Learning Disabilities Related to Adults in Texas

By Roemer Visser
Graduate Assistant
Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning
April, 2000

1. Learning disabilities - what are they and what are they not?  

What are learning disabilities? Currently, there are multiple definitions in use. Perhaps the most often cited definition is from the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD):

"Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (for example, sensory impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance) or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences."

A sample of some of the other prevalent definitions can be found here. The differences between the definitions are sometimes minor, sometimes significant. In spite of these differences, it seems to be safe to conclude that learning disabilities:

• Are a heterogeneous group of disorders that can manifest themselves in all kinds of ways;
• Are life-long, i.e. they are not outgrown;
• Involve central nervous system processes related to input, processing, and output of information.

In general, LD may be diagnosed when an individual's potential (IQ) differs significantly from their achievement. For more information on diagnosis, see section 5. Since a discrepancy between potential and achievement could be attributed to a multitude of factors other than LD, it is important to clarify and define what learning disabilities are not.

What are they not?

1. Learning disabilities are not necessarily related to intelligence. It is often claimed that people with learning disabilities are more intelligent than average. However, there are no empirical data that substantiate this claim.
2. ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder) in itself is not considered to be a learning disability, though it may exist concurrently with one.
3. Lack of opportunity (e.g. SES, cultural differences, individual motivation) can cause such discrepancies but does not constitute LD.

2. How common is LD?

Estimations of LD occurrence within the general population vary greatly. This is probably mostly due to variations in the diagnostic process. Estimates range from 6% of the population to more than 30%, with percentages soaring up to 50% or more in adult education and prison populations. Although no one really knows how often LD occurs in the general population, there does seem to be a consensus that LD occurs more often than we had previously assumed.

LD and SES

Currently, there is a lively debate going on about the extent to which Socio-Economic Status (SES) and LD are associated. One school of thought claims that there is a definite correlation, since lower-SES people are more likely to suffer from malnutrition, substandard health care, and other problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, which are assumed to contribute to neurological processing deficits. Conversely, people who have LD are more likely to drop out of school than those who do not, so one would expect to find people with LD primarily in lower-SES populations. There is ample anecdotal evidence, for example, that the occurrence of LD among prison populations is significantly higher than among the general population.

The other school of thought takes another position. According to Dr Cecil Reynolds, School Psychology Professor at Texas A & M University, LD can be assumed to be evenly distributed across the IQ spectrum. He says that intelligence (IQ) really 'drives' SES much more than LD. It is quite possible that there are many intelligent people with LD who have developed effective coping skills and have become successful in their lives without knowing that they have LD.

Much of this boils down to definition: is LD, to be considered LD, innate, present from birth? Or can it be caused by external factors such as malnutrition, trauma, oxygen deprivation etc? The above cited definition of LD does not provide an answer - the jury is out on this issue.

Whether LD is present from birth, or can develop over time due to external factors, may not really matter to the adult education provider. Whether officially LD or not, the learner has a learning need that needs to be met. The following section describes some of the most common characteristics of learners with LD.

3. Manifestations of LD in the classroom

Much has been written about this subject. Sometimes, one could get the impression that every form of deviant behavior in a classroom indicates LD.

White and Polson (1999)* conducted a comprehensive literature review regarding the behaviors of adults with LD in the classroom. This seems to be the most thorough and comprehensive empirical study regarding manifestations in the classroom. The authors presented 13 main characteristics of learners with LD.

Learners with LD tend to:

1. Be overly active and have difficulty sitting and working quietly
   
2. Be very distractible, daydream or cease activity before completion and have trouble staying on tasks
   
3. Have difficulty paying attention to oral directions or the spoken word
   
4. Have difficulty getting started, often delaying and procrastinating
   
5. Have difficulty using the computer
   
6. Have difficulty hearing
   
7. Have difficulty expressing themselves verbally
   
8. Have difficulty reading class material and/or books
   
9. Have difficulty spelling
   
10. Have difficulty expressing themselves in writing
    
11. Have difficulty solving math problems
    
12. Have difficulty taking tests
    
13. Have difficulty writing legibly
    

It should be noted that all of these behaviors could be the result of factors other than LD. Quite often, hearing and vision impairments turn out to be the root causes. Other examples could be problems in the personal realm (domestic violence, drug abuse, bipolar) or language difficulties (English as a second or third language). Though the teacher should be aware of LD and its manifestations, other possible causes of these manifestations should be ruled out before considering a formal diagnosis for LD.

* White, W and Polson, C. (1999). Accommodations for adults with disabilities in adult basic education centers. Adult Basic Education, Vol. 9, Number 2, Summer 1999, 90-10. .

4. Screening tools and issues

Since the diagnostic process for LD is a labor-intensive, and therefore expensive one, many screening tools have been introduced. These screens are usually "quick and dirty" instruments that can be administered quickly by a person without any diagnostic qualification to indicate whether or not a diagnosis is warranted. Usually the screen complements observations made in the classroom.

