Persisting problems of adults with learning disabilities: self-reported comparisons from their school-age and adult years

The issue of persistence of learning disabilities into the adult years was investigated. The study examined the self-reported comparisons of problems resulting from learning disabilities during school-age years (retrospectively) and in adult years. The responses of 133 adults categorized as highly successful and moderately successful in employment showed that both groups deteriorated markedly in the areas of functioning typically included in diagnostic and remediation efforts. This established a case for persistence and highlights an important issue for those who are directly or indirectly concerned about adults with learning disabilities.     

Similarity of WISC-R and WAIS-R scores at age 16

Thirty learning disabled students of average intellectual ability between 16 and 17 years of age were given both the WISC-R and the WAIS-R to determine if the WAIS-R provided higher average IQ scores, as had been reported for educationally mentally retarded adolescents. The results indicated: (a) no significant differences between the two scales on either the Verbal, Performance, or Full Scale IQs, (b) significant correlations between the WISC-R and WAIS-R on the three IQ scores and 9 of the 11 subtests, and (c) the emergence of the ACID profile for learning disabled adolescents on both tests.     

WIAT subtest and composite predicted-achievement values based on WISC-III verbal and performance IQs

Critical values tables for determining significant differences between Wechsler IQs and WIAT subtests and composites based on a predicted-achievement method are provided in the WIAT manual for the Full Scale IQ and have been constructed recently for Verbal and Performance IQs (Flanagan & Alfonso, 1993). In order to use these tables, however, a predicted achievement score(s) is required. The process of calculating predicted-achievement scores is time-consuming and may result in errors, especially when more than one ability-achievement comparison is warranted. The present paper provides tables of WIAT subtest and composite predicted-achievement standard scores based on WISC-III Verbal and Performance IQs. These tables allow examiners to determine quickly ability-achievement discrepancies based on WISC-III Verbal or Performance IQs when they are used in conjunction with the critical values tables provided in our earlier article. These tables are most useful for the accurate assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities.     

A longitudinal comparison of the WISC-R and WAIS-R

The degree of comparability between the WISC-R and WAIS-R over time was assessed for two samples of referred adolescents of borderline intelligence intially administered a WISC-R and retested on the WAIS-R after three years. Results indicated that the WAIS-R significantly overestimated the WISC-R IQs by 3 to 5 points. Differences were most marked at the lower ability levels; as IQs aproached average, scores were increasingly comparable.     

A homogeneous group of persons with learning disabilities: adults with severe learning disabilities in vocational rehabilitation

The results of a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment of adults having learning disabilities (LD) and participating in vocational rehabilitation are presented. The subjects were found to have low-average general intelligence; lower verbal than performance IQs; attention, reasoning, and auditory memory deficits; academic achievement at the fourth-/fifth-grade level; language problems; and low self-esteem. These results were contrasted with other studies of adults with LD in vocational rehabilitation, and all studies on this population reported similar findings. A comparison of studies of adults with LD who were clients of vocational rehabilitation with those in college or employed and with those who had been labeled as learning disabled in childhood indicated that the adults with LD in vocational rehabilitation seem to constitute a homogeneous group of persons with severe deficits. The need to subtype learning disabilities by severity and criteria for making such determinations are proposed.     

Instructional strategies for long-term success

Through a qualitative research study we developed a model of employment success based on the experiences of successful adults with learning disabilities. This model may be particularly useful to students with learning disabilities in helping them experience success both in school and beyond. We suggest that the components of the model—internal decisions comprising desire, goal orientation, and reframing, and external manifestations or behaviors of persistence, goodness of fit, learned creativity, and favorable social ecologies—can be systematically taught and then used. By focusing on what has worked for adults with learning disabilities, we propose that the model taps into inherent strengths that can compensate for significant limitations associated with learning disabilities. The model does not guarantee success, but it does equip students with learning disabilities with a readiness to capitalize on opportunities that they might otherwise miss.     

