will procrastinate, while another will try even harder to graduate on time. Thesis stress is often accompanied by fear of failure and perfectionist behaviour: you want to do extra well and if that doesn’t happen, you experience thesis stress.
We work with you to investigate why you experience stress and how you can break this pattern. Sometimes all you need to do is plan well and ensure you take enough breaks. But every situation is different, of course. In any case, if you’re experiencing stress, we’ll get you moving again and help you avoid too much tension.
Procrastination, study avoidance behaviour and “sogging”
Procrastination refers to the act of continuously postponing tasks and then rushing to complete them before the deadline. It is commonly associated with avoiding studying or academic work. This behavior is often influenced by various factors, such as excessive distractions, lack of understanding in organizing the document’s structure, insufficient guidance from the study program, or limited knowledge about the chosen topic for graduation.
Additionally, a decline in motivation can also hinder the initiation of writing. The causes of procrastination are usually personal, and we will explore them together to determine the necessary steps for you to begin making progress.
Concentration problems
Some students find it difficult to maintain concentration while writing their thesis. This can have multiple causes: Perhaps you are naturally easily distracted and, as a result, have difficulty working on your thesis for extended periods of time. It could also be that you do not find the subject interesting, making it challenging to motivate yourself. Alternatively, you may be displaying signs of study avoidance behavior, making it difficult to initiate the writing process.
In addition, you may have a disability such as ADHD or ADD, which can make it challenging for you to concentrate. Writing a thesis necessitates significant discipline and reliance on your own abilities, which can be difficult if you struggle with concentration. Our thesis coaches collaborate with you to explore the root causes of your concentration issues and develop strategies to overcome them.
Perfectionism
Studying with perfectionism is quite a challenge. Perfectionism is actually a positive quality, as it demonstrates a strong desire to excel in everything you do. However, the downside of perfectionism is that it sets extremely high standards for both yourself and others. When conducting research and writing a thesis, you rely heavily on others for guidance and information. Your client plays a crucial role in providing direction and expectations in a professional environment, while your college or university advisor expects you to meet the assessment criteria. This alone presents a challenge for most students. Nevertheless, if you tend to be perfectionistic, you will likely feel unsatisfied with your work and strive to refine and enhance it even further. This pursuit of perfection can become a hindrance when striving for excellence in your thesis and during graduation. You may find yourself stuck, believing that your efforts are never good enough and making insufficient progress. Moreover, since you may be more sensitive to criticism, this negative mindset can lead you into a downward spiral. Perfectionism is also associated with struggling to let go of control, which ultimately breeds fear of failure or results in procrastination.
Our thesis coaches will collaborate with you to explore ways to address your perfectionism, enabling you to make progress and ultimately accomplish the successful completion of your thesis.
Thesis help and coaching in case of a disability
By disability, we mean any limitation that structurally hinders your ability to study and write a thesis. Functional limitations include motor, sensory, or psychological disabilities, as well as conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, autism, chronic fatigue, depression, and others.
We often receive feedback from students who face difficulties in writing a thesis due to their disability. Nowadays, numerous colleges and universities provide additional assistance, but there are times when you may require an extra helping hand while working on your thesis. Someone who can provide guidance, help you brainstorm ideas, and assist you in breaking down your thesis into smaller sections, and so forth.
Our thesis coaches will assist you in getting back on track. Our thesis support is highly intensive, and you will have frequent communication with Jouw Scriptiecoach.
What are the consequences of having a disability?
- Students with disabilities spend, on average, more time on their studies compared to students without disabilities.
- The academic progress of students with disabilities falls behind that of students without disabilities, as they tend to earn slightly fewer credits per period and receive lower grades.
- Students with disabilities, especially those with dyslexia and ADHD, often require additional time to complete their studies.
- These students are more likely to experience study delays, and study dropout rates are higher among them.
Having a disability can be quite frustrating because you put in a lot more effort but do not achieve the same level of results. Students who come to us with a disability are often highly motivated to graduate. It is certainly not a lack of motivation. However, they often require different support compared to regular students. Sometimes, we need to address their motivation first because constantly hearing that their efforts are not good enough can negatively impact their self-confidence.
Your Scriptiecoach is a thesis coach who assists you in conducting research and writing your thesis. We also offer support and coaching for dealing with study problems or disabilities. We help you with defining your thesis, providing an overview and reducing stress and time pressure to complete it on time.
ADHD and writing your thesis
If you have ADHD or ADD, you may possess numerous beneficial qualities. However, maintaining structure and overview, as well as setting realistic and concrete goals, can be challenging. Additionally, you are expected to carry out independent research.
