Content area
Full Text
In this article, we examine similarities and differences in the academic, social, and behavioral skills of high school students with emotional disturbances (ED) and learning disabilities (LD). Two groups of high school students with ED (n = 45) and LD (n = 49) were compared on nine measures in academic, behavioral, and social domains using multivariate procedures. Results indicated that there were significant differences in the characteristics of these students, with seven of the original nine variables differentiating group membership. In general, adolescent students with LD exhibited higher levels of social competence and lower levels of behavioral problems as compared to adolescent students with ED. Findings also revealed that a substantial percentage of the variance (50%) between adolescents with ED and adolescents with LD could be explained. Furthermore, the variables in this model differentiated between these two groups, with 78.57% of students with ED and 78.95% of students with LD being correctly classified. Limitations of the study are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
Recent legislative, policy, and research initiatives have issued a clear call for schools to improve the outcomes for youth with disabilities upon leaving high school (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004; Johnson, Stodden, Emanuel, Luecking, & Mack, 2002). For example, the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (2002) stated that "post-school success is the ultimate indicator of school reform" (p. 45), challenging schools to ensure that students with disabilities are adequately equipped with the skills and supports needed for adult life. For a substantial number of adolescents with emotional disturbance (ED) or learning disabilities (LD), however, the transition to life after high school is characterized by disappointing outcomes. Relative to their peers without disabilities, students with ED and LD experience elevated dropout rates (Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2001), diminished rates of participation in postsecondary education (Wagner, Cameto, & Newman, 2003), higher levels of unemployment and underemployment (Bullis & Cheney, 1999; Carter & Wehby, 2003), lower rates of civic and community participation (Armstrong, Dedrick, & Greenbaum, 2003), and higher rates of incarceration (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).
These postschool outcomes serve as indicators that students with ED or LD may have skill and performance deficits in academic, social, and behavioral domains that hinder...