The Transition Process

The last two decades have witnessed significant changes for people with disabilities, in large part due to the disability rights movement that, in many ways, paralleled the civil rights movement. People with disabilities used to be thought of as the invisible minority. Individuals with disabilities are now a presence in all the media, commercial advertising, and many forms of public life. Changes in the laws and progress and technology have helped make these advances possible. Despite these gains, the barriers to acceptance remain society’s myths, fears, and stereotypes about those with disabilities. Consequently, the efforts for change need to be viewed as an ongoing process. The implementation of transition services is a significant component of this pathway to acceptance.

Since the number of students with learning disabilities comprises the largest percentage (approximately 50%) of all individuals in special education (U.S. Department of Education, 2007), the need for special education governing the transition to adult life is a major concern for this population. The need for such services becomes more apparent as student with learning disabilities prepare for the adult world. Feelings of anxiety may arise because these student are uncertain about their future which may include post secondary education, employment, and independent community living (Furney, Haszi, and DeStefano, 1997). The legislation governing transition services was passed to prevent all children with disabilities from being ill-prepared for post secondary life. Since many aspects of learning disabilities continues throughout adulthood, it is imperative that student with learning disabilities be provided with a suitable transition plan to increase their chances of being productive members of society.

As many adults know from their own experience, adolescence is often the most difficult and unsettling period of adjustment in one s development. It is a time filled with physical, emotional, and social upheavals. Until a child leaves secondary school, parents and teachers may experience a sense of protective control over the child s life. This protective guidance normally involves educational, medical, financial, and social input to assist the child’s growth. When the child leaves this setting, there is normally a personal struggle on the part of parents in letting go. There is always a normal amount of apprehension associated with the child s entrance into the adult world.

Today, greater responsibility for adjustment falls on educators. However, for the child with a learning disability, this developmental period can be fraught with even greater apprehension for a variety of reasons. Depending on the nature and severity of the learning disability, parents may play more of an ongoing role in their child’s life even after he or she leaves secondary education. Historically, parents and their children have spent years actively involved in IEP development and meetings, transitional IEP development, and Eligibility Committee meetings concerning educational and developmental welfare. Depending on the severity of the learning disability and its interference in making reasoned decisions, some parents may have to continue to make vital decisions affecting all aspects of their child s life.

Because planning for the future of a student with learning disabilities can arouse fear of the unknown, there may be a tendency for parents to delay addressing these issues and instead focus only on the present. However, working through these fears and thinking about the child s best future interest has a greater chance of ensuring a meaningful outcome. Regardless of the nature and severity of the learning disability, educators and parents will be exposed to a transitional process during the child s school years that will provide a foundation for the adult world. This transitional process will include many facets of planning for the future and should be fully understood by everyone concerned each step of the way. Planning for the future is an investment in a child s well-being.

The Intent of Transition Services

For many years, educators have been concerned about the lack of success in adult life for students with disabilities. Many did not go for further training, and often did not receive post-school support and services. As these children aged out (students were no longer eligible for a free and appropriate education including services and support of the educational system), the families felt that they were being dropped into a void. Although there were many services out in the community, parents were left to their own devices and would find out about such services and supports by chance, luck, or fate. Parents and students were confronted with a complex array of service options and resources, each with unique roles, services, funding sources, forms, and eligibility requirements. A need for a collaborative, readily accessible system was obvious. What seemed to be missing was the bridge between a student s school system and services for postsecondary-school life. As a result, the concept of transitional services was developed to bridge this gap and hopefully provide students who have special needs with a more structured path to adulthood.

The Importance of Transition Services for Individuals with Learning Disabilities?
Even though transition planning has been mandated for all students with disabilities for more than 10 years, transition planning for individuals with LD has lagged behind that of other groups. A major reason for this lack of attention has been an assumption that individuals with LD have a mild disability that primarily affects academic achievement; therefore, they have the ability to move from secondary to postsecondary environments without a lot of difficulty. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many students with learning disabilities. The results of a number of recent studies have suggested that many adolescents with learning disabilities do encounter difficulties in making the transition to adult life, including problems related to unemployment, underemployment, job changes, participation in community and leisure activities, pay, dependency on parents and others, satisfaction with employment, postsecondary academics, and functional skills (Council for Learning Disabilities, 2004).