Relationship between PPVT and WISC-R in children with reading disabilities

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Form A was compared to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) in two samples of children with reading disabilities. One group of 14 children, referred to a university clinic, were administered the WISC-R, followed by the PPVT. The second group of 38 children from a private learning disability center were administered the PPVT first, followed by the WISC-R. In the combined sample, the PPVT IQ (X̄ = 109.2) was significantly higher than the WISC-R Verbal IQ (X̄ = 98.9), Performance IQ (X̄ = 97.0), and Full Scale IQ (X̄ = 97.5). Similarly, the PPVT IQ was significantly higher than the WISC-R Full Scale in both samples separately, regardless of which test was administered first. In one case, the PPVT IQ was 50 points higher than the WISC-R IQ. Correlations between the PPVT and WISC-R Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs were significant (rs = .56, .29, and .50, respectively). The results suggest that the two tests do not provide interchangeable IQs for a population of reading disabled children.     

An analysis of WISC-R factors for gifted students with learning disabilities

Intellectual patterns of gifted students with learning disabilities were studied to determine cognitive factors characterizing these children. Twenty-four gifted children with learning disabilities (LD) and a control group of nondisabled gifted children were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) (Wechsler, 1974). While differences between the two groups on individual subtests were examined, a comparison of broader factors was emphasized in discovering cognitive patterns that might suggest effective intervention. Experimental and control performances were compared on 14 factor scores, using cognitive classification systems of Bannatyne (1971), Kaufman (1975), Rapaport, Gill, and Schafer (1946), and Wechsler (1974). Gifted students with LD were more reliant on verbal conceptualization and reasoning than the control students. They also demonstrated deficiencies in short-term auditory memory and sound discrimination. The gifted group with LD exhibited the Organic Brain Syndrome factor (Wechsler, 1974) to a significantly greater extent than did the control group.     

Adults with Learning Disabilities in the Workforce: Lessons for Secondary Transition Programs

Now almost 15 years after the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) data are emerging in the literature related to job entry and employment outcomes of adults with learning disabilities (LD). Although these data are derived from varying methodologies, they converge in three critical areas: Knowledge of the ADA, realities of workplace self‐disclosure, and the importance of self‐determination. This review presents findings in each of these areas. The messages obtained from adults with LD who experience the realities of the workplace can provide significant information for secondary programs that assist students with hidden disabilities preparing to transition to college or to employment.     

Differences required for significance between Wechsler verbal and performance IQs and WIAT subtests and composites: The predicted-achievement method

This paper provides tables of critical values for determining statistically significant discrepancies between Wechsler Verbal/Performance IQ and WIAT subtest and composite scores based on a predicted-achievement method. It is recommended that these tables be used when a statistically significant and diagnostically meaningful Verbal IQ-Performance IQ discrepancy exists rendering either of these IQs a better estimate of a student's ability than the Full Scale IQ. Issues regarding the use of discrepancy formulas in the assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities are discussed, and basic considerations for using the critical values tables are provided.     

A longitudinal study of the WISC-R and WAIS-R with special education students

The relationship between the WISC-R and WAIS-R was studied in a sample of 30 special education children (22 male and 8 female). Children were administered the WISC-R at an average age of 13.85 years and the WAIS-R at an average age of 17.52 years. ANOVAs indicated that the two tests yielded Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQS that were not significantly different. For example, the mean Full Scale IQ was 81.13 for the WISC-R and 82.70 for the WAIS-R. Product-moment correlations also were highly significant, with rs ranging from .76 to .86 for the three scales. The results suggest that, for children of limited intelligence, the WISC-R and WAIS-R provide comparable IQs over a four-year time period.     

Identifying students' errors in administering the WAIS-R

This study was conducted to investigate specific problems caused by the traditional method of teaching students to administer the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). Analysis of 180 protocols provided by 26 graduate students revealed an average of 8.8 mistakes per protocol. When these errors were corrected, 81% of the Full Scale IQs were changed. The types of examiner errors most frequently made by students were identified, as were the subtests and items on which the most numerous mistakes occurred. Students' performance showed no improvement over five practice administrations, but did improve over eight. Even so, students continued to exhibit a high rate of errors. These findings suggest that traditional methods of teaching assessment specialists need to be examined.     

Factors associated with employment success among youths with learning disabilities

This follow-up study examines the employment success of young adults with learning and other mild disabilities. The study questioned the employee with disabilities, his or her parents, and the employer on a number of vocationally related items. A four-factor model is advanced to explain job success. The factors include job match and accommodation, social acceptance, work attitude, and special services. Participants in a total of 41 job situations were queried with 38 completed triads (employee with mild disability, employer, family). The method of constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data. Although an aggregate of the four factors correlated significantly (p less than .01), job match proved to have the most significant (p less than .01) relationship with the outcome variable. The results are interpreted in light of the need to deliver and understand the types of supported employment services for adults with mild disabilities.     

