Following up on the successful introduction of Life Success for Children with Learning Disabilities: A Parent Guide, researchers at the Frostig Center in Pasadena, CA have put their research findings to work to provide teachers with a valuable new tool that can help them play an instrumental role in the success of children growing up with learning disabilities.
Frostig's 20-year research study tracing the lives of individuals with learning disabilities from childhood into adulthood, as well as several major studies conducted by other researchers, has shown that certain individual characteristics and life experiences can help lead persons with learning disabilities to successful life outcomes. These characteristics, know as "success attributes" are defined in the forthcoming Teacher Guide. In addition, teachers are provided with an array of activities that help them encourage the success attributes in their everyday curriculum.
About the Research
The information presented in both the Parent Guide and Teacher Guide is based on longitudinal research that compared approximately 50 former students of the Frostig Center on particular variables at four data points: entering Frostig (age 7-14), leaving Frostig (age 8-17) 10 years after leaving Frostig (age 18-25) and 20-years after leaving Frostig (age 28-35).
At the 10-year follow-up, 50 participants were rated successful or unsuccessful using a multidimensional definition of success that included employment, education, independent living, family relations, social and community relationships, crime/substance abuse, life satisfaction and physical and psychological health. Quantitative analysis revealed that successful and unsuccessful participants differed little on background variables such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, cognitive or academic measures, and that success might be related to other factors in the lives of these individuals. A qualitative analysis proved more fruitful, revealing a set of "success attributes" that differentiated the groups, with the successfuls demonstrating greater self-awareness, proactivity, perseverance, emotional stability, appropriate goal setting and the use of social support systems.
At the 20-year follow-up, a major goal of the study was to discover whether the presence or absence of the success attributes would emerge as variables explaining these differences in life outcomes. A series of statistical analyses showed that the success attributes were highly predictive of achieving life success, even more so than such factors as academic achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and even IQ (Raskind, et al, 1999). A qualitative analysis of the 2-6 hour interviews with participants was conducted that focused on the "insider's perspective", that is, what the participants themselves had to say--in their own words--about living with learning disabilities. A detailed analysis of the transcripts provided a deeper understanding of the attributes, as well as new themes such as LD influences life events across the lifespan, and in many contexts.
The description of the success attributes presented in both the Parent Guide and the Teacher Guide is based upon this qualitative analysis and utilizes direct quotes from participants themselves to shed further light on each attribute.
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