The Introduction of Transition Services

In 1990, the laws governing the education of children with disabilities took a major step forward with the introduction of transition services. The rules and regulations for the IDEA released in 1990 define transition services as:
a coordinated set of activities for a student, designed within an outcome oriented process that promotes movement from school to postschool activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. The coordinated set of activities must be based on the individual student s needs, taking into account the student s preferences and interests; include instruction, community experience, the development of employment and other postschool adult living objectives and if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional evaluation.

Simply put, transition is helping students and family think about their life after high school, identify long-range goals, designing the high school experience to ensure that students gain the skills and connections they need to achieve these goals, the provision of funds, and services to local school districts to assist in the transition process.

In May 1994, President Clinton signed the School to Work Opportunities Act. This act contains the blueprint to empower all individuals, including those with disabilities, to acquire the skills and experiences they need to compete. This landmark bill demonstrates that transition is clearly now a national priority, important to ensure our economic viability as well as to offer every young person a chance at a productive life.

Every state receives federal special education moneys through Part B of IDEA, and in turn, most of these funds flow through to local school districts and other state-supported programs providing special education services. As a requirement of receiving these funds, there are state education agencies that monitor the programs for which the funds are made available.

The Individualized Transition Plan (ITP)

The IEP, as it has been defined over the years by legislation and court rulings, is not changed by the presence of the transition services section. The IEP is still a contract between the students, the parents, and the school. It is not a performance contract. The IEP spells out what the school will do (services and activities). If it is written on the IEP, the school is responsible for performing this stated service activity.

The IEP should carry the information about transition services that the school district can only provide, directly or indirectly (by arranging for another agency to provide services coordinated with the school services). As in previous interpretations of the IEP, parents cannot be listed as responsible for achieving an outcome or providing a service. This is the school district s responsibility.

The Individual Transitional Education Plan (ITP) is a part of the overall IEP but represents a very important piece in determining a child’s future. The ITP should include long-term adult outcomes from which annual goals and objectives are defined. The ITP should address the following:

A statement of transition services should be responsive to the child s preferences, interests, and needs. The beginning date for the service should be provided.
Annual goals and objectives, such as employment services, living arrangements.
Long-term adult outcomes in the IEP should include statements on the child regarding his or her performance in employment, postsecondary education, and community living.
A coordinated set of activities must be included on the ITP. This set must demonstrate the use of various strategies, including community experiences, adult living objectives, and instruction. If one of these activities is not included in the IEP in a particular year, then the IEP must explain why that activity is not reflected in any part of the student s program. Activities of daily living and functional vocational evaluation activities also should be included.
A list of participants involved in the planning and development of the individualized transitional educational program.

Transition Services

Transition services are aimed at providing students and their families with the practical and experiential skills and knowledge that will assist in a successful transition to adult life. Although transition services are provided in each of the following areas, it is important to understand that not every student with disabilities will need to receive all of these services. The available services included in the transition process involve services and experiences for both students and parents, such as:

Employment services
Living arrangements
Leisure/recreational services
Transportation services
Financial services
Postsecondary education services
Assistive technology
Medical services

As an educator working with students with learning disabilities, it is crucial for you to become familiar with the aspects of transition that will impact on this specific population so that you can assist both parents and the student in this process toward adulthood. In order to accomplish this, you will need to become familiar with the different areas associated with transition that may be faced by students with learning disabilities. A brief explanation of the areas involved in the transition process follows.

Special Considerations for Students with Learning Disabilities

Several special factors need to be considered in the transition planning for students with LD. One of these factors is the drop-out rate. Students with LD are at great risk for dropping out of school. Recent drop-out estimates for this population range from 17% to 42% (Scanlon & Mellard, 2002). Dropping out engenders numerous consequences relating to job opportunities, income, and self-esteem. Within the student with LD population, those students most at risk for dropping out are boys from urban communities and low-income homes who are racial minorities. Such students should receive intensified support, and their progress should be monitored.

According to the Council for Learning Disabilities (2004), another critical factor in transition planning for students with LD is individualized planning that matches a student’s post-high school goals. Because the population of students with disabilities is so heterogeneous, a wide range of postsecondary goals and transition planning should be considered. For some students, the next step after high school will be employment, for other students it will be further career or technical training, and for still others it will be attending a 4-year college or university. In order to be successful in the post-high school environment, these students must be provided with appropriate training and experiences.

