17. CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. - James Truslow Adams Career development of handicapped adults has been a major focus of counseling personnel since the 1930's (Broling and Gysbers, 1979). Recently, several articles of federal legislation in the form of the Vocational Amendments of 1976 (P.L. 94-482), the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and the Education for All Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142) mandated that career development programming be provided for handicapped students. Counseling, a critical component in the career development process, is specifically mandated in the regulations of P.L. 94-192 as follows: Nonacademic and extracurricular services and services and activities may include counseling services (rehabilitation counselors), and employment of students, including both employment by the public agency and assistance in making outside employment available [Section 121a.306(b)]. Despite these mandates, provision of services to enhance the career development of the handicapped student has been limited (Hohenshil, 1982). Further, handicapped students tend to be limited to segregated learning experiences that offer preparation for a limited range of occupations in comparison to the career offerings for nonhandicapped students (Razeghi and Davis, 1979). Many adults, who by nature of their handicaps are already at a job market disadvantage, leave school without well-defined goals, adequate knowledge of the world of work, and a viable range of career choices. Presently, the majority of career development programs and services that have been available are aimed primarily at the needs of the mentally retarded, (Cegelka, 1980), despite a vastly growing category of students with severe learning type disabilities. This learning handicapped group comprises almost half of all students enrolled in organized special education programs. It has been advanced that self-esteem, locus of control, and one's achievement motivation are all constructs that relate to the learning disabled's perception of self and the ability to seek gainful employment later in life (Sabatino and Schloss, 1981). "These factors are learned; they receive reinforcement from social cues in the environment from social cues in the environment. The motivation an individual exhibits relates to actual and perceived failure or success in employment (p. 477). According to Nowicki and Strickland (1973), feelings of external control manifested by young people become more internal as they mature. However, this internalization of control may not occur in children with learning disabilities (Gardener et al., 1977). There are indications that these children, adolescents and adults are more external in their believed source of attributions for success (Chapman and Boersma, 1979; Hallahan, Gajan, Cohen and Tarver, 1978). In order to be successful in adult life, an individual's self-esteem needs to be nurtured. But what is self-esteem, and how does it develop in childhood and adolescence? Self-esteem is considered the ingredient which gives individuals the feeling of dignity and worth. Individuals perceive themselves as having a certain value, and, if this appraisal leads to self-acceptance and approval, they will have enough self-esteem to be accepting of themselves in later life as adults (Rice, 1981). Coopersmith (1967) identified four factors that aid the development of child, adolescent and ultimately adult self- esteem: 1. The degree of acceptance that individuals receive from the significant others in their lives. 2. One's history of successes and the status and position one holds in the world. 3. The individual's aspirations--living up to aspiration in areas which the individual values lead to high self- esteem. 4. The individual's manner of responding to criticism. The ability to defend self-esteem reduces the experience of anxiety and helps to maintain personal equilibrium (p. 37). Coopersmith found that parents of children with high-self- esteem were both concerned and committed to their children. These parents also structured their children's lives, but allowed freedom within this structure and established a more extensive set of rules than families of children with low self-esteem. Mothers of children with high self-esteem were found to be more loving and had closer relationships with their children than mothers of children with low self-esteem. Finally, he reported that in families of children with low self-esteem, the parents were more likely to withdraw from their children. All of these factors contributed to the long-term effect of making career opportunities much more difficult for the individual to realize in his or her adult life. Relationships between an adolescent's level of self-esteem and career development were studied extensively by Super, (1957, 1963, 1983) and by Korman (1966, 1967, 1970). Korman and Super developed models to define the processes underlying the relationships between self concept, self esteem, and career decision making status (Barrett and Tinsley, 1977). They found that high self-esteem individuals more often display greater commitment to career choices, feel more certain about their choices, and more frequently select more satisfying