No abstract

The research described here is part of a larger longitudinal project tracing the lives of a group of individuals with learning disabilities who attended the Frostig Center more than 20 years ago. The purpose of the larger project has been to identify variables that predict successful outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. This article focuses on the qualitative findings obtained using an ethnographic approach to analyzing in-depth interviews with participants. Six previously identified "success attributes" (self-awareness, proactivity, perseverance, appropriate goal setting, effective use of social support systems, and emotional stability/emotional coping strategies) were further defined. Using qualitative analysis, significant components of the success attributes that differentiated the successful from unsuccessful groups were identified, and changes over time were revealed. In addition, the following new themes were identified: (1) the learning disability exerted a critical influence across the entire lifespan; (2) there were differences in participants' family functioning; and (3) there were differences in participants' social relationships. Support for the salience of the success attributes and the additional themes to the participants is given in the form of direct quotations from the corpus of interview transcripts. Qualitative methodologies are stressed throughout the study for the purpose of obtaining an "insider's view" of LD.Over the last three decades, a number of studies have focused on adult outcomes of persons with learning disabilities

The research described here is part of a 20-year longitudinal project tracing the lives of a group of 41 individuals with learning disabilities. The article enumerates a small piece of the qualitative findings obtained using an ethnographic approach that emphasized the “emic,” or insider's, perspective. Since several of the research questions addressed patterns of change over time, portions of the interview focused on changes in past and present attitudes, emotions, conceptions and meanings related to the learning disability. A salient notion emerged from participants' narratives, which they described as “acceptance of the learning disability.” Further analysis revealed a shared set of understandings concerning distinct stages of “coming to terms” with the technical realities of their disability and with the social/emotional impact of being labeled. These included (a) awareness of their “differentness”; (b) the labeling event; (c) understanding/negotiating the label; (d) compartmentalization; and (e) transformation.

Seventeen males and twelve females wrote essays under three conditions: (a) without assistance; (b) using a human transcriber; and (c) using a speech recognition system. Students received higher holistic scores using speech recognition than when writing without assistance at a statistically significant level ( p=.048). In order to determine the reasons for the superior scores on the essays written using speech recognition, 22 measures of fluency, vocabulary and syntax were computed. Several measures showed a strong correlation with the holistic score. A multiple regression revealed that the best predictor of the holistic score was Words with Seven or More Letters. Further, the ratio of Words with Seven or More Letters to Total Words differed significantly across conditions ( p=.0136), in favor of speech recognition, when compared with receiving no assistance. A factor analysis identified three factors that accounted for significant variation in holistic score: Factor 1, measures related to length of the essay ( p=.0001+); Factor 2, measures of morphological complexity ( p=.003); and Factor 3, main verbs ( p=.021). The authors suggest that the technology may have been successful because it “encouraged” the use of longer words, a powerful predictor of a holistic score.

The number of postsecondary students with learning disabilities has increased dramatically over the last several years. This increase, coupled with federal legislation mandating "academic adjustments" for students with disabilities, has prompted the development of postsecondary learning disability support service programs. One support service that has begun to attract considerable attention is assistive technology. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of assistive technology as it relates to postsecondary students with learning disabilities by (a) briefly tracing the development of assistive technology service for postsecondary students with learning disabilities; (b) identifying basic models of assistive technology service delivery and specific services; (c) providing a description of specific assistive technologies; (d) reviewing research on the effectiveness of assistive technology with postsecondary students with learning disabilities, with a focus on the authors' 3-year federally funded study; and (e) concluding with a summary and recommendations.