For example, for a student whose postsecondary goal is attending a university, the high school curriculum must include participation in college preparatory courses and the development of independent study skills. For a student whose postsecondary goal is employment, the high school curriculum must include participation in career/technical education courses and work experiences. For all students, the curriculum should include the development of self-determination skills, social and interpersonal skills, community integration and participation skills, and independent living skills, if appropriate.

A final critical aspect of transition planning for students with LD is self-determination, which has been defined as “one’s ability to define and achieve goals based on a foundation of knowing and valuing oneself” (Field & Hoffman, 1994, p. 164). It is highly related to positive adult outcomes. For example, Wehmeyer and Schwartz (1995) found that students with high levels of self-determination were more likely to be employed for pay, have a savings or checking account, and have expressed an interest in living outside of the home. Skills related to self-determination include self-evaluation, self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-management, choice making, decision making, problem solving, goal setting and attainment, and social collaboration (Field, Hoffman, & Spezia, 1998).

Employment Services

Crossing the threshold from the world of school to the world of work brings a significant change in everyone s life. School is an entitlement, meaning that it is an environment that our system of government supplies for all our citizens. The workplace is the opposite; no one is entitled to a job. The workplace is governed by the competitive market, and students with or without disabilities have to be able to function in that setting or they will not survive.

One of the first and most important aspects of transition planning is the preparation for some students for the world of work. This is a very practical issue that can create many concerns. With the proper information and resources, this phase of the transition process can also be rewarding. Parents and teachers must fully understand the options in order to help the child make the best decision for his or her future. The first step in planning for employment may begin with vocational assessments to help determine the best direction based on the child s interests and skill levels.

Vocational Assessments

One of the techniques used to determine a child s interests, aptitudes, and skills is a vocational assessment. A vocational assessment is the responsibility of the district s special education program. It begins by assessing referrals for special education services and continues throughout subsequent annual reviews. The planning of transitional services includes the Eligibility Committee s development of transitional employment goals and objectives based on the child s needs, preferences, and interests. These will be identified through the child-centered vocational assessment process.

A good vocational assessment should include the collection and analysis of information about a child s vocational aptitudes, skills, expressed interests, and occupational exploration history (volunteer experiences, part-time or summer employment, club activities). The collection of this information should also take into account the child’s language, culture, and family.

A Level I vocational assessment is administered at the beginning of a child s transitional process, usually around age 13 or 14, and is based on the student’s abilities, expressed interests, and needs. This Level I assessment may include the review of existing school information and the conduct of informal interviews. Level I takes a look at the student from a vocational perspective. A trained vocational evaluator or knowledgeable special education teacher should be designated to collect the Level I assessment data. The information gathered for analyses should include existing information from:

Cumulative records
Student interviews
Parent/guardian and teacher interviews
Special education eligibility data
A review of the child s aptitudes
Achievements
Interests
Behaviors
Occupational exploration activities

The informal student interview involved in a Level I assessment should consider the student’s vocational interest, interpersonal relationship skills, and adaptive behavior.

A Level II vocational assessment usually includes the administration of one or more formal vocational evaluations. A Level II assessment follows and is based on the analyses obtained from the Level I assessment. This may be recommended by the eligibility committee at any time to determine the level of a student s vocational skills, aptitudes, and interests but not before the age of 12. The same knowledgeable staff members involved in prior assessments should be used. Collected data should include:

Writing
Learning styles
Interest inventory
Motor (dexterity, speed, tool use, strength, coordination)
Spatial discrimination
Verbal reading
Perception (visual/auditory/tactile)
Speaking numerical (measurement, money skills)
Comprehension (task learning, problem solving)
Attention (staying on task)

A Level III vocational assessment is a comprehensive vocational evaluation that focuses on real or simulated work experiences. This assessment is the basis for vocational counseling. Unlike Level I and Level II assessments, a trained vocational evaluator should administer or supervise this level of assessment. Level III assessment options include:

Vocational evaluations: This includes aptitudes and interests that are compared to job performance to predict vocational success in specific areas. Work samples must be valid and reliable.
Situational vocational assessments that occur in real work settings: This on-the-job assessment considers what has been learned and how.
Work study assessments: These are progress reports from supervisors or mentors that provide information on the student s job performance. A standard observational checklist may be utilized.