goals than low self-esteem adolescents and adults. In summary, the balance of Korman's theory implies that, first, low self-esteem individuals have as clear and definite a picture of their vocational self as do the high self-esteem individuals; they must have a clear picture of their needs, attitudes, and values in order to specifically select a vocational role that will not bring satisfaction. In contrast, Super's cognitive perceptual model suggests that high self-esteem individuals. Secondly, Korman's balance theory assumes that both low and high self- esteem individuals have an equally clear understanding of the relevant aspects of the vocational roles that would satisfy their needs. Differing in theoretical perspective, the cognitive perceptual approach implies that high self-esteem individuals have an enhanced clarification of the need fulfilling characteristics over their low self-esteem counterparts. Differences in the two theories can be expressed in the terms of service delivery. Investigating the differing implications of the above two models regarding the relationship between vocational self-concept crystallization and self-esteem of older adolescents and adults, Barrett and Tinsley (1977) concluded: The cognitive perceptual approach appears to possess greater theoretical utility in accounting for the self-esteem decisional status relationship. Although Korman's notion that one's perception of one's own decision-making skills is related to self-esteem seems to have some merit. The results discount Korman's more central tenet that low-esteem individuals deliberately choose occupational roles which they know do not fit their needs, interests, abilities, or values. On the contrary, the present research indicates that low self-esteem subjects have less well crystallized vocational self-concepts than high self-esteem individuals. Consequently, the self-esteem decisional status relationship appears to be due more to a lack of clarity or certainty about what to implement than to a masochistic urge on the part of low self-esteem individuals (p. 305). Based upon these findings, the authors advocated that the thrust of career development should be to enhance the individual's knowledge of himself and of the various possible occupational roles. Adapted and field tested for adolescents with learning disabilities, Super and Harris-Bowlsby's curriculum model, Guided Career Explanation (1979), is designed to meet the above stated objectives of enhancing vocational self-concept crystallization, and represents the major curricular thrust to the career development of adolescents and young adults with specific learning disabilities. Academic and behavioral disabilities which impact career development are compounded by the fact that teachers and counselors have not been prepared to serve the specific needs of learning disabled adolescents (Lerner, 1981), and it is not surprising that career development programming and services at the secondary level and beyond are greatly lacking (Mori, 1980; Kendall, 1981). The average 12th-grader has fewer occupations and fields of work under consideration than in the 9th grade, interests are more adult; and he has somewhat more confidence in them. The adult has even fewer occupations and fields of work under consideration than the 12th grader. Given the addition of a learning disability or MBD, the adult is seriously impaired in finding and maintaining a lifelong career choice (Jordaan, 1977). Occupation is one great source of enjoyment. No man, properly occupied, was ever miserable. -L.E. LandonWith respect to Deshle would inhibit employment adjustment in the learning disabled adolescent and young adult, Herr and Cramer (1979) postulated that measures of career maturity in the adolescent stage predict later career development better than do the traditional predictions based on academic test scores and grades. The authors noted that in this early adolescent growth period, the basis for later careers is established. This initial career development is established by decisions made by students' grades (Jordaan and Heyde, 1979). A decision in the elementary school years to achieve good grades opens many career options that are not available to the students who do not attain high marks. The decision to take ninth grade algebra provides for future occupational choices that may be forfeited by the pupil who chooses general mathematics, unless extra course work is taken later (Thompson et al., 1981). For many students, these curricular choices are prerequisites for entrance into future academic and technical programs, as well as subsequent entry into a specific occupation (Jordaan and Heyde, 1979). Thus, many career options are eliminated for learning disabled students, because of the generally held characteristic of inadequate academic performance (Deshler, 1978) and a correspondent decision to choose a less demanding course or curriculum because of past learning failures. The availability of increasing numbers of post-secondary opportunities for learning disabled students (Cordoni, 1981) are evidence of the need to encourage these students to attempt a wider range of course curricula. Research studies conducted with respect to the career maturity of learning disabled adolescents