Some of our key recent research findings are now available.
Speak Up!
ICTs are “POSITIVES”
Learning Disabilities: ICTs to the rescue
Employment Picture for College Career/Technical Grads with Disabilities is Rosy
Graduates and Leavers with Disabilities: In the Labor Force
Satisfaction, Disability, and Academic Retention
Did you have reading problems?
Yes to Extended Time!
Do college students with learning disabilities use ICTs enough?
Social Media Use by Students with Disabilities
Accessibility of Social Media and Blindness
Maria Barile
Speak Up!
Adaptech’s findings show that the main concerns of postsecondary students and recent graduates with disabilities were:
- Obtaining and maintaining work upon leaving school;
- School workload management;
- Disability related academic/access supports;
- Financial concerns, including the extra burden of disability-related expenses.
Source: Martiniello, N., Barile, M., Budd, J., Nguyen, M.N., & Fichten, C.S. (2012). Hotline: Students with disabilities speak out. Communiqué, 12(1), 14-15.
Mai Nhu Nguyen
ICTs are “POSITIVES”
Adaptech’s POSITIVES Scale (Postsecondary Information Technology Initiative Scale) showed that French speaking Canadian postsecondary students with disabilities indicated that their school’s web pages and interactive online services as well as the hours of access to ICTs met their needs. Nevertheless, training on information and computer technologies off campus and the availability of adapted computers at school were seen as problematic.
Source: Nguyen, M.N., Fichten, C.S., & Budd, J. (in press). Le développement de l’échelle POSITIVES : Satisfaction des étudiants en situation de handicap concernant les technologies de l’information et de la communication. Revue des sciences de l’éducation.
Alice Havel
Learning Disabilities: ICTs to the rescue!
In 58 interviews conducted by Adaptech, experts indicated that the main advantage of information and computer technologies (ICTs) for students with learning disabilities in college is to support academic success. The experts also noted, however, first and foremost, that ICTs cost too much. Recommended ICTs are: multipurpose ICTs, software that assists writing and software which reads digital text aloud.
Source: Fichten, C.S., King, L., Nguyen, M.N., Barile, M., Havel, A., Chauvin, A., Budd, J., Mimouni, Z., Raymond, O., & Juhel, J.-C. (2012). Utiliser les technologies de l’information et de la communication afin d’améliorer la réussite collégiale des étudiants ayant des troubles d’apprentissage. Pédagogie Collégiale, 25(4), 32-37.
Catherine Fichten
Employment Picture for College Career/Technical Grads with Disabilities is Rosy
Career/technical program graduates of three large urban junior/community colleges (2 French language, 1 English language) were asked what they were doing 5 to 10 months after receiving their diplomas. Results of an Adaptech study show that graduates with and without disabilities were equally likely to be: employed, unemployed, looking for work, and continuing their studies.
Source: Fichten, C.S., Jorgensen, S., Havel, A., Barile, M., Ferraro, V., Landry, M.-E., Fiset, D., Juhel, J.-C., Chwojka, C., Nguyen, M.N., & Asuncion, J.V. (2012). What happens after graduation? Outcomes, employment, and recommendations of recent junior/community college graduates with and without disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation 34(11), 917-924.
Mary Jorgensen
Graduates and Leavers with Disabilities: In the Labor Force
A recent study from the Adaptech Research Network found that most recent graduates and leavers (those who left their program before graduation) with disabilities are in the labor force, with more graduates being employed than leavers. For those who are not in the labor force, it is most often due to health and disability-related concerns.
Source: Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., Barile, M., Jorgensen, M., Budd, J., & Amsel, R. (2012, June). Résultats préliminaires sur la situation d’emploi des diplômés et des décrocheurs postsecondaires en situation de handicap au Canada. Presentation at the Comité d’adaptation de la main-d’œuvre (CAMO) pour personnes handicapées, Montreal, Quebec.