If a student plans a postsecondary educational program, he or she may benefit from two types of assessments:

1.) General assessments of postsecondary education skills are necessary to determine academic skills, critical thinking skills, requirements for reasonable accommodations, social behaviors, interpersonal skills, self-advocacy and self-determination skills, learning strategies, and time management or organizational skills. This information is usually obtained through consultation with peers, teachers, or a self-evaluation.

2.) Assessments specific to field of study or setting are necessary to assess needs in relation to daily living skills that may be experienced in a classroom setting or college campus, such as dormitory living versus commuting, lab work, large lecture versus seminar courses.

Parents should be encouraged to visit campuses that provide supportive services for children with disabilities. Sources of information regarding colleges that provide these services can be obtained in the local libraries, bookstores, or high school guidance offices.

Leisure/Recreational Experiences

Leisure is some activity that we do by choice for relaxation rather than for money as part of our job. When a student with a learning disability is involved in the transition from school to adult life, a healthy part of this journey should include leisure activities.

Teachers and parents may generally discover the student’s leisure interests by having him or her sample a variety of activities and learning which ones are the most interesting and exciting. Parents of very young children in today s society normally expose them to a wide variety of experiences, such as:

Dance classes
Sports activities
Little League
Cultural experiences
Music lessons
Travel
Scouting
Art lessons

As students without disabilities grow older, this process of sampling leisure interests depends less on the parents and more on their peer group. For young people with learning disabilities, however, teachers, parents, and other family members may continue to guide or structure leisure experiences. This extended period of guidance and involvement should be considered a realistic part of a student with disabilities transitional process to adulthood. Learning specific leisure skills can be an important component for successful integration into community recreation programs. Research has shown that leisure skill training contributes to a sense of competence, social interaction, and appropriate behavior.

Advantages of Special Leisure Programs

One of the conflicts that teachers and parents have to address is whether the child should participate in activities designed specifically for people with disabilities or enter activities that are geared for a more mainstreamed population. The advantages of a special program designed for children with disabilities ares:

They may allow the only opportunity for some children with severe disabilities to participate (e.g., Special Olympics).
They allow for a sense of group identity.
They provide a setting for social interaction.
They create a more level playing field so that the individual s abilities become the focus rather than the disability.
On the other hand, concentrating on disabled only activities may unnecessarily exclude individuals from many leisure opportunities and prevent interaction with the nondisabled community.

Individual Concerns When Faced with Leisure Activities

One of the greatest concerns of individuals with disabilities is the problem they may face assimilating into the social world. Many students receive special services while in school that expose them to other children with disabilities. This social interaction and connection provide a foundation for improving social skills. However, once the school experience ends and the child is confronted with the mainstream world, many of these social opportunities are not available, and social isolation is often the result. Social isolation could be a painful aspect that individuals with learning disabilities face when they enter adulthood. Therefore, parents play a crucial role in assisting their child in providing the exposure to leisure and recreational activities. Parents may often find themselves as the only agent for this particular aspect of life, especially once the child leaves the school setting.

Parents and professionals should be aware of the enormous benefit of recreational activities in the role of social and personal confidence. Having a learning disability should not preclude a person from activities that enhance enjoyment. It is always important in one s life to maintain a balance between work and play.

Recreation activities have been one of the most visible areas of change for people with learning disabilities. There is hardly a sport activity that cannot include the participation of people with learning disabilities. For those that accept the challenge, nothing is off limits. Not everyone needs or wants to be a superstar. But everyone can attain a level of confidence in an activity that interests him or her. Parents and educators need to be supportive and encouraging to help their children develop those interests and skills because for all people, it is through the mastery of tasks that we raise our level of self-esteem.