and young adults have indicated that they are less career mature than their nonhandicapped peers (Bingham, 1978, 1980; Fafard and Haubrich, 1981; Kendall, 1980). Why learning disabled adolescents are less career mature has yet to be empirically demonstrated, however, Deshler (1978) described personality related characteristics that could contribute to the problem: By adolescence there is a high probability that learning disabled students will experience the indirect effects of a learning handicap as manifested by poor self-perception, lowered self-concept, or reduced motivation (p. 68). And given that many learning disabled adolescents "are likely to have experienced many years of viewing themselves and being viewed by others as ineffective, marginal, and unsuccessful, it is not surprising that some of those feelings are being incorporated into their perceptions of themselves as potential workers (Bingham, 1980, p. 68). Lack of opportunities to participate in career development activities may be related to the learning disabled adolescent's career maturity. In a study conducted on the career and social adjustment of learning disabled adults, Fafard and Haubrich (1981) found that, with the exception of college-bound learning disabled students, learning disabled young adults did not receive formal career counseling, job training, or career information during the high school years. What happens to children and adolescents after they leave formal school and enter their adult lives in regard to career development? A number of studies in the 1980's reported interesting results. Spreen (1983) completed a longitudinal study of learning disabled adolescents and young adults. He and his colleagues initially identified and evaluated 200 children aged 8 to 12. Using neurological examination procedures, Spreen divided these subjects according to three types of learning disability. They were: (a) learning handicapped due to observable brain damage (i.e., manifesting "hard neurological signs"), (b) learning handicapped due to "soft neurological signs," often referred to as minimal brain dysfunction (MBD), and (c) learning handicapped without observable evidence of neurological deficit. Included in the study was a match control group of 52 nondisabled subjects. In the first follow-up at age 18, Spreen noted that the academic prognosis of this group of learning disabled was poor, with the exception of high socioeconomic level subjects, a finding consistent with Rawson's (1968) follow-up reports. Spreen stated that "LD children were found to be more likely to drop out of school, and unlikely to obtain jobs requiring high school completion (p. 11). Peter and Spreen (1979) noted that clinic-referred subjects of the study, whether neurologically impaired or not, demonstrated significant deviate behavior and greater maladjustment than their normal peers as adolescents and adults. The authors stated that these findings were consistent with other follow-ups by Balow and Bloomquist (1965), Masterson (1967), and Silver and Hagen (1964). According to Spreen, former clients aged 13 to 25, as time elapsed, tended to have firmer plans for the future and better occupational adjustment. However, with increasing degree of neurological impairment, these clients had more difficulty in finding a job, finding more than temporary employment, and had less earnings. Academically, mathematics was still a problem for all three groups with a large percentage noting these problems as severe and interfering with their job choices. At the time of Spreen's first follow-up, 69.3 percent of the subjects were employed, and, at Phase II, 70.7 percent were employed. In the control group, 88.2 percent were employed compared to 60, 73, and 54 percent in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Most interesting is the finding that in comparison to the Phase 1 interview results, "the employment rate of the two brain dysfunction groups remained stable while employment for the LD group without neurological impairment decreased 80 to 54 percent." Spreen noted that a large number of LD subjects without positive neurological signs were engaged in seasonal type occupations which could account for the drastic drop in employment for this group. A significant difference between groups was found for the types of jobs held with more skilled and advanced training jobs occurring in the control group. Spreen further reported that when asked what type of job the LD groups would really like to obtain, they responded by making less ambitious selection. A number of the MBD subjects appeared to be expecting no more than their present type of employment. As part of one of the University of Kansas Institute's research on young adults with learning disabilities, White et al. (1983) conducted a study by randomly selecting two groups of young adults, one group which was diagnosed as learning disabled and a comparison group representing young adults who were not labeled as learning disabled and did not receive special services while in school. Both groups were comprised of adults about 20 years of age, white, and most had high school degrees. Fathers of the LD participants were reported to have a lower educational level than fathers of the non-disabled comparison group. