Greetings ListServ Readers!

The National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs is pleased to 
announce another great NAASLN Track at COABE '08.    

All participants at NAASLN's sessions will be offered an introductory NAASLN 
membership at no cost!

The listing of this years' sessions include:

Special Learning Needs:   Incidence and Implications for Building Persistence 

Part A & B
Laura Weisel, Ph.D.,   Clinical Director, The TLP Group 
Barbara Arguedas, Director, Santa Fe Community College, NM
Susan Geary, Instructor, Santa Fe Community College, NM
Karen Hibbert, Director of Education, West Central Community Corrections,   
OH 
Margaret Girkins, Director of ABE, Flathead Valley Community College, MT
                  
Tuesday, April 29
Part A - 9:30-10:30 am
Part B - 11:00 - Noon
As highlighted in the Spring 2008 KET Quarterly, the incidence of special 
learning needs in the adult basic and literacy population is astonishingly high!  
 This comes to no surprise to instructors, but what does it mean if these 
needs go unmet?    

In Part A - The 3 Year Incidence of Special Learning Needs Study in ABE will 
be presented. What does this data mean for your program and your services?   
What are programs doing to identify and address the key challenges to 
persistence, learning gains, and successful transitions? 

In Part B -   Administrators and instructors will enter into a dialogue with 
participants about what they are doing to address   special needs.   Programs 
identifying and addressing these needs have, in controlled studies, 
demonstrated over 200% increases in persistence and 67% increases in post-testing.     

Join this two part session to get the facts straight about the underlying 
learning issues of ABE students and discuss the systemic shifts that have 
empowered and enabled learners to overcome learning challenges and show dramatic 
learning gains. 
           

Screening ESOL Learners for Special Learning Needs: An Open Dialogue
Laura Weisel, Ph.D., Facilitator of Dialogue
Tuesday, 2:15-3:15pm

If the incidence of special learning needs is so very high in the general 
adult basic and literacy population, what might the incidence be the special 
learning needs of ESOL students?   

Join this open dialogue session to 1). Discuss the issues in screening ESOL 
students for special learning needs, 2).   Share what you and your program are 
doing to identify ESOL students that have learning challenges, and 3).   
Identify how ESOL students with special learning needs can be more successful 
academically and better able to transition into job training   or post secondary 
programs.


Leveling the Playing Field with Adaptations and Accommodations:   
Making the GED Work for Special Need Students!
Connie Leading, GED Accommodations Specialist, OH Department of Education 
Mario Payne, GED-TS, Washington DC
Tuesday, 3:45-4:45pm

Adults with special learning needs taking the GED fall into two categories: 
(1) adults with documented ADA disabilities who require accommodations such as 
extended time, supervised breaks, scribes, and audiocassettes and (2) adults, 
for whom teachers have identified learning needs requiring adaptations or 
modifications such as magnifiers, colored overlays, straight edges, rooms without 
fluorescent lighting, etc. These later adaptations do not require prior 
approval by the GED State offices. Both of these areas will be discussed in the 
presentation.


The ADA and Adult Education 
Bevan Gibson, Director of Professional Development, Southern IL University
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30am

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has several implications for 
adult education.   The Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Adult 
Education Service Center Network have been working with programs in Illinois to 
bring them into compliance with the ADA.   Come see what Illinois has been 
doing and how you might be able to use the information for your state's ADA 
compliance issues.


Serving Offenders with Special Learning Needs: 
A Look at the Problem and New Solutions
Alan Toops,   Executive Director,   The Ohio Literacy Network
Wednesday, 11:00-Noon

Many states are currently implementing holistic diagnostic screening for 
special learning needs in correction education programs. The findings of 
offenders' special needs appeared in the Corrections edition of NCSALL's Focus on 
Basics.    This session offers new data profiling the special learning needs of 
offenders, discuss how education and others services are being re-designed based 
upon these needs, and implications for corrections education systemic 
improvements are happening at both the system and direct service levels.   


Undetected and Undiagnosed Vision Problems - 
Obstructions to Literacy and Successful Transition to the Workforce
Joan Hudson-Miller, Library Reproduction Service, CA
Wednesday, 2:15-3:15pm

The percentage of adult learners who are struggling to succeed because of 
undetected and undiagnosed vision problems is extremely high. Become more 
familiar with the wide range of mild to severe perceptual problems and impairments, 
learn some practical screening procedures. and acquire a list of referral 
resources for evaluation, diagnosis and treatment.


Structured Learning for the Unstructured     
Thursday, 9:45-10:45am 
Richard Cooper, Ph.D., Center for Alternative Learning

Many students who have learning or attention problems manifest poor 
organizational skills and to lack structure.   This presentation will provide 
participants with techniques to help learners to improve their reading, writing and 
spelling skills.   Participants will receive handouts that they can use with 
their students to structure the learning of language.




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