Postsecondary Education Options

Some students with disabilities may be capable of graduating high school with all the requirements and moving to a postsecondary education experience. A number of years ago, students with disabilities had limited choices when it came to choosing a college or university that could provide accommodations. With the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the disabilities rights movement, accommodations for students with disabilities are relatively commonplace today. However, many of these colleges may require documentation for the presence of a learning disability. According to Barr, Hartman & Spillane (2004), documentation is defined in the following manner:

A high school student with a learning disability is one who has been evaluated by professionals. Such professionals (a school psychologist or educational diagnostician), after reviewing the results of various tests and other evidence, provide for each student a written diagnosis that a learning disability exists. Recommendations for accommodative services and programs are also usually part of the written document. This document can serve as a vehicle for the student to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses, as well as a “ticket” to obtain the accommodative services necessary to participate in regular college programs. There are several points for a student planning to go to college to keep in mind concerning the documentation of a learning disability. IDEA requires reevaluations to be conducted at least every three years, therefore, students with learning disabilities may be wise to have a comprehensive reevaluation conducted close to high school graduation time. This will ensure, for students who are going directly into postsecondary education, that the documentation that they take with them will be timely.

If the student is unable to be evaluated close to graduation from high school, it is possible that a college or university, after receiving documentation, may decide that the documentation is too old. This may occur if the college or university feels that the information does not adequately describe the student’s current academic strengths and weaknesses, learning styles, etc. Such current information can be invaluable in determining the most appropriate accommodations for the student. While an agreed upon definition does not exist within the postsecondary/disability community of “how old is too old,” evidence from the field suggests a range of two-five years.

While it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to obtain necessary documentation, some colleges and universities do provide testing services. Students should ask about campus-based possibilities before going to a private diagnostician. Students and parents should study and discuss the documentation in order to fully understand what it conveys about the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and recommended accommodative services. If the report is not clear, discuss it with the school psychologist or whoever has prepared it. Many high schools routinely destroy copies of student records after a predetermined number of years. As students with learning disabilities will need copies of select items in their records to show to the college or university as documentation of their disability, students should make sure that they have complete copies of all of their records upon leaving high school.

When to Begin College Planning

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team consider post-school goals when the student is about to enter high school at about age 14. Beginning at age 16 (or younger, if appropriate) a statement of transition services needed by the student must be included in the IEP. High school experiences, both academic and social, greatly influence future options for all students. For adolescents with disabilities, these experiences are pivotal.

Transition plans should be grounded in the student’s goals and vision for life as an adult, career interests, extracurricular and community activities, and the skills the student needs to progress toward his or her goals. Planning should include preparation for proficiency tests and other assessments needed for postsecondary academic work (e.g., SATs), as well as the development of self-determination and self-advocacy skills.

During the last 2 years of high school, diagnostic testing should be conducted to further define the LD or ADHD. Colleges require documentation of a disability (i.e., results of tests indicating the presence of a disability) in order to provide support services; having an IEP or Section 504 plan in high school is not enough documentation to obtain services from colleges. Students entering postsecondary programs will need to present current assessment data in order to receive accommodations at college.

Even for students who have struggled academically in high school, postsecondary education may very well be a possibility. Students who wonder whether college is a realistic option can explore summer pre-college courses for high school students who have completed their junior or senior year. Alternatively, students can take a college course the summer before they enroll to get to know the campus, learn how to use the library, and sharpen their study strategies and time management skills.

Colleges offer an opportunity for individuals with disabilities to continue their education and earn tangible evidence of education such as a certificate or degree. Junior and community colleges offer a variety of courses that, upon successful completion of the prescribed courses, may lead to a Certificate or Associate s degree. Community colleges are publicly funded, have either no or low-cost tuition, and offer a wide range of programs, including vocational and occupational courses. They exist in or near many communities; generally the only admissions requirement is a high school diploma or its equivalent. Junior colleges are usually privately supported, and the majority provides programs in the liberal arts field. Four-year colleges and universities offer programs of study that lead to a Bachelor s degree after successful completion of four years of prescribed course work.

Conestoga College (2004) suggests that students with learning disabilities follow guidelines when considering transition to a post secondary setting:

To maximize your potential for success in a post-secondary setting you must be prepared. A useful acronym developed by Wallert and Puffer (1999), two respected special educators in the United States is PRISM. (Although designed for students with learning disabilities this plan could be equally beneficial for all students.)

P: Planning – involves matching your expectations and perceptions with those of the college or university that you are considering. Find out what services and supports are offered and what you need to access these.

R: Reinforcement – You need to know that there is a tremendous change from high school to college in regard to self- direction. Take advantage of the supports provided to make this transition and seek support earlier rather than later.

