We live in a world where "early" is thought to be "better," and in many ways, this mindset serves us well, especially as it applies to learning. With increasing success, we are able to focus well-deserved attention on early recognition and response to struggling preschoolers, early intervention services for young children with identified special education needs, early and well-targeted instruction to school-age students who are falling behind in skills development, and early identification of learning disabilities (LD). In an ideal world, students who struggle are able to overcome their challenges and grow to become adults who enjoy personal satisfaction, high self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and productive relationships within their families and in the general community. If only this was the case.
Don't Expect to Outgrow LD
No matter how many times it's been said, it needs to be repeated again and again: learning disabilities do not go away, and LD is a problem with lifelong implications. Addressing features of LD during the early years can indeed help to circumvent and minimize struggles later in life, but we know that problems with listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, math and sometimes social skills can persist, even after years of special education instruction and support.
Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Call to Action
In a 1985 paper titled "Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Call to Action," the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities articulated the following concerns about the issues faced by adults with LD, all of which unfortunately still hold true today:
- Learning disabilities are both persistent and pervasive throughout an individual's life. The manifestations of the learning disability can be expected to change throughout the life span of the individual.
- At present there is a paucity of appropriate diagnostic procedures for assessing and determining the status and needs of adults with learning disabilities. This situation has resulted in the misuse and misinterpretation of tests that have been designed for and standardized on younger people.
- Older adolescents and adults with learning disabilities frequently are denied access to appropriate academic instruction, prevocational preparation, and career counseling necessary for the development of adult abilities and skills.
- Few professionals have been prepared adequately to work with adults who demonstrate learning disabilities.
- Employers frequently do not have the awareness, knowledge of, or sensitivity to the needs of adults with learning disabilities. Corporate as well as public and private agencies have been unaware and therefore have failed to accept their responsibility to develop and implement programs for adults with learning disabilities.
- Adults with learning disabilities may experience personal, social, and emotional difficulties that may affect their adaptation to life tasks. These difficulties may be an integral aspect of the learning disability or may have resulted from past experiences with others who were unable or unwilling to accept, understand, or cope with the persons' disabilities.
- Advocacy efforts on behalf of adults with learning disabilities currently are inadequate.
- Federal, state, and private funding agencies concerned with learning disabilities have not supported program development initiatives for adults with learning disabilities.
While much progress has been made in many of these areas, coordinating services and supports for adults with LD and finding ways to support this population with essential information and effective resources remains an enormous challenge.
High School and Beyond
As mentioned in my Research Roundup on Adolescents and Young Adults with LD — Transition and More — students with LD who graduate from high school have a myriad of post-secondary options available to them including 2-year, 4-year and community colleges, apprenticeships and vocational training programs. The expectations placed on graduating high school students today, especially given the highly technical and increasingly specialized nature of the workforce (and a society that values traditional college completion) have never been higher. The challenges faced by students with learning disabilities in high school and beyond are, in a word, enormous. And current data about post-secondary outcomes is less than encouraging:
39% of students with LD drop out of high school without a general diploma. Only 13% of student with LD (compared to 53% of non-disabled students in the general population) attend a 4-year post-secondary program within 2 years of leaving high school.
These data are more than just reports about high school students. They are reflections of the population of adults who struggle with LD every day of their lives.
What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us
The 25th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act indicates that of the 6.4 million children ages 3-to-21 who are provided with special education services under the IDEA, almost 2.9 million are children classified as having specific learning disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education collects and publishes an array of data (i.e. languages spoken, racial background, date of initial entry into special education) on these children and young adults as a way to track progress and identify areas where schools need to enhance instruction and general support. Once these students leave formal schooling, the data trail unfortunately disappears, making it virtually impossible to gather reliable data on this older community of citizens.
We know from a number of well-respected research and survey projects that adults with LD continue to struggle with such issues as low literacy, underemployment, job security, organizational difficulties, and social and emotional challenges such as feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, anxiety and self-doubt. Without reliable data, we are left to rely upon our good intensions and creative imaginations to answer questions like:
- How many adults with LD are there in the general population? (How many are already identified as having LD? How many are unaware of their LD, and in what specific areas are they experiencing the greatest challenges?)
- How many have disclosed their LD to family members and employers, and what reasons do others offer as rationale for choosing to withhold information about their LD?
- What is the relationship between LD and other factors such as poor reading or math ability, socio-economic status, and co-occurring medical and behavioral disorders (i.e. language or attention) in adults with LD?
- What kinds of services and supports do adults with LD need most to succeed, and to what extent are they available for these individuals in academic, work, and community settings?
- What factors (or resources) would help adults with LD take better control of their lives, improve employment opportunities, and increase their ability enjoy independence and success in different aspects of their lives?
An Ongoing Dialogue
Look for more discussion about this topic in future Research Roundup columns, and be sure to visit Living with LD as a resource for adolescents and young adults with LD. Here are some additional resources on this topic:
- National Longitudinal Transition Study-2
This study documents experiences of a national sample of students who were 13 to 16 years of age in 2000 as they move from secondary school into adulthood. Topics covered in this report include: high school coursework, extracurricular activities, academic performance, postsecondary education and training, employment, independent living, and community participation. - Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Call to Action (pdf)
This report is the work of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD). The purpose of this position paper was to identify issues and to propose ways for exploring and resolving the problems encountered by adults with learning disabilities. - Learning Disabilities in Adulthood: Persisting Problems and Evolving Issues
This text, edited by Paul Gerber and Henry Reiff, offers chapters on psychological, educational and vocational challenges faced by adults with LD. Published by PRO-ED. Austin, TX. - Meeting the Challenge of Learning Disabilities in Adulthood
This text, written by Arlyn Roffman, reveals the very personal stories of adults with LD and frames critical information in the areas of mental health, friendships and dating, parenting, work and more. Published by Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Baltimore, MD. - Exceeding Expectations: Successful Adults with Learning Disabilities
This text was written by Henry Reiff, Paul Gerber and Rick Ginsberg. Based on 71 interviews with successful adults with LD, it reveals information gleaned from carefully constructed, systematic interviews with these individuals. Published by PRO-ED. Austin, TX. - Literacy Information and Communication System
LINCS is an on-line information and communications network for adult and family literacy. It includes links to dozens of national, regional, state, and local partners, and strives to provide access to comprehensive resources for individuals and families about research, teaching/learning and training.
Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of LD Resources & Essential Information at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