Your supervisor or mentor from your study program will closely examine whether your thesis adheres to the program guidelines. For individuals with ADHD and ADD, it is especially crucial to ensure structure and delineation in both your thesis and research. By doing so, you will be able to work on your thesis with greater focus. Our thesis coaches will provide assistance in achieving this.
Dyslexia and writing your thesis
Dyslexia can make graduation more challenging. Therefore, we recommend having your thesis checked for language and spelling errors before submitting it. Additionally, receiving guidance while writing your thesis can be beneficial. At Jouw Scriptiecoach, we understand that writing a research proposal or thesis can be a daunting process, especially for individuals with dyslexia. Based on our experience, having someone to support you in organizing your thoughts and maintaining coherence can make a significant difference. Often, the knowledge is already in your mind, but expressing it in clear sentences can be difficult.
Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and PDD-NOS
Autism causes individuals to process information differently in their brains. They often have a greater tendency to notice details, while others around them focus more on the main issues and are less concerned with the specifics. When writing a thesis with autism, it can be challenging to differentiate between primary and secondary issues. Furthermore, individuals with autism may possess a wealth of knowledge but struggle to effectively communicate and support their choices on paper, which is exactly what their thesis coach evaluates. It is also possible to become overly engrossed in details that may not be entirely relevant to one’s research.
Our thesis coaches can assist you in completing your thesis and graduating, even if you have autism. They will closely monitor the main points of your work to ensure you do not get overwhelmed by the details.
Struggling with studying or having a disability? This is how our guidance and coaching can help you
If you are facing difficulties in your studies or have a disability, writing a thesis can be quite draining. At Jouw Scriptiecoach, we have thesis coaches who specialize in assisting students with study issues or disabilities. They can provide the necessary support and address the unique challenges you may encounter while writing your thesis. Our help is also practical: we assist you with structure and organization so that you can regain control. We help you realistically plan and divide your thesis into sections, enabling us to provide specific instructions and feedback for each part.
Do you have any questions? No problem, your thesis coach is here to help you as a companion and sounding board throughout the thesis process, providing support and guidance. We will also alert you if we believe you are taking on an excessive workload or setting goals that may be too optimistic or unrealistic. The thesis process is typically intensive and involves a combination of online guidance and in-person supervision. Besides assisting with the process and structure, we can also provide content-related support.
The way we guide you often varies depending on your situation:
You’re planning to start but don’t know how
If you still have to start writing your thesis, we will assist you in identifying the reasons for your difficulty in getting started and determining the steps needed to break this pattern. Additionally, we will help you assess the scope of your topic and develop the structure of your thesis. We will examine the layout of your study program and provide you with a table of contents or a mind map outlining the structure.
Then we also examine each chapter to determine what you can include in each section. We will provide you with instructions for each chapter. Furthermore, we can assist you in creating a schedule that includes all the deadlines and contact hours associated with your study programme.
You’ve started but you are stuck or need to resubmit
We usually begin by carefully reviewing your document, taking into consideration the feedback you have received and the assessment form provided by your study program. This enables us to gain a thorough understanding of how you can enhance your document. Next, we proceed to work either online or in person, breaking down your thesis into smaller sections and providing you with specific instructions to improve each chapter.
We often collaborate with you online and can offer immediate practical guidance. Alternatively, you can also receive instructions and tips via email directly in the document. Afterwards, you can share the updated version with your study program supervisor, and we will collectively review their feedback. This process will provide you with the clarity you need!
We give you tools for the future
Finally, we also take a look at your study behavior. You might often find yourself repeating the same patterns that lead to distractions from your thesis or hinder your progress. By identifying and understanding these patterns, we can begin to break free from them.
Our ultimate objective in thesis supervision is to equip you with the necessary skills so that you can independently work on your thesis. For instance, we assist you in developing crucial abilities like time management, effective planning, maintaining focus, and studying more efficiently. These skills will benefit you not only during your thesis but also in your future endeavors.
We provide separate individual coaching sessions with experienced coaches who specialize in problem-solving coaching and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
Struggling with studying or having a disability? Get immediate support from our thesis coaches!
At Jouw Scriptiecoach, you will find thesis help for every program. In the Netherlands and Flanders, our thesis coaches are ready to assist you in person or online. If you have any learning difficulties or a disability, we have specialized in-house thesis coaches who can provide help. Should you encounter any issues while writing your thesis, please feel free to contact us using the form at the bottom of this page for a free and non-obligatory consultation.
Study issues or a disability? Get immediate help from our thesis coaches.
At Jouw Scriptiecoach, you will find thesis help for every program. In the Netherlands and Flanders, our thesis coaches are ready to assist you in person or online. If you have learning difficulties or a disability, we have specialized thesis coaches available who can provide help. If you face any issues during the thesis writing process, please feel free to contact us using the form located at the bottom of this page for a free and non-obligatory consultation.