Currently, there are many screens available on the market - some at no charge, some rather costly. Unfortunately, nearly all of those screens have one of two problems (or both) associated with them:

• no reliability or validity information available
• questions and cut-off scores are based on clinical judgment or personal experience rather than empirical data

However, there is one instrument known as the ALDS (Adult Learning Disability Screening). It is an entirely empirical instrument with respectable reliability and validity. Development of the ALDS started in 1996 and was completed recently. It is very affordable and easy to administer. No training is needed and the instrument takes about 15 to 20 minutes to administer. The ALDS consists of three parts: Self-Rating Scale, Inventory, and a brief Interview. All three taken together have been shown to be a very effective tool in finding indications of LD (other than a teacher's experience with the student), which could serve as a basis for a referral to a Psychologist for a formal diagnosis. An official diagnosis of LD will lead to accommodations on the GED exam as well as other services, and the process of diagnosing is discussed next.

5. Diagnostics: issues and ambiguities in Texas

Much of the information in this section has been gleaned from Dr Cecil Reynolds, School Psychology Professor at Texas A & M University. In the mid-'80's, he chaired a federal task force on issues with LD diagnosis and made recommendations. His recommendations led to changes in 16 state laws (Texas was not one of them) and can be considered an authority on this subject.

First, it may be helpful to introduce what can be considered to be 'best practice' in the LD diagnostic processes. Then, the status quo regarding LD diagnostics in the public school system and in adult education are presented.

In most - if not all - states, a discrepancy model is used for diagnosis. Simply put, it means that if someone does not perform according to his/her potential, LD may be involved. Potential is inferred from intelligence, while performance is measured by achievement. The discrepancy between the two needs to be of a certain size for LD to be considered.

Best practice
A good diagnosis takes a minimum of six hours, preferably 8 to 10. It consists of an intelligence test (e.g. Wechsler) and an achievement test (e.g. Woodcock-Johnson). This is really where it starts. The IQ score should not be influenced by the presence of LD. People with LD often have a score profile where, for example, they score high on the math, but low on the verbal parts of the test. The diagnostician should then, based on that profile, select another IQ test (for example, a non-verbal one) that is insensitive to the presumed disability, in order to get a reliable estimate of the 'true' IQ. Then, when comparing the IQ with the achievement, if the minimum difference is found, there is a possibility of LD. Since LD should be the "last resort" in diagnosis because of the implications of such a diagnosis, other potential causes need to be ruled out first. This is done by administering instruments like memory tests, a personality inventory, a screen for attention problems, and an in-depth interview.

Current Practice in public schools
In the Texas public school system, mostly educational diagnosticians diagnose LD in students. Educational diagnosticians have a 36 hour Master's degree and are not qualified to gather any personal data (e.g. personality questionnaires). They administer an IQ test, an achievement test, look at the difference, and if the difference is big enough in one of the seven areas (reading, writing, listening, speaking, mathematics, thinking, and "other"), they can diagnose the student as LD.

The problem is that just by chance effects alone, with the current minimum discrepancy of 15 points in one of the seven areas, 50% of the population is at risk of being diagnosed as LD. This has led to LD being the number one developmental disorder in the United States. (For more details on the diagnostic process, please click here.)

All this can, at least partially, be attributed to the lack of awareness of the best practice as described above and misinterpretation of the existing guidelines. Although LD may be one of the most difficult disorders to diagnose and involves significant professional judgment, it seems that, in Texas, LD is presumed an easy disorder to diagnose. This is reflected in the required qualifications for diagnosing LD in the public schools. All in all, it can be concluded that in Texas Public Schools, many children are wrongfully diagnosed as LD.

Current Practice in Adult Education
The advantage that adult education has over the public school system, is that it doesn't have any wrong practices in place. The bad news is, of course, that there are no practices (if any) at all. The only thing that seems to be consistent is the need for information regarding the topic and practical suggestions on how to accommodate LD adults. Adult education in Texas, therefore, probably has many LD adults in their classes without anyone being aware of that, and soon may encounter the first adults who were wrongfully diagnosed as LD in public school.

6. Accommodations

White and Polson (1999) conducted an intensive study of accommodations for adults with LD and their (perceived) effectiveness. Below are the accommodations that were rated "effective" or better. They are ranked in order of effectiveness, with the first being the most effective.

The good news from this list is that making accommodations for learners with LD is often relatively easy. Most of the accommodations that were effective (and often used) are actually quite simple and inexpensive. In some cases, some more high-tech accommodations are warranted. The next section, resources, contains links to some assistive technology Web sites. Assistive technology could include items like talking calculators, word processors with spell checks, speech recognition software, etc. The Texas Rehabilitation Commission can play an important role in providing adult learners with LD with assistive technology.

7. Further Web resources

Some National Resources:

National Institute for Literacy home page: http://novel.nifl.gov/
National Resources for Adults with Learning Disabilities: http://novel.nifl.gov/nalld/resource.htm
On-line resource guide: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/resource-guide.html

Some Texas Resources:

NIFL's Texas state resources literacy and LD: http://novel.nifl.gov/nalld/tx.html
Learning Disabilities Association of Texas home page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/LDAT/
Texas Workforce Commission: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/
TEA Division of Adult and Continuing Education: /TA/TEAgrantAdm.htm
Texas Rehabilitation Commission: http://www.rehab.state.tx.us

Assistive Technology Sites:

http://www.netins.net/showcase/atforum/
http://www.php.com/itechlink.htm

Do you know of a Texas or Assistive Technology Web site that needs to be listed here? Please submit it to us!