Working with

Numbers

• 50% of students with disabilities enrolled in higher education have learning disabilities.
• Learning disabilities are increasingly

Students with learning disabilities’ first-year retention, four-year progression, and graduation rates are lower than their peers who do not have disabilities.

Students with learning disabilities who complete a college program experience significantly better employment and after graduation living than peers who do not.

Many training programs are still unprepared to support students beyond the accommodations required by federal laws

Positive self-determination skills are a predictor of successful transition to life after college

Learning disabilities are a general term for a variety of specific subtypes such as dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID).

Specific cognitive disabilities generally struggle with communication skills, academic tasks, disability disclosure and self-advocacy.

Accommodations such as extra time to take exams, alternative exam formats, and note-takers help students a great deal.

In the college environment students with learning disabilities are protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

Self-determined students are able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, manage their lives, and pursue future goals

Students with learning disabilities typically request included note-takers, textbooks on tape, extended time for examinations, and quiet areas for testing.

Self-advocacy skills

Complexity in serving LD Students

• Academic issues
• Ethical issues
• Cultural issues
• Financial issues

Take aways

• #s of L.D. students has significantly grown
• Institutions struggle to accomodate L.D. students
• There is growing diversity of L.D. disabilities.
• Causing an even great challenge.

The diagnosis of a learning disability is the discrepancy between aptitude and achievement.