I: Insight – Students with learning disabilities must understand their strengths and challenges knowing how they learn, the best classroom environment, test taking methods, study style etc Insight into personal style can make a significant difference to how to approach studies and the subsequent results.

S: Self-advocacy – You are now the person in charge and therefore you must ask for services. You are the primary advocate for your learning needs and accommodations. Self-disclosure is essential. Your knowledge of your disability, both strengths and weaknesses will influence the services and supports you receive. Knowing how to express yourself assertively is a skill that will be most useful to you in college/university.

M: Modifications and accommodations – Work with the special needs office or disability services to identify what type of accommodation or modification is most appropriate given the nature of your learning disability. Faculty will be more willing to assist if they know what you accommodation needs are.

Understanding Legal Rights Pertaining to Post-Secondary Education

Once students with disabilities graduate from high school, they are no longer eligible for services provided by the school system and will not have an IEP. If they have been receiving rehabilitation services as part of their transition plans, they can continue to receive them. They will have an Individual Written Rehabilitation Plan (IWRP) and may be eligible for services such as postsecondary education, counseling, and vocational evaluation and assessment.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bars discrimination against students with disabilities in the college application process. Once admitted, students may request reasonable accommodations to allow them to participate in courses, exams, and other activities. Most colleges and universities have a disability support services office to assist in providing accommodations.

Identifying the Desirable Characteristics of a College

Once the student’s strengths, learning needs, and level of support needed have been delineated, it is time to look at the characteristics of colleges that might be a good match for the student. Consider various types of colleges: two-year colleges, public community colleges, private junior colleges, four-year colleges and universities, as well as graduate and professional schools. Students with LD can succeed in all types of schools, including the most prestigious.

Students must determine the characteristics of colleges that will make them happy and support their success. For example, how big is their high school? Will they feel more comfortable in a larger or a smaller college? Will they be happier in an urban or a rural area? Can they meet the academic requirements? Should they find a college that doesn’t impose rigid prerequisites? Should they consider enrolling part-time rather than taking a full course load? What are their academic and extra-curricular interests?

In looking at colleges, students may also want to consider whether progressive attitudes toward instruction prevail. Colleges that are using instructional techniques and electronic technology in a flexible way can increase students’ success. For example, if courses are web-based so lecture notes or videos of presentations are available online and can be viewed multiple times, then students have natural supports built into a course. Nevertheless, according to the Heath Resource Center (2004) a student can get a good idea about the nature of the college by asking questions such as:

Does this college require standardized college admissions test scores? If so, what is the range of scores for those admitted?
For how many students with learning disabilities does the campus currently provide services?
What are their major fields of study?
What types of academic accommodations are typically provided to students with learning disabilities on your campus?
Will this college provide the specific accommodations that I need?
What records or documentation of a learning disability is necessary to arrange academic -accommodations for admitted students?
How is the confidentiality of applicants’ records, as well as those of enrolled students, protected?
Where does the college publish Family Education Rights and Privacy Act guidelines which I can review?
How is information related to the documentation of a learning disability used? By whom? Does the college or university have someone available who is trained and understands the needs of adults with learning disabilities?
What academic and personal characteristics have been found important for students with learning disabilities to succeed at this college?
How many students with learning disabilities have graduated in the past five years?
What is the tuition? Are there additional fees for learning disabilities-related services? If so, what services beyond those required by Section 504 and the ADA do you get for those fees?

In addition to talking with college staff, try to arrange a meeting with several college students with learning disabilities and talk with them about the services they receive and their experiences on campus. Such a meeting can be requested at the time of scheduling the interview with the college staff. While you will certainly be interested in the answers to the questions, the impressions that you get during the conversations will be equally important and may serve as a way to make final refinements to the short list.

Students with disabilities must also look at other factors. They should investigate the support services offered by candidate colleges, discuss them with college staff (e.g., personnel in the Office of Disability Support Services), and verify that the services advertised by the college will actually be available to the student. For example, is tutoring available? Will extended time be allowed for taking tests? Is someone available to help with taking notes or preparing written work? Will college policies allow extended time to complete a course of study so that fewer classes may be taken over a longer period of time?

