Understanding Adult LD

Facing Learning Disabilities in the Adult Years: Understanding Dyslexia, ADHD, Assessment,
Intervention, and Research
by Joan Shapiro and Rebecca Rich
Oxford University Press,
216 pp. $25.00.

by Joan Baum, Ph.D.

Although programs and funding for learning disabilities (LD) and special education are no news, the focus of this study and resource handbook by two Columbia University Teachers College specialists is the reported 2-3 percent of college freshmen who make up the fastest growing population of disabled university students (out of an adult population, ages 20-60, of 3-10 percent). The book’s six appendices alone, which include a list of current court cases, professional organizations and a glossary of relevant terms, recommend it to the lay person as well as to professionals.

Up until recently the field of LD has been dominated by research into children; but LD adults are not simply LD children grown up. At different stages of life, different frustrations set in—the inability to hold a job, have a satisfying social life, complete school. The authors want the learning disabled themselves to read about the latest theories about cause, diagnostic procedures, clinical examples and treatments. They particularly want to focus on dyslexia, “often discussed but little understood.” The latest research, for example, supports the fact that “learning disabilities run in families” and reflect a central nervous system dysfunction which interferes with the processing of information on all levels. Approximately 80 percent of LD individuals have problems with reading and writing, but research into adults has shown the need for more attention to social skills acquisition, including career awareness, independent living and vocational training.

Key to overcoming obstacles presented by LD is an “individual’s ability and willingness to set goals and use strategies to control his or her life,” and key to this is acceptance of “responsibility for both accomplishments and setbacks.” Given all that has developed in the field since 1960, when LD first came to public attention, the authors are gladdened by the growth of services in schools and on the job and about the number of skills and strategies available to those who want to learn on their own.

This is a timely book, given the changes being proposed for special education. In calling for more collaborative efforts among various agencies and for more federal funding, the authors have made their case with this book.

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