A Summary of Evaluations for Learning and Attention Problems at a University Training Clinic.

Over a five year period, a university clinic performed psychological evaluations of 102 adults (including 85 college students) who reported that they were experiencing learning or attention problems. Of 92 persons who completed the evaluation, 40 (43.5%) received no diagnosis, 7 (7.6%) received the diagnosis of ADHD, 29 (31.5%) received the diagnosis of LD, 2 (2.2%) received the diagnoses of both ADHD and LD, and 14 (15.2%) received the diagnosis of some other disorder, such as depression. Those diagnosed with ADHD and/or LD were similar in terms of demographic characteristics, academic history, and most psychological test scores. Those diagnosed with ADHD and/or LD differed significantly from those diagnosed with another disorder or no disorder on high school GPA, the Working Memory and Processing Speed Index scores of the WAIS-R/WAIS-III, and several academic achievement subscales of the WJA-III. Issues concerning the diagnosis of LD and ADHD in university students are discussed. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Learning Disorder (LD) are most frequently diagnosed in children, but these conditions often persist into and cause difficulty throughout adolescence and into adulthood (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Javorsky & Gussin, 1994). Indeed, some individuals with ADHD and LD are not diagnosed until high school or even college (Glutting, Monaghan, Adams, & Seslow, 2002). The exact prevalence of ADHD and LD in the college population is unknown. Glutting et al. (2002) reported various estimates showing that from one to four percent of college students have ADHD. DuPaul, Schaughency, Weyandt, and Tripp (2001) provided evidence that self-reported symptoms of ADHD are relatively common among college students. Further, the U.S. Department of Education (2000) reported that the number of students with disabilities at private fouryear colleges or universities is increasing and estimated that, of those students with a disability, over 29% have LDs. Thus, there is a need for research on LD and ADHD in college students to improve the methods used to evaluate and diagnose these conditions. For example, Giovingo, Proctor, and Prevatt (2005) compared three models for diagnosing LD in a sample of 155 postsecondary students referred for assessment due to academic difficulty. They found that these models provided widely varying numbers (from 37 to 103) of individuals who met diagnostic criteria for LD. Comparing students to grade-matched norms resulted in more diagnoses of LD than did comparing them to agematched norms. Maller and McDermott (1997) examined WAISR scores of 194 college students with LD and were unable to find a unique WAIS-R profile for the group. Instead, 93.8% of the students with LD had profiles that matched the core profiles of the standardization sample. The remaining 6.2% were highly variable and did not form a distinct LD WAIS-R profile. Research on LD and ADHD in college students is also important because students with these conditions are likely to experience academic and other problems that may require some form of intervention. For example, Gregg and Hoy (1990) found that college students with LD write with less cohesiveness than other students, which would likely lead them to encounter academic difficulty in courses that require written exams and assignments. Witte, Philips, and Kakela (1998) reported that college graduates who had LD took longer