Manifestations of learning disabilities in university students: Implications for coping and adjustment

The purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of students' perception of their difficulties and adjustments during university studies as compared with their past perceptions, to examine their coping and expectations, and draw some implications from the research to help students with LD in institutions of higher education. Studies of adult students mainly describe their difficulties in three domains: academic, behavioral and emotional. Following in-depth interviews with 30 students. We attempted to elicit the experience of disability from their perspective. Students described their difficulties, the ways they cope, how they view their future and their adjustments while studying in the university. Results indicated significantly fewer dependence on private lessons, improved their learning strategies, more use of special accommodations and more positive emotional functioning and reduced negative self-perception in adult students. The contribution of this study is in showing the different perception of past and present difficulties and modes of coping, suggesting that although the academic obstacles do not change over time, the students learn to adjust to academic demands by adopting effective coping strategies, developing emotional resiliency, and through self-encouragement regarding an optimist future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]