Thanks so much to Sharon for taking so much time to comprehensively address so many issues that states must consider when addressing the needs of adult students with learning disabilities.  She is providing listserv members with a ton of information that they can use to improve their own statewide services, and I appreciate her clarity and focus.  The following is a summary of what we're doing in Arkansas, as requested in the "questions for YOU" sections of the postings. 

The primary screening tools used in Arkansas adult education and literacy programs are the Washington State 13-Question tool, the Payne Learning Inventory (training required), and the Vision Therapy Assessment (a software program to screen for developmental/functional vision problems; available from http://www.homevisiontherapy.com/) There are other screeners that some programs/individuals also use, but the point I always try to underscore in training is that screening should include more than just one tool.  To my knowledge, none of the screening tools currently available are panaceas for the screening process, which can and should vary according to the individual's background and needs.  Many programs include a test/retest with and w/o accommodations as part of their screening process to determine the effectiveness of applied accommodations.

Programs vary re: who administers the screening.  Some have central intake staff who administer the 13-question screening to everyone who comes through the door, which - by the way - is not my preferred approach.  Others begin the screening process when they determine that the student is not making timely progress in the program, or if the student expresses a suspicion that they may have a learning disability (or ad/hd or whatever) and their classroom performance bears that up.  Another "red flag" is any student who is reading below the 4th grade level.  This is not always due to a reading disability, of course, but is usually enough cause for concern that a screening process is instigated.  The Arkansas Department of Workforce Education, Adult Education Section, requires that programs screen 50% of their students.  The obvious question is, "Which 50%?"  Hence the practice of just running those 13 questions by everyone.  That will occassionally work as a springboard for continuing the screening process, but it works much better if the person administering the tool has had a good deal of education about adults with learning disabilities.  I think the key to effective screening is using appropriate, reliable tools and procedures coupled with knowledge about adults with LD.

Arkansas began its LD training in 1994 with Nancie Payne, and we continue to provide LD training throughout the year each year.  The focus for the last year has been to provide LD training in local programs instead of statewide workshops.  The local approach works well.  There are fewer participants and everything is geared to their students, their program, their procedures, supplies, etc.  More follow-up training would assuredly be a good thing.  Workshops include information about LD adult students regarding definition, characteristics, screening, policy, and instructional & testing strategies/accommodations. There are more complete descriptions of our LD workshops online at http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/ld_workshops.pdf

Our state department provides a portion of leadership funds to pay for LD diagnosis for students who are not eligible for a referral to Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS).  We don't get a ton of requests for funding - maybe 20 a year.  We contracted with local mental health centers, psychological clinics, and individual psychologists to provide the WAIS-III for $150.  We also trained a number of our GED examiners to conduct the WJ-III in-house first, so when the student goes for their WAIS-III assessment, they take the GED Request for Accommodations form with the WJ scores already completed. The psychologist uses these along with the WAIS results to determine the presence (or not) of a learning disability, and they complete Section 3 of the form.

Most of our students are eligible for an ARS referral or they have pre-existing documentation from school.  The state's willingness to put some money out there for diagnosis was incredibly effective in removing our biggest barrier; i.e., the prevalent attitude that no student could afford to get the diagnosis, so why bother trying?  Once that barrier went away, we had a big increase in the number of students referred....but again, we didn't end up paying for very many at all.

There's a complete description of our process for referrals at http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/referralProcess.aspx if you want more information.

Last, Arkansas Adult Education also has a policy manual for serving adults with LD & AD/HD.  It's available online at http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/policyManual/index.aspx  

Patti White

Patti White, M.Ed.
Disabilities Project Manager
Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center
804 Madison 3120
Huntsville, AR  72740
prwhite at madisoncounty.net
http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/index.aspx
800.569.3539    ph/fax/tty



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