Cheri Hoy

The MMPI-2 Profile of Adults with Learning Disabilities in University and Rehabilitation Settings

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the personality profiles of adults with learning disabilities attending a large state university (8 females, 8 males) to those participating in training programs in a rehabilitation setting (8 females, 18 males), in an attempt to identify affective variables that should be considered in transitional and postsecondary program planning. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare the performance of two groups of adults with learning disabilities (i.e., university and rehabilitation) to a normative group of college students. The mean age for all subjects was between 20 and 23 years. Findings from the study indicated that the personality profiles of individuals with learning disabilities in either a rehabilitation setting or seeking a university degree are significantly different from those of the normative population of normally achieving college students. The rehabilitation group in this study demonstrated feelings of social isolation, poor self-concept, self-doubt, and extreme restlessness. Somewhat different profiles were seen with the university group as they indicated feelings of fear, obsessive thoughts, lack of self-confidence, self-doubt, and extreme self-criticism. Both groups demonstrated profiles of individuals under extreme short-and long-term stress leading to anxiety. The study also reviewed the relevance and appropriateness of using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) that will have direct application for the assessment and intervention of adults with learning disabilities either in a rehabilitation setting or seeking a university degree.

Depression and Anxiety in Two Groups of Adults with Learning Disabilities

Adults with learning disabilities seeking services from state rehabilitation agencies and/or university/college support programs present a challenge to professionals attempting to identify effective academic, vocational, and social/emotional interventions that lead to long-term employment. The purpose of this study was to add to the small body of empirical research pertaining to the presence of depression and anxiety in two groups of adults with learning disabilities based on self-report measures (i.e., Beck Depression Inventory; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983; IPAT Anxiety Scale; Krug, Scheier, & Cattell, 1976a). A group of college students not demonstrating learning disabilities was used for descriptive and comparison purposes. Results showed that females with learning disabilities served in a rehabilitation setting were the only group that demonstrated significant signs of depression. College students with learning disabilities had increased anxiety-related symptoms. Implications for diagnosis and service are drawn from these findings.

Graphic Organizers Applied to Higher–Level Secondary Mathematics

A review of popular approaches to teaching mathematics that emphasize nonverbal skills, such as using manipulatives or problem–solving schema, shows that they are often not immediately applicable to some important areas of secondary algebra. However, graphic organizers in various forms have been widely suggested and researched as an intervention approach to improve reading comprehension. In this article, suggestions for modifying graphic organizers to make them more applicable to teaching higher–level mathematics concepts and procedures are proposed. Using an appropriately modified graphic organizer to teach higher–level mathematics skills may help students with relatively weak verbal skills and strong nonverbal reasoning skills to be more successful in mathematics. This subgroup of students with learning disabilities has been consistently identified in several schemes for subtyping mathematical disorders developed from empirical evidence. Excerpts of two sample scripted lessons based on this approach, one for the solving of systems of linear equations in three variables and one for the concept of negative integer exponents, are included.

Coherence The Comprehension and Production Abilities of College Writers Who Are Normally Achieving, Learning Disabled, and Underprepared

The ability to understand and produce coherent text structure was assessed across three groups of college writers, normally achieving, learning disabled, and underprepared. It was found that college writers with learning disabilities were more like the normally achieving writers on an assessment of comprehension of text structure. On the production of a coherent text, normally achieving writers performed better than either of the other groups, but the writers with learning disabilities (LD) performed better than the underprepared writers. These results suggest that the writers with LD demonstrate greater discrepancies between their comprehension and production of written form than either of the other groups. The writers with LD appear to understand text structure like normally achieving writers but, like the underprepared writers, they experience difficulty in the production processes.The ability to understand and produce coherent text structure was assessed across three groups of college writers, normally achieving, learning disabled, and underprepared. It was found that college writers with learning disabilities were more like the normally achieving writers on an assessment of comprehension of text structure. On the production of a coherent text, normally achieving writers performed better than either of the other groups, but the writers with learning disabilities (LD) performed better than the underprepared writers. These results suggest that the writers with LD demonstrate greater discrepancies between their comprehension and production of written form than either of the other groups. The writers with LD appear to understand text structure like normally achieving writers but, like the underprepared writers, they experience difficulty in the production processes.

