Actively navigating the transition into college: narratives of students with learning disabilities

Abstract

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are particularly vulnerable in making the school-to-college transition where they negotiate a complex constellation of challenges that include academic demands, social expectations, and emotional/ personal growth. Although a substantial body of knowledge exists about college students with LD, it is largely predicated upon both extrinsic supports available to ensure a successful transition into college and ways to maintain that success. In contrast, intrinsic knowledge as the basis of agency exerted by individuals with LD to strategize for their own success has received comparatively little attention. This study uses narrative methodology guided by a theoretical framework of disability studies, to render three nuanced portraits of college students with LD. Participants demonstrate ways in which they manage to navigate the academic, social, and emotional/personal realms when transitioning into college. In doing so, they reveal instances of self-knowledge that are often hidden or overlooked, revealing numerous instances of agency. IntroductionPrior to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, college attendance for students with learning disabilities (LD) was limited to a small number. 1 However, in the last three decades, the number of college students with LD has more than tripled (Stodden, Conway, and Chang 2009). By the mid-2000s, 23% of students with LD attended a 2-year college and 11% attended a 4-year college (Gregg 2009). Although the numbers represent increased access to college-level learning, only 28% of these students manage to graduate (Emery 2009). These statistics suggest that students with LD experience significant difficulties in attempting to successfully navigate college. It is common knowledge that typical students face new challenges transitioning from high school to college because they shift from a system where adults manage their lives to one of self-management. Due to the nature of their disability, students with LD are particularly vulnerable in making the school-to-college transition. These students must negotiate an additional constellation of disability-related challenges within the interconnected realms of academic demands, social expectations, and emotional/personal growth (Heiman and Kariv 2004).

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