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups using the Duncan Socioeconomics Index of Occupational Status. Despite this lack of difference in parental occupational difference, there was a significant difference found between the learning disabled and nonlearning disabled young adults with the former displaying a significantly lower mean level of job status. Overall, White et al. found that the formerly identified LDs, when compared to the nonlearning disabled, were in jobs considered to be lower in social status and were less satisfied with their employment situation. They were less satisfied with their employment situation. The were less satisfied with their school experiences, had lower aspirations for future education and training, and had fewer educational plans. In contrast to the nonlearning disabled group, LD young adults were very similar in most respects including the number holding full-time jobs, money earned, and social contacts. They were less satisfied with parental contact and sought professional counseling. The find that these learning disabled young adults were less satisfied in their employment was consistent with the findings of Fafard and Haubrich (1981). White et al. (1983) suggested that schools having neither adequately prepared the learning disabled for the social career domains of adult life nor have they shown them what to expect when they leave school. The Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD) began a survey in 1981 to determine the status and needs of adults who have, or have had during their school careers, a learning disability. In 1982, two ACLD Newsbrief articles published the results of the LD adults survey. The survey had 562 completed and valid surveys returned from parents or LD adults themselves, over 100 (18%) of the LD adults were not employed or enrolled in any school or training program. Of the 274 employed (49%), the largest percentage (23.5) were employed in unskilled labor positions. The next largest employed group (19.5%) ws reported to be employed in the skilled service trades. The remaining employed were spread over a variety of occupational areas. The age group 25-29 (32.3%) was the hardest hit in the nonworking group, followed by the 30-35 group (28.5%), and the 21-24 group at 22.5 group. Income levels beneath $10,000 were reported for 61% of those responding, and 31% were earning between $10,000-$20,000. Responses in the domain of job satisfaction revealed almost half of those responding to be dissatisfied in their current employment. Employment success as a result of vocational training participation was limited, with only about one-half of those who participated in vocational training able to find a job as a result. Of those who were able to find a job, a significant number could not keep the job for various reasons. In a survey known as Field Investigation and Evaluation of Learning Disabilities (FIELD) and reported by Scott, Williams, and Stout (1980) sought to determine from the adult learning disabled in Pennsylvania who had terminated or completed a regular public educational program and the nature of their past experiences in the following areas: (a) education, (b) medical and physical history, (c) social adaptation, (d) psychological history, and (e) vocational and employment outcomes. The sample consisted of an original group of 350 subjects who were comprehensively educated as LD and came from the Pittsburgh area. A second group, consisting of 100 subjects, was evaluated LD but not as rigorously; they hailed from the Philadelphia area. The final group numbering 200, and considered poorly identified as far as an accurate LD classification, comprised a group noted primarily by the fact that they did not complete high school. The researchers emphasized that the three groups represented a wide variety of learning handicapped adults, but advanced that the characteristics of the Pennsylvania adult learning disabled individual appeared to be generally consistent with those reported for other geographical areas. In summarizing the data of the study, Scott et al. stated that "upon leaving school, the learning disabled individual did have a hard time getting a job and many were dissatisfied with the job found" (p. 7). In a dissertation completed by Butler (1982) using the computerized data bank of the Arizona Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which included over 700 learning disabled clients who applied for services over the period of 1975-1981, Butler's research confirmed much of the above mentioned studies, particularly the findings that learning disabled hold unskilled or semi-skilled occupations. In a review of 24 follow-up studies of LD individuals, Horn, McDonnell, and Wade (1983) reported: "Follow-up studies which have included measures of educational, vocational attainments levels present convincing evidence that LD persons do attain educational levels or vocational status commensurate with normal learners in the general population. While it appeared that LD persons have enduring deficits in basic skills areas, their relatively good educational, vocational outcomes indicated that many LD person are able to compensate for their continued deficits" (pp. 553-554). It should be noted that none of