Furthermore, students with LD must decide whether and to whom to disclose the presence of the disability. To obtain support services, students must self-disclose their disabilities to the Office of Disability Support Services. That office will notify professors of the necessary accommodations. Students are not required to give faculty information about a disability, but to obtain the best course work accommodations; they must be able to explain their needs to instructors. Therefore, students will want to investigate specific classes before they register for them. Some strategies for becoming informed about classes are listed below:

Participate in orientation programs. These programs provide opportunities to become familiar with campus life and to ask questions of continuing students and advisors about classes, faculty, resources, and services.
Don’t procrastinate. Do not wait until the last minute to begin gathering information about courses and professors. Most Offices for Disability Support.
Services will allow students with disabilities to register a few days before other students.
Talk to other students. Other students are an excellent source of information about classes and professors.
Audit classes. It is possible to observe a class for a limited period of time to determine whether this is the right class. Students who audit a course are not responsible for exams or assignments.
Check the Internet. Most colleges and universities offer an increasing amount of information, including the course syllabus (outline of the course), objectives, textbook, readings, and assignments.
Meet the professor. Professors have scheduled office hours to answer questions about the course. Getting the textbooks and reading list ahead of time also allows students an opportunity to get a head start on the course.

For many individuals with LD, the transition to adulthood will be a time of positive self-discovery, but it will take trial and error. Goals and successes can sometimes be elusive, and the hidden nature of LD can pose special challenges. Careful preparation for the transition to college can help.

Disability-Related Support Services

Many college campuses have an office of student services or special services for those with disabilities. Others have designated the dean of students or some other administrator to provide this information and to coordinate necessary services and accommodations. At vocational schools or other training programs, the person responsible for disability services can usually provide this information. There are also many publications that can tell more about the policies and programs that individual colleges and universities have established to address the needs of students with disabilities.

Assistive Technology

Technology has become ubiquitous as a tool for teachers and students. P.L. 100-407, The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (Tech Act) was designed to enhance the availability and quality of assistive technology (AT) devices and services to all individuals and their families throughout the United States. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) uses the same definitions for assistive technology as the Tech Act and mandates that assistive technology be considered in developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities. IDEA also emphasizes access to the general education curriculum for all students with disabilities.

The Tech Act and the IDEA define an AT device as any item, piece of equipment, or product system (whether acquired off the shelf, modified, or customized) that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. AT devices may be categorized as no technology, low technology, or high technology (LD Online, 2001).

“No-technology” or “no-tech” refers to any assistive device that is not electronic. No-tech items range from a piece of foam glued onto the corners of book pages to make turning easier to a study carrel to reduce distraction. “Low-technology” or “low-tech” devices are electronic but do not include highly sophisticated computer components, such as an electronic voice-recording device or a “talking watch” (Behrmann & Schaff, 2001).

“High-technology” or “high-tech” devices utilize complex, multifunction technology and usually include a computer and associated software. Lahm and Morissette (1994) identified areas of instruction in which AT can assist students. Six of these are described here: (1) organization, (2) note taking, (3) writing, (4) academic productivity, (5) access to reference and general educational materials, and (6) cognitive assistance.

Organization

Low-tech solutions include teaching students to organize their thoughts or work using flow-charting, task analysis, webbing, and outlining. These strategies can also be accomplished using high-tech, graphic, software-based organizers to assist students in developing and structuring ideas. Such graphic organizers allow students to manipulate and reconfigure brainstormed ideas and color code and group those ideas in ways that visually represent their thoughts. Another high-tech solution might be the outline function of word processing software, which lets students set out major ideas or topics and then add subcategories of information. Using the Internet, local area networks, or LCD projection systems enables students and their teachers to collaborate, give feedback, and modify these applications either as a group or individually at different times.

Note Taking

A simple, no-tech approach to note taking is for the teacher to provide copies of structured outlines in which students fill in information. Low- and high-tech methods include:

Videotaping class sessions for visual learners or those who are unable to attend class for extended periods of time.
Sending web-cam photography across the Internet to allow students to see and hear what is happening in class (for students who are unable to attend class).
Sending class notes or presentations to students via e-mail.
Translating print-based notes to voice by using optical character recognition (OCR) software with a voice synthesizer.
Using notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or portable word processing keyboards to help students with the mechanics of note taking.