Learning disabilities in alcohol-dependent adults: a preliminary study

To determine if neuropsychological deficits, known to precede alcohol use in those genetically predisposed to alcoholism, were present in an alcoholic population, 25 male alcoholics (mean age 41.1) were interviewed concerning alcohol usage, educational difficulties in elementary school, and family history of alcoholism. Using a regression table, discrepancies between current IQ on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) (Wechsler, 1981) and achievement on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJB) (Woodcock & Johnson, 1977) were calculated to determine present learning status. Forty percent of the alcoholics were found to have had special education, remedial services, or repeated grade failure concurrent with a familial history of alcoholism and current discrepancies indicative of learning disability. There were no significant differences on intelligence, years of drinking, or mean grades completed in school between this group and the rest of the subjects who did not receive services in school. Conclusions were that childhood learning disorders may be related to the development of alcoholism, particularly when alcoholism is in the family, and that special educators have a role to play in the prevention and treatment of alcoholism.     

Identifying alterable patterns in employment success for highly successful adults with learning disabilities.

Adults with learning disabilities were studied to ascertain the patterns of successful functioning that promoted high levels of vocational success. This area of research has been neglected in the developing research base on adults with learning disabilities. In this study of 46 highly successful and 25 moderately successful adults with learning disabilities using ethnographic interviews, it was found that the overriding theme was control and that control was sought through the pursuit of two sets of themes--internal decisions and external manifestations. These themes transcended the entire sample, and the clear difference between the groups was the degree of attainment on the various elements the themes comprised. These elements and themes are discussed and a model of successful vocational functioning is developed and explained.     

IQs ARE VERY STRONG BUT IMPERFECT INDICATORS OF PSYCHOMETRIC g: RESULTS FROM JOINT CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

The most global score yielded by intelligence tests, IQs, are supported by substantial validity evidence and have historically been central to the identification of intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and giftedness. This study examined the extent to which IQs measure the ability they target, psychometric g. Data from three samples of children and adolescents (Ns = 200, 150, and 135) who completed varying pairs of individually administered, multidimensional intelligence tests were analyzed using a joint confirmatory factor analysis to generate correlations between IQs and general factors representing psychometric g. The resulting values, expressed as g loadings, for the six IQs ranged from .88 to .95 (M = .92). The accuracy of IQs in measuring psychometric g, the meaning of reliable specific ability variance in IQs not accounted for by psychometric g, and the use of IQs in schools and related settings are discussed.     

THE COMPARABILITY OF THE WAIS, WISC, AND WBII

Three Wechsler scales (the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and Wechsler-Bellevue II) were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 randomly selected 17 year-old high school Ss in order to investigate their comparability by testing the equality of ( a ) means, ( b ) variances, ( c ) reliability coefficients, and ( d ) validity coefficients based on scaled scores and IQs. Results indicated that the subtest scores and IQs for the given three scales were not equivalent. The present findings conform with most of the previous results regarding the comparability of Wechsler scales. Although the three scales investigated all evidence high similarity of item content and format, they clearly fail to meet the statistical criteria of equivalence for 17 year-old subjects.     

Use of an abbreviated version of the WISC-R with learning disabled children

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was administered to 56 learning disabled children, using standard assessment procedures and format as outlined by Wechsler. Abbreviated IQ scores were then derived by applying the Kennedy-Elder formula, and equation that uses five WISC-R subtests with varied weightings. Comparisons between the standard IQ scores and the abbreviated IQ scores were evaluated. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient of .83 and a non-significant t-test between the mean IQs suggested the two scores were interchangeable. However, frequent IQ classification changes (23%) rendered the K-E format unacceptable for this population.     

A comparison of WISC-R and WAIS-R IQS in a mentally retarded residential population

Although typically regarded as equivalent instruments, the WISC-R and the WAIS-R yield significantly different Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs for an intellectually subaverage group, with the WAIS-R consistently providing higher scores. Implications of this “built-in” increment for issues of eligibility for educational placements and societal benefits are serious, and careful interpretation of IQs in the context of other relevant data is necessary.