Recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that individuals with BAs will earn approximately $600,000 more during their lifetime than those without an undergraduate degree. This estimate was cited by then Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley in his statement before Congress during the authorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. He noted:

More than ever before, education is the fault line between those who will prosper in the new economy, and those who will be left behind. Today’s jobs increasingly require skills and training beyond a high school education, and accessible postsecondary education is critically important to individuals as well as our nation’s economy and democracy. (Price-Ellingstad & Berry, 1999, p. 1, quoting Riley, 1997)

Postsecondary Education

Trends in enrollment of students with disabilities in two and four-year programs continue to increase, with some estimates ranging from 9.3 percent to as high as 17 percent (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000; NCD, 2000). In spite of this increase, individuals with disabilities still remain less likely to pursue postsecondary education when compared to individuals without disabilities (Whelley, Hart, & Zaft, 2002).

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Children with learning disabilities may be helped by the use of reading glasses, but is this the full story?

As a practicing Behavioral Optometrist for over 25 years, I recognize that vision is the dominant sense in the classroom, with over 80% of all information coming in through the visual system. So it makes sense that any disturbance in vision can affect a child’s learning ability. However, having a simple eye test is very often far short of providing the answers desperate parents are looking for.

The symptoms of children with learning disabilities who have visual problems include

Reduced concentration,
Sore eyes or excessive eye rubbing,
Headaches or tiredness after reading
Frustration when reading or writing
Misreading or skipping words or lines
Avoiding, crying or screaming when forced to do homework

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It is an established fact that the college graduation rate for students with learning disabilities is significantly lower than that of their peers. Is this because students with LD lack the raw intelligence to succeed in college? That does not appear to be the case. According to the McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine, a learning disability is defined as “a suboptimal ability to read (dyslexia), write (dysgraphia), perform mathematical operations (dyscalculia), or other cognitive skills in a child of presumed normal intelligence”.

After thirteen years as a college Learning Specialist, this author codified six behaviors that consistently result in freshmen downhill slides. They are:

• Failure to disclose – Students who choose not to disclose usually do so to shed the stigmatizing “LD” label they have worn for years. Without realizing it, they are making their first egregious mistake. In college, students with learning disabilities attend the same classes and must meet the same academic requirements as other students–no one is labeled. Disclosure is entirely confidential–only the disability services office and any teachers the student informs are aware. In high school, IEPs guarantee that students receive academic support and special services. On the college level, IEPs are non-existent. Students who fail to disclose suddenly discover they are no longer protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are ineligible for the accommodations/services recommended in their documentation. In other words, the student goes from having a safety net with a lot of support in high school to walking a tightrope without a net in college. This dramatic change is often overwhelming and hard to overcome.

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