Referencing The Cohesive Use of Pronouns in the Written Narrative of College Underprepared Writers, Nondisabled Writers, and Writers with Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore whether college normally achieving writers (n=35), writers with learning disabilities (n=35), and underprepared writers (n=35) demonstrated any differences in their ability to utilize the semantic roles and syntactic rules needed to apply cohesive referencing in written text. Cohesive referencing (the ability to assign roles to the speaker and addressee in written communication) is a critical aspect of written language. In addition, the study explored the relation between referential cohesion and the quality and coherence of a written text.The purpose of this study was to explore whether college normally achieving writers (n = 35), writers with learning disabilities (n = 35), and underprepared writers (n = 35) demonstrated any differences in their ability to utilize the semantic roles and syntactic rules needed to apply cohesive referencing in written text. Cohesive referencing (the ability to assign roles to the speaker and addressee in written communication) is a critical aspect of written language. In addition, the study explored the relation between referential cohesion and the quality and coherence of a written text.

The Usefulness of the Woodcock—Johnson Psycho—Educational Battery Cognitive Cluster Scores for Learning Disabled College Students

The Woodcock—Johnson Psycho—Educational Battery was administered to 41 learning disabled college students. A modified subtest profile was used to facilitate the examination of the pattern of subtest scores for the Cognitive Factor Cluster Scores. Results indicated that these scores should not be interpreted at face value for this population.

Sense of audience and the adult writer: A study across competence levels

The purpose of this research was to investigate five audience-related constructs impacting on the written expression of adult writers who demonstrate varying degrees of literacy competence. Four specific groups of adult writers were targeted for this study, including 35 college-able writers demonstrating learning disabilities, 22 writers with learning disabilities attending a rehabilitation vocational training program, 35 remedial English college writers, and 35 normally achieving college writers. A primary trait scale was developed to investigate five major constructs identified in the literature as impacting on audience. These constructs included general characteristics, organization of text, analyzing/constructing the audience, construct differentiation of voice, and execution. The results of this research indicate that the population of adult writers demonstrating learning disabilities have difficulties with certain aspects of the writing process that may impact on the audience (reader). Implications for assessment and instruction are discussed.

Preventing Learned Helplessness

Steps can be taken to overcome the unwelcome phenomenon of learned helplessness.

Written Sentence Production Error Patterns of College Writers with Learning Disabilities

Utilizing a controlled stimulus passage to control for verbosity and topic selection, this research investigated the written syntax of 81 (60 males, 21 females) collegeable individuals demonstrating a specific learning disability. Four models of speech production disturbance (i.e., syntactical, lexical, monitoring, control) were evaluated in light of the errors identified in the rewrite paragraphs of this population. The data from this research supports the control impairment hypothesis, predicting that sentence production errors will be of the same kind as found in the language of writers demonstrating no handicapping conditions. In addition, the study investigated the correlation of specific cognitive and achievement variables to syntactical competence and error type.

Spelling Error Patterns of Normal, Learning-Disabled, and Underprepared College Writers

The spelling performance of normally achieving, learning-disabled, and underprepared college writers was examined across three measures to determine which, if any, measures were effective in differentiating among the three groups. The types of spelling errors made by each group also were examined. Results indicated that the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised spelling subtest effectively distinguished among groups, while the other measures only distinguished between adequate (normal) and poor (learning-disabled and underprepared) writers. A modified version of Cromers spelling error analysis was applied to a spontaneous writing sample and revealed no significant group differences with respect to type of spelling error between normal and underprepared writers. However, significant differences were found between the learning-disabled writers and both the normal and underprepared writers on all the spelling error types except spelling-rule errors.