L.D. Students' Access to Higher Education: Self-Advocacy and Support

Increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities are entering colleges and universities (Heiman & Precel, 2003), and developmental educators may find students with learning disabilities-identified or not-in their college classes. The legislations that protect students with learning disabilities, however, are different for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) than higher education and, consequently, require different behavior for postsecondary students adjusting to their learning disabilities. Students move from a K-12 environment, where the responsibility for student success is often perceived to lie with educators, to a college environment, where the responsibility for success lies with the students. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) set expectations for colleges and universities to provide reasonable modifications, accommodations, or auxiliary aids which will enable qualified students to have access to, participate in, and benefit from the full range of educational programs and activities which are offered to all students on campus. Therefore, high school students with learning disabilities transitioning to college must develop specific competencies, respond appropriately to their new environment, and develop independence (Hadley, Twale, & Evans, 2003). Students with learning disabilities who do not self-advocate have a very difficult time adjusting to college life (Heiman & Precel, 2003). The purpose of this study is to examine how traditional-age, 1st-year students with specific learning disabilities make the transition and access the collegiate environment.Review of Related LiteratureBackground InformationVery little research exists identifying the experiences and feelings of college students with learning disabilities from the voice of the students themselves (Janiga & Costenbader, 2002). According to the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD; 2001), learning disabilities are a general term for a variety of specific subtypes such as dyslexia (reading disability). Learning disabilities are intrinsic to the student, are presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Learning disabilities may cause students with average or above average intelligence to encounter difficulty in listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, and/or math (Lerner, 2000). Although the students in this study were diagnosed with dyslexia, the academic concerns they discussed were mainly related to their writing problems.Theoretical FrameworkThe theoretical framework of this study is based on the premise that, although success for all college students requires new students to adjust socially and intellectually to the college setting (Tinto, 1993), adjustment becomes more compelling for students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities shift from a high-school environment that allows them to be relatively "passive" to a college environment that expects them to be relatively "active" regarding their learning disabilities. Psychosocial theorist Arthur Chickering's (1969) vectors of college student development are applied to research questions in this study. His initial three vectors discuss the movement of the entering student toward greater competence, self-advocacy, and autonomy and have been selected because Chickering (as cited in Hadley, Twale, & Evans, 2003) indicated 1st-year students struggle most with these.Chickering has written extensively about college student development. His theory addresses the concept of student access into higher education settings (Hamrick, Evans, & Schuh, 2002). He focuses upon their ability to acquire needed academic skills for college, develop the capacity to respond appropriately to difficult situations, and gain a new level of independence. According to Chickering, individual development is a process that involves the accomplishment of a series of developmental tasks. …