Writing

Computers may be the most important application of assistive technology for students with mild disabilities. Writing barriers for students with mild disabilities include:

Mechanics: spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
Process: generating ideas, organizing, drafting, editing, revising, and producing a neat, clear final copy.
Motivation: interest in writing.
Grammar and spell-checkers, dictionaries, and thesaurus programs assist in the mechanics of writing. Macros are available that will insert an entire phrase with the touch of a single key. Word prediction software helps students recall or spell words.

During the writing process, computers allow teachers to make suggestions on the student’s disk. If computers are networked, students can read each other’s work and make recommendations for revision. Computer editing also reduces or eliminates problems such as multiple erasures, torn papers, and poor handwriting. The final copy is neat and legible.

Motivation is often increased through the desktop publishing and multimedia capabilities of computers. A variety of fonts and styles allow students to customize their writing and highlight important features. Graphic images, drawings, video, and audio can provide interest or highlight ideas. Multimedia gives the student the means and the motivation to generate new and more complex ideas. For early writers, there are programs that allow students to write with pictures or symbols as well as text. In some of these programs, the student selects a series of pictures to represent an idea, then the pictures are transformed to words that can be read by a synthesizer and then edited.

Academic Productivity

Tools that assist productivity can be hardware-based, software-based, or both. Calculators, for example, can be separate, multifunction devices or part of a computer’s software. Spreadsheets, databases, and graphics software enhance productivity in calculating, categorizing, grouping, and predicting events. The Internet, computers, and PDAs can also aid productivity in note taking, obtaining assignments, accessing reference material and help from experts, and communicating with peers. Instead of relying on the telephone, students are increasingly sharing documents, using instant messaging, and transferring documents to each other as e-mail attachments.

Access to Reference and General Educational Materials

Access to the general education curriculum is emphasized by IDEA and includes the ability to obtain materials as well as the ability to understand and use them. Many students with mild disabilities have difficulty gathering and synthesizing information for their academic work. In this arena, Internet communications, multimedia, and universal design are providing new learning tools.

Internet communications can transport students beyond their physical environments, allowing them to interact with people far away and engage in interactive learning experiences. This is particularly appropriate for individuals who are easily distracted when going to new and busy environments such as the library, who are poorly motivated, or who have difficulty with reading or writing. Students can establish “CompuPals” via email or instant messaging with other students, which often motivates them to generate more text and thus gain more experience in writing. Students can also access electronic multimedia encyclopedias, library references, and online publications. However, these experiences should be structured, because it is easy to get distracted or lost as opportunities are explored.

Multimedia tools are another way in which information can be made accessible to students. Multimedia use of text, speech, graphics, pictures, audio, and video in reference-based software is especially effective in meeting the heterogeneous learning needs of students with mild disabilities. While a picture can be worth a thousand words to one student, audio or text-based descriptive video or graphic supports may help another student focus on the most important features of the materials.

Used in conjunction with assistive technology, e-books can use the power of multimedia to motivate students to read. They include high-interest stories: the computer reads each page of the story aloud, highlighting the words as they are read. Fonts and colors can be changed to reduce distraction. Additional clicks of the mouse result in pronunciation of syllables and a definition of the word. When the student clicks on a picture, a label appears. A verbal pronunciation of the label is offered when the student clicks the mouse again. Word definitions can be added by electronic dictionaries and thesaurus. These books are available in multiple languages, including English and Spanish, so students can read in their native language while being exposed to a second language.

Cognitive Assistance

A vast array of application program software is available for instructing students through tutorials, drill and practice, problem solving, and simulations. Many of the assistive technologies described previously can be combined with instructional programs to develop and improve cognitive, reading, and problem-solving skills. Prompting and scheduling through PDAs, pagers, and Internet software also can assist students in remembering assignments or important tasks. They can help students to follow directions or a sequence of events, establish to-do lists, take and retrieve notes, check spelling or look up words in a dictionary.

Special educators are familiar with the need to create or customize instructional materials to meet the varied needs of students with learning disabilities. Today, assistive technology can be more specifically targeted to address an individual’s needs through the emergent power and flexibility of electronic tools and the ways in which they are combined and used. These innovations affect teaching and learning as well as individual capabilities. For students with learning disabilities, assistive technology can help to balance weak areas of learning with strong areas.

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Transition Services for Students with Learning Disabilities