Preparing for college: improving the odds for students with learning disabilities

College Student Journal, Sept, 2006 by Nancy E. Foley

Increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities are enrolling in colleges. Although, they may have met academic prerequisites, they still may find that they are unprepared. In addition to the many adjustments that all students must make, students with disabilities are faced with a major shift in the advocacy role. As K-12 students in special education, teachers, parents, counselors may have monitored their academic progress. Upon graduation from high school, however, the student must assume responsibility for getting their academic needs met. They must demonstrate an array of nonintellectual skills and attributes in the process of self-identifying as having a disability, describing the nature of their disability and its impact on their learning, and suggesting effective accommodations.

**********

Students with learning disabilities (LD) represent the fastest growing and largest population of college students with disabilities (Henderson, 2001). They are graduating from high school and entering universities and four-year colleges in record numbers (Henderson, 2001; Houck, Engelhard, & Geller, 1989; Hughes & Smith, 1990; Mangrum & Strichart, 1988; Scott & Berger, 1993). McGuire, Norlander, and Shaw (1990) suggest a "tenfold" increase in the number of freshmen with LD entering college between 1978 and 1986. Fall 2000 data indicate that 40% of full-time college freshmen with disabilities who enrolled in four-year colleges reported having LD (Henderson, 2001).

Students who enroll in colleges and universities find few learning disabilities programs and may experience confusion regarding the nature of support services available in higher education (Mangrum & Strichart, 1988). Although most post-secondary schools provide support through tutorial services and study skills curricula, these are general academic support services that are available to all students and are not designed specifically for students with learning disabilities (Houck et al., 1989; Mangrum & Strichart, 1988; Scott & Berger, 1993). As a result, students who have become accustomed to specialized, comprehensive instruction in a special education environment or accommodations in the regular classroom, or both, are likely to experience difficulty in the less structured, more challenging higher education environment (Houck et al., 1989; Vogel, 1993).

At the college level, the combination of less academic support and the need to exert greater independence often results in frustration and failure for students who had previously experienced success in school. When a learning disabilities program is not available, college students may not self-identify by informing college faculty or support personnel of their LD until they are in academic trouble (Mangrum & Strichart, 1988). Some students may be reluctant to identify themselves as having disabilities under any circumstances. In either case, by the time it is realized that these students need academic assistance, it is likely to be "too little and too late."

Investigations of LD Student Population

An influx of students with LD entering college has occurred within the last 15 years. They have arrived on college and university campuses with varying levels of skills and degrees of preparation, and they have experienced varying degrees of success as undergraduates. Although the focus of much of the literature on college students with LD has been on factors such as selecting a college or university, types of services provided in higher education, student characteristics, and attitudes of faculty regarding accommodations (Greenbaum, Graham, & Scales, 1995), few studies have focused on the experiences and graduation rates of students with LD.

Greenbaum et al. (1995) reviewed various studies investigating the outcomes for students with LD in higher education, and overall, the results are mixed regarding graduation rate and success in higher education. Citing Bursuck, Rose, Cowen, and Yaha, (1989) Greenbaum, et al. (1995) report that the graduation rate for people with LD was only 30% compared to 50% for students without LD. Vogel and Adelman (1992; cited in Greenbaum et al., 1995) reported a graduation rate of 37% for students with LD from a college that provided highly coordinated support services. A later study by Greenbaum, et al., (1995) that followed students even after they had left their initial school, reported a 67% graduation rate with students taking approximately 5.5 years to complete an undergraduate degree. Interestingly, more than 75% of the students with LD attended two or even three different colleges or universities before graduating. Clearly, students with LD continue to experience difficulties into their postsecondary education years, although ultimately, many do graduate.

Supports and Attributes

All of the studies identified factors that contributed to the success of college students with LD who graduated. The students with LD considered the following factors important to their college success: support from family and friends, availability of campus support services, testing accommodations, priority registration, counseling, and advocacy assistance (Greenbaum, et al., 1995). The investigators of the studies identified additional factors such as academic preparation (Vogel & Adelman, 1992), degree of severity of LD, student determination and tenacity, (Greenbaum, et al., 1995) and student knowledge about their disability and the ability to communicate their needs (Vogel & Adelman, 1992; Brinckerhoff, L.D., 1994; Greenbaum, et al., 1995).