Learning Disability

in college
By Azita Hakkak

Learning Disability in College

Which Act helps students with disability?
When did it go in effect?
How many people are affected by this Act?
How does this Act help students with disability?
What should students with disability do?
How should they choose a major?

Audience
Young people who have learning disability or physical disability along with learning
disability who would like to continue their post-secondary education.
Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to a heterogenous group
of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of
listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities.

The American Disabilities Act

Signed into public law in 1990.

Congress wanted to allow persons with disability to have more access to public education.
Department of Education in 2002:
--People with disability have a hard time attending a college.
--Those attending the college have a difficult time completing their studies.
--No other risk group possesses such a low rate of post-secondary attendance.
--Poor graduation rate affects individuals despite federal mandates to provide reasonable academic accommodations.

How Many People Struggle with Learning Disability?

Wide range in estimates of the number of people affected by learning disabilities and disorders.
Some estimate that 15% to 20% of Americans are affected by learning disabilities and disorders.1
Major national study found only 5% of children had learning disabilities in US. It also found that
approximately 4% had both a learning disability and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Another research in 2006, estimated that 4.6 million school-age children in the United States have learning
disabilities.2

isten to a student trying to transition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb7jBbp-EXE

How to Find a Major?

Students should choose a major that they really like. Statistics
show they would be more successful!

https://www.mymajors.com/college-major-quiz/

NEEDS
Professional development is needed at regular intervals to work more effectively with students with
learning disabilities (LD).

Academic support centers should follow an inclusive model to be more effective and accommodating.

This improves the overall student accessibility and addresses student needs both inside and outside of
the classroom.

Citations
1. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/explore-careers. The college Board, 2016. Accessed 25 Oct
2016
2. Smith-Barrow, Delece.Succeed in college as a learning Disabled student. U.S News Aug. 28,
2013, at 9:30 a.m. Higher Education
3. May, Benjamin & LaMont, Elizabeth. Rethinking Learning Disabilities in the College Classroom: A
Multicultural Perspective. Social Work Education, 2014 Vol. 33, No. 7, 959975,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.895806
4. https://www.ahead.org/students-parents/transition "Transition Resources A Z." 2004-2016
AHEAD. Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb7jBbp-EXE. Published May, 2014. Accessed Oct. 30th. 2016
6. http://career.utk.edu/CS/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Exploratory-Workbook-INTERACTIVE.pdf
7. Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta
Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print.
8. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009081.pdf