Patricia,
Maybe it was the depth of your questions that scared people away from 
trying to answer them. I will try to answer your first question as it 
pertains to my school, the Community High School of Vermont, in the 
state's correctional system. We don't really screen for LD, however all 
individuals are screened for basic academic skills on enrollment. We 
have historically used the Wide Range Achievement Test; we are starting 
to use the TABE.

Also, people aged 21 and under are matched against Vermont's "child 
find" list, which identifies all Vermonters with previous special 
education eligibility. If a person turns up positive on child find, we 
monitor his or her performance in classes, obtain their prior special 
education records, and form an education team, including the student, to 
decide how to proceed with regards to continued special education 
eligibility. There is a formal procedure specified by state and federal 
regulations for evaluating students under age 22 for special education 
eligibility.

Older students and those over 18 who have never been evaluated for 
special education do not go through as formal an identification process. 
Our academic screening noted previously will tell us where to begin 
working with a student. Our experience working with him or her may raise 
concerns about the student's ability to make progress or to be 
successful. In these situations, we may form an education team to 
consider whether a accommodations through a 504 plan would be beneficial 
to the student.

We generally find that although many, if not most, of our students would 
have been classified as having a disability when they were in public 
school, our regular practices (mainly self-paced, individualized 
instruction and small class sizes) allow all students to progress 
whether or not they have a disability. We try to create learning 
environments for all our students that are not disabling. This is not 
achieved through a lot of formal screenings and diagnoses, but rather 
through working with the student and continually asking, what works for 
him or her.

I hope this is useful,
Tom Woods

RKenyon721 at aol.com wrote:


> Hello all,

>  

> Recently, a message was posted by Patricia Linder from the Region IV 

> Resource Center at the University of South Florida.  The topic of the 

> message, Eligibility for GED Accommodations, is an important one.

>  

> I was disappointed that there were no responses to her message.  

> Please --- re-read the message below and post your thoughts/responses.

> Thanks, in advance, for responding.

>  

> Rochelle

>  

>  

> Hello colleagues.

>

> I joined this informative discussion board over the summer and have 

> found it to be a wonderful resource.  As co-director of a regional 

> adult literacy resource center serving 15 counties on the west coast 

> of Florida, I am seeing more and more demand for professional 

> development on topics related to adults with learning disabilities.

>

> Your professional assistance would be greatly appreciated in regards 

> to one topic that has emerged from adult educators and program 

> administrators across our region.  I am particularly interested in how 

> your programs identify adult students with learning disabilities so 

> that they are eligible to receive GED testing accommodations.

>

> 1. What are your organization's policies or procedures concerning the 

> use of LD screening instruments?  For example, do you screen all 

> students upon enrollment, only on instructor recommendation, only 

> after a set period of instruction, etc?

>

> 2. When screening suggests that an adult learner should be referred 

> for diagnostic testing, what resources are available to you and your 

> students to support diagnosis?

>

> 3. What percentage of your adult learners receive accommodations when 

> taking the GED?

>

> 4. If anyone has access to state statistics on this topic, please 

> share the website with us.

>

> I look forward to sharing information garnered through your response 

> with professional colleagues in our region.

>

> Thank you,

>

>

> Patty

>

>

> Patricia Linder,

> Co-Director, Region IV Resource Center

> University of South Florida

> 4202 E. Fowler Ave., PED214

> Tampa, FL 33620

> Office (813) 974-7794

> Fax (813) 974-0952

> Email plinder at tempest.coedu.usf.edu 

> <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/learningdisabilities>

>  

>  

> Rochelle Kenyon

> Moderator, NIFL/LINCS Learning Disabilities Discussion List

> Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee

> RKenyon721 at aol.com <mailto:RKenyon721 at aol.com> 

>  

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