Career Development Needs among College and University Students with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The purpose of this study was to (a) examine the employment and career development concerns of postsecondary students with learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) and (b) develop strategies for improving their post-graduation employment outcomes. Employing an established survey method grounded in the ideals of Participatory Action Research, the researchers examined the self-perceived strengths and weaknesses of a sub-sample of 110 students with learning disabilities, ADD, and AD/HD in four states, representing seven colleges and universities, regarding their top-priority employment concerns. Students reported that their main employment-related strengths were in regard to expectations, access and accommodations, and job-seeking and technical skills. They reported their relative weaknesses to be in the areas of health insurance, implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Social Security. Focus groups of university faculty members, student service professionals, rehabilitation professionals, and students with disabilities, convened to assist in the interpretation of results and the formulation of strategies for improving career services, recommended that students' employment-related strengths be maintained and weaknesses remediated by utilizing information, research, services and curriculum, self-advocacy and self-determination, and involvement of key stakeholders.