Shirley Jorgensen
Satisfaction, Disability, and Academic Retention
Dawson College researchers conducted a study examining the relationship between satisfaction with one’s college experiences and academic retention. The results indicate that:
- Students with disabilities were less satisfied than their nondisabled peers;
- Males with learning disabilities were the least satisfied;
- Students who were more satisfied had higher retention rates.
Source: Jorgensen, S., Fichten, C.S., & Havel A. (2012). Les élèves satisfaits de leur expérience collégiale sont-ils plus enclins à persévérer dans leurs études? Liens entre la satisfaction, les notes, le genre et la présence ou non d’incapacité. Pédagogie Collégiale, 25(4), 38-44.
Alexandre Chauvin
Did you have reading problems?
Results based on a self-report questionnaire on reading experiences in elementary school don’t predict reading comprehension test scores in college. It is not clear if this is due to discrepancies between variables measured by the two instruments or to other factors.
Source: Chauvin, A., King, L., Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., Havel, A., Mimouni, Z., Gutberg, J., Barile, M., & Jorgensen, S. (2011). Au-delà du déterminisme : Les expériences de lecture antérieures sont-elles vraiment garantes des performances actuelles? 2011 Conference Proceedings of the Association québécoise pour la pédagogie collégiale (AQPC), pp. 75-83, Lévis, Quebec.
Jillian Budd
Yes to extended time!
The Adaptech Research Network administered two reading difficulty screening tools to students in three Montreal colleges. We categorized all students into adequate, poor and very poor readers based on each measure and examined scores of students with and without learning disabilities. Results show that the groups were highly distinguishable under regular speeded testing times. But extended time resulted in comparable scores for all groups.
Source: Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., King, L., Havel, A., Mimouni, Z., Barile, M., Jorgensen, S., Chauvin, A., Budd, J., & Gutberg, J. (2012). How Well Do They Read? Brief English and French Screening Tools for College Students. Submitted for publication.
Laura King
Do college students with learning disabilities use ICTs enough?
A study from the Adaptech Research Network on the use of information and computer technologies (ICTs) in college show experts recommending more specialized software (i.e., Kurzweil, dictation software) and students with learning disabilities (LDs) using more mainstream technologies (i.e., PDF, SmartPhones). Students with LDs reported using fewer ICTs than either adequate or very poor readers without LD.
Source: Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., King, L., Barile, M., Havel, A., Mimouni, Z.,
Chauvin, A., Raymond, O., Juhel, J.-C., & Asuncion, J. (2012). Information and Communication Technology Profiles of College Students with Learning Disabilities and Adequate and Very Poor Readers. Submitted for publication.
Jennison Asuncion
Social Media Use by Students with Disabilities
What social media are students with disabilities using and how does accessibility impact the social media they choose to use? Research carried out in partnership between Adaptech and NEADS showed that YouTube is the most popular social medium used by students with disabilities. MSN/Windows Live Messenger was reported to be the most accessible, and InternShare.com the least accessible. Students provided suggestions for social media developers, such as the need for a simpler layout.
Source: Asuncion, J., Budd, J., Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., Barile, M., & Amsel, R. (2012). Social media use by students with disabilities. Academic Exchange Quarterly 16(1).
Natalie Martiniello
Accessibility of Social Media and Blindness
Adaptech and NEADS, in partnership, examined the use of social media by students who are blind or have low vision. Results showed that the most commonly used social media by these students include YouTube (90%), Facebook (83%), and MSN/Windows Messenger (75%). The findings also showed that while social media help students feel less isolated, accessibility barriers abound and many of these students do not utilize social media as a job search tool.
Source: Martiniello, N., Budd, J., Nguyen, M.N., Tibbs, A., Asuncion, J., Barile, M., Amsel, R., Gaulin, C., & Fichten, C.S. (2012). Accessibility of social media for students who are blind or have low vision. Canadian Blind Monitor, 32.