JPED

Services for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: A Historical Perspective
Joseph W. Madaus
Abstract: Offices for Students with Disabilities (OSD) at colleges and universities in the United States have under gone dramatic change over the past 50 years. The current state of OSD programming is the result of major societal events and attitudes, legislative involvement by the federal and state governments, and efforts by many student advocates who realized that students with disabilities could compete successfully at the college level. The present article traces the development of OSD programs over the past 50 years, with consideration given to critical issues of each era. Such reflection may provide insight into the current status of programs and services and serve as a foundation for consideration of how programs might evolve in the next 20 years.

Foreign Language Learning: A Process for Broadening Access
for Students with Learning Disabilities
Sally S. Scott and Elaine Manglitz

Using Processing Speed Tests to Predict the Benefit of Extended Test Time for University Students with Learning Disabilities
Nicole S. Ofiesh, Providence College
Abstract: The present study examined the relationship between processing speed and the accommodation of extended test time for university students with learning disabilities (LD). At present most accommodation decisions are based on the student’s LD documentation, though there has been little research which supports the relationship between specific tests and accommodations. In order to evaluate the predictive capability of three processing speed tests frequently included in the psychoeducational reports of students with LD, a logistic regression analysis was used to predict the probability of benefit from the accommodation of extended test time. In keeping with previous research, the Nelson Denny Reading Test (NDRT) was used as a measure of test performance for the controlled time and extended time test conditions. Participants were 30 university students with LD and 30 university students without learning disabilities (NLD) from a large research university in the East. Results showed that students with LD perform significantly lower on processing speed tests than NLD students, and when compared to NLD students, derived greater benefit from the extended time test condition on the NDRT. The Visual Matching and Cross Out processing speed tests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-Revised were significantly correlated with the benefit of the extended time condition, and the Digit Symbol subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised was not. Of those students in the LD sample who benefited, 90% were correctly classified as likely to benefit.

Tech Talk: Screen Reader Technology for Postsecondary Studetns with Disabilities
David McNaughton and Linda Sudlesky
Summary: As reading demands and computer use increase on college campuses, screen reader technology has an important role to play for individuals who have difficulty with reading print materials.

Main JPED page
top of page