To disclose, or not to disclose, a question for adult learners with learning disabilities

grantor: University of TorontoThis research reports on adult learners with learning disabilities and their self-disclosure experiences within post-secondary educational settings. This qualitative investigation focused primarily on disclosure of their disability to professors, the factors related to the decision to disclose, and the management of the disclosure process. Participants were college/university graduates, or current college/university students, most of whom were studying at a senior level, thus ensuring that they had already had some time to accumulate experiences related to disclosure. The existence of a learning disability was validated using recent psycho-educational assessment results, or with a brief psycho-educational assessment administered by the researcher. Participants engaged in two in-depth dialogues with the researcher. In the second dialogue, each participant responded to the researcher's initial summary of the themes and patterns emerging from their individual, and the group's, initial dialogue. The thesis begins with an overview of the status of research focusing on adults with learning disabilities, research on disclosure, and the need for, and possible benefits of, an inquiry into the largely unexamined linkages between these areas of study. Little is known about how many adult learners with learning disabilities choose to disclose, how they determine the costs/benefits of revealing their disability, and, if disclosing, what skills are related to the management of this process. Disclosure at the post-secondary level was of particular interest since, unlike children, adult learners typically have control over whether or not to speak openly about their learning difficulties--a disability which, because it may be somewhat invisible, might be kept secret. The findings reveal an extensive and complex disclosure process, consisting of multiple levels of decision-making, all highly governed by context and an apparent concern about impression management.Ed.D