The Transition and Adjustment to First-Year Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Students with learning disabilities are one of the fastest growing student population attending colleges and universities. Students with learning disabilities in the pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade (PK-12) educational system are protected by the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEIA) of 1990/Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. Conversely, when students with learning disabilities transition to higher education they are no longer covered by these legislations. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibit colleges and universities from discriminating against students with disabilities and mandate that accommodations be provided. The types and levels of accommodations and services offered in higher education, however, are not as extensive as those required to be provided in the PK-12 system. This article comes from a four-year study of the same group of 10 first-year students with dyslexia and/or reading problems. It chronicles their adjustments to the academic expectations of the college environment as they transitioned from high school to college. Chichering (1969; Chickering & Reisser, 1993) provies the theoretical framework for the study. The study begins durign the students' first year of college and concludes four years later when the students are seniors preparing to graduate. Questions in the study were asked of the students over a four-year period.