the LD studies reported by Horn et al. reported specific information about vocational outcomes. However, this was not the major concern here. What was important in the four vocational studies reported by Horn et al. was that two of the four that reported positive vocational outcomes had subjects with IQ's with a mean above 120, with one of the two being Rawson's (1968) follow-upon LD's reporting a mean IQ of 131.4. A third study reporting vocational outcomes in Wade's et al. review was Barlow and Bloomquist's (1965) follow-up which showed LD's predominantly employed at unskilled and semi-skilled occupational levels. If one accepts that LDs should be satisfied with this level of employment, then Balow's and Bloomquist's study illustrated a positive vocational outcome. Only in the fourth study reported by Wade et al. (Preston and Yarington, 1967) were IQ's (M=98) consistent with levels reported with studies associated with poor vocational outcome (Spreen's study), although the range of IQs in this group of 50 subjects was 53-123. Further, at follow-up, 25% of the original Preston and Yarington subjects reviewed were in college, with another 20% in white collar jobs. Thus 45% of the subjects are associated with positive outcomes, but that leaves 55% of the group unaccounted for as far as a reported specific vocational outcome. In a long-range study of 579 learning disabled men who graduated between 1940 and 1977 conducted by Gottfredson in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (CSOC, 1983), it was found that "these men achieve achieve greater career success than men in general and, in their own way, are as successful as their own fathers and other men of similar socioeconomic backgrounds" (p. 13). Rawson (1978) found similar results in a study of successful learning disabled adults with high IQs supporting Gottfredson's. In explaining his initial results, Gottfredson stated: Some of this is due to socioeconomic advantage. These men are primarily from advantaged backgrounds and they happened to be above average in intelligence as well, both of which help them proceed into successful careers despite their disability. But another important reason for their success is that they gravitated to high-levels jobs that de- emphasize reading skills. The jobs they tend to hold are those in which we found that skills other than reading and writing are important. In business, especially, skills such as persuasiveness, taking initiative, and creative thinking may be critical (p. 13). Cordoni et al. (1982), in a sample of learning disabled college students, found that students (IQ M=110) had significantly higher WAIS performance subtest scores. However, any suggested correlation between IQ and job success demands further clarification. Jencks et al. (1972) reviewed a wide body of research on this question and concluded that the direct effect of grades, intelligence, and aptitude on occupational success are virtually zero among persons of equivalent schooling: "In general, if we compare two men whose IQ test scores differ by 15 points, their occupational statuses will typically differ by about 12.5 points. If they have the same amount of education and the same family background, their statuses will differ by only 2.5 points" (p. 186). This perspective may be the most viable theory in predicting why Gottfredson's subjects are most successful in their career status attainment. Not all LD adults have the same amount of education and supportive family backgrounds. Recall that Rawson's (1968) high job status LD adult subjects were also from status family backgrounds and had been educated in a private academy. Family background can be a significant factor in predicting successful career outcome for LD children and young adults as they mature into adults. Positive family cohesion and adaptability seem to enhance an adolescent's emotional and social autonomy while encouraging a gradual family separation, both of which are required for attaining career development maturity in late adolescence. Commenting on the impact of family shaping on the adolescent's and young adult's career development, Super (1957) noted: The family provides opportunities for boys and girls to identify or reject various adult role models. It creates or fosters needs and shapes values. It provides experiences with a variety of activities with opportunities for acquiring information and skills relevant to occupations. It has or it lacks resources in the form of equipment, funds, and contacts which make occupations accessible or in accessible. Thus, the family exerts more or less subtle pressures on the child to make certain types of choices. Each of those kinds may therefore be expected to be found and work shaping preferences, entry into training and work, success and satisfaction (p. 243). As family influences interact within the bounds of a child's environment there exists a dynamic threshold for the process of decision making to occur. Harren (1979) maintained this process consisted of four interactive stages: (a) awareness of self in particular environments, (b) the care planning process, (c) commitment to a career preference, and (d) implementation of a career choice. This choice process takes place within a particular time perspective