Student and parent involvement in the transition process for college freshmen with learning disabilities

College Student Journal, Dec, 2002 by Sheila Graham Smith, Ron English, Dae Vasek

For several decades now, universities have become keenly interested in improving student recruitment and retention, resulting in a heightened interest in identifying elements that contribute to success in college during the freshman experience. In this study, the question asked is, "did the procedure of the National Longitudinal Study (NELS) of High School and Beyond (HS & B) accurately illicit definitions of the Meoretiral valuables of student and parent involvement in the transition process for students with learning disabilities?" The subjects were college students with Learning Disabilities enrolled at Baylor University requesting services in 2000-2001 from the on campus disability support office. The research design was quantitative with surveys. The survey used was HS &B from the NELS, part 3 and 4, program of The National Center for Education Statistics. A significant portion, 22 out of 61 participants felt like they were "no good." Also, 25 out of 61 felt "useless at times." This type of negative self talk is not indicative of a confident self-advocate. Thirty eight percent of the parents were still helping their children select courses and 39% were having input in selection of school activities. Poignant, pro-active training needs to be implemented in high school and during the freshman year of college for parents to let go of advocacy responsibilities and Learning Disability students to become their own competent advocates.

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Transitioning

For several decades now, universities have become keenly interested in improving student recruitment and retention, resulting in a heightened interest in the transition process from high school to college. Scholars began defining the freshman experience by exploring the transition needs of entering students and identifying elements that contributed to success in college (Garner & Van der Veer, 1997).

Literature on transition to the college experience indicates that higher education should involve a series of changes and transitions that influence student growth beginning in the freshman year and continuing through to graduation (Chickering, 1969). Schlossberg agrees with Chickering in his definition of transition as being "a change in one's behaviors or relationships in response to the occurrence of an event or non-event that affects one's beliefs about oneself or the world" (Schlossberg, 1981). As students transition to post-secondary education, changes occur in their lives. They must deal with major frustrations as they end one phase of life, high school, and begin another, college.

Chickering describes the high school senior year as being fraught with upsetting changes, with a specific high level of instability during the semester prior to high school graduation (Chickering, 1969). As Gardner states, special emphasis needs to be put on assisting students to cope with forthcoming changes, become cognizant of how all aspects of their lives have contributed to their development as learners, and identify connections between their academic experience and future academic experiences (Gardner, 1997). The high school senior needs to be prepared for the college environment which will be promoting individual growth by providing challenges and supports necessary to learn and create knowledge and acquire new skills, behavior's, and attitudes. The high school senior year can be isolated as a particular point of transition involving the apex of all the knowledge and skills learned through experiences with peers, teachers, and staff.

Transitioning with Learning Disabilities

As challenging as the transition process is for all graduating high school students, it is more so for students with learning disabilities (Eaton & Coull, 1998). It is important that students with learning disabilities develop a thorough understanding of the difficulties as they transfer from high school to college. Once aware of these difficulties, it is up to the students to develop social and academic aims and strategies to accomplish the goals that will make the transition easier and more successful. Research has identified ten top difficulties faced by students with learning disabilities as they begin their freshman year of college. They are:

Being unprepared for responsibility;

Managing free time;

Being overwhelmed by work load;

Learning time management skills;

Making new friends;

Missing academic support of parents;

Telling others of disability;

Failing classes;

Being distracted and not being able to focus; and

Being realistic about how the disability affects goals and ambitions (Eaton & Coull, 1997).

In addition, many of the stresses encountered by students with learning disabilities are exacerbated by university staff and faculty lacking the knowledge about and interest in the special needs of learning disabled scholars. The problem is also compounded by the students' inadequacies as independent learners and self advocates. This thought is echoed by the disability counselors and college admission officers. They concur that "the key is for counselors to know what the high schools have prepared their students for. Transition is all about communication between the high school and college" (McGuire & Williams, 1998). Communication between secondary and post secondary staff is essential; yet the communication must also be with the students. "These students are not academically prepared because we, in the high school, haven't taught them self advocacy skills" (McGuire & Williams, 1998). At the post secondary level, the emphasis is on the adult, and that adult is the student (Cuyjet, 1997).