and is also affected by one's degree of self-concept decision making style and self-autonomy (locus of control). Family influences on these personality variables can be illustrated in the manner in which the home environment affects self-differentiation and self-concept development which, in turn, advances or retards the decision-making process (Hesser, 1982). Rosenberg (1965) studied the effect of parental interest, defined as the manner in which the parent felt and behaved toward the child, upon adolescent self-worth. He reported that extreme parental indifference was most strongly associated with low self- esteem, more so than punitive parental behavior. In agreement with the premise that parental interest exerts a potent effect upon self-esteem, and that self-esteem is a dimension of career maturity (Super, 1983), it can be assumed that parental interest would influence adolescent career development. Davis (1978) reported that high school students were most likely to pursue advanced postsecondary education if their parents encouraged them to do so. In contrast, children of parents who did not encourage them were found less likely to have educational plans, more likely to have job plans, and most likely to have no plans at all. Planning has been shown to be an important attitude factor in adolescent and adult career development (Super and Overstreet, 1960; Jordaan and Hyde, 1979) and appears to be fostered in families characterized by cohesiveness and those that have shared interests and recreation (Hesser, 1982). Hesser also maintained that positive levels of career exploration behavior have been associated with positive parental aspirations and approval as well as positive family feedback about the young adult's experiences. Thelwall thought it very unfair to influence a child's mind by incubating any opinions before it had come to years of discretion to choose by itself. I showed him my garden, and I told him it was my botanical garden. He replied, 'How so?' I replied, 'that is only because it has not yet come to age of discretion and choice. The weeds, you see, have taken the liberty to grow, and I thought it unfair of me to prejudice the soil toward roses and strawberries." -- Colbridge More research needs to be conducted in this area to isolate the variables which result in successful adaptation to career developments for LD adults. Critical to understanding the life-stage perspective in career development it is important to realize that successful outcomes of tasks completed in previous life-stages enhance the ability to cope the later ones. Implications of viewing growth and development from this life-stage perspective is emphasized by Havighurst (1976): A developmental task is one which arises at or about a certain period in the life of the individual, successful achievement of which leads to his happiness and to success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual, disapproval by the society and difficulty with later tasks involving career development (p. 3). According to Super (1957), and supported by Bueler's (1933) theory of life-stage development, there are five career life- stages: (a) growth in early childhood, (b) exploration in adolescence, (c) establishment in young adulthood, (d) maintenance in middle age, and (e) decline in retirement age. Counselors, teachers, and other professionals responsible for assisting the learning disabled adolescent and young adults in career and educational planning have to be concerned with at least three directives: (a) to determine where the student is in his or her career development; (b) to identify the readiness of the student to select among the available curricular and occupational choices; and (c) to determine how the unprepared student can be helped (Thompson et al., 1981). Due to the broad range and types of aptitudes and skills learning disabled adolescents and adults possess, it is especially critical to evaluate each student as an individual, who, like all other students, has many different academic strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Prior to beginning the formal assessment process, the reading level should be carefully examined to ascertain which evaluation tools will need to be modified, rejected, or exchanged for alternative measures. Collection of data from home and community sources should be included in developing a preliminary career assessment profile. Many learning disabled adolescents and young adults, when outside the of the academic-oriented environment, demonstrate traits and behaviors not seen in the traditional school milieu. In order to get an accurate and complete initial career behavior profile of the learning disabled student, both student and environmental factors must be collected and reviewed. At the completion of the preliminary assessment phase, the student and appropriate staff member meet to determine if and what additional types of assessment are needed. Involvement of the student in this decision-making process is critical to success of the assessment. If the student has not fully participated in the development of the assessment plan, he cannot be expected to be supportive of it. There may be luck in getting a good job -- but there's no luck in keeping